Leofwine_draca WW2 films set in North Africa were once a mainstay in Hollywood with literally dozens of similar efforts being put out over the years between the 1940s and the 1960s. They always appeal to me with their mix of camaraderie and the fight against both the enemy and a truly inhospitable terrain. SAHARA is one of the earliest of these films, shot while the war was still in full swing, with the Californian locations standing in for Africa and doing a very good job of it too.The film is directed by the great Zoltan Korda and as such is full of the excitement and danger that you'd expect from the big man. I found it highly superior in that there's no romantic sub-plot to slow it down, no women to get in the way of the story. Instead we have an evolving storyline in which the heroes of the piece must use their wits, their brawn, and their sheer stubbornness to survive an extremely dangerous situation.This film boasts crisp black and white direction and authentic battle sequences. The characters grow on you as the running time goes on so that the whole thing builds to a thrilling climax. Humphrey Bogart is naturally charming as the leader of the group, but it's in the character roles that this film really excels. J. Carrol Naish is fine as the captured Italian and Rex Ingram very good as the African soldier caught up in the events. Kurt Krueger captures the essence of the dangerous Nazi spirit very well. Lloyd Bridges has a minor role years before he himself would take the Bogart role in such pictures. Altogether, SAHARA is a fine war film and one of the best I've watched recently.

BasicLogic Very watchable WWII desert battle in African desert. Bogart and all the supporting actors did a great job in this black and white film and best yet, Hollywood didn't force feed the screenplay with ridiculous out-of-place female characters with pretty faces in this tough desert combat film, so it just looked very real and realistic. I have to say that shooting such film in a desert was nothing but difficult to all the people who involved in it. It's not easy to make such film.The other thing I first found out during watching this film was when Bogart in this kind genre movies without female actress(es), it suddenly became so easy to take him and the films more seriously, because I often found out whenever he played a romantic role, he just looked so ugly and so old and simply made me feel disgusted. I just couldn't understand why used so many old bags such as Bogart, Fred Astair, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable... to play lovers with much much younger female actresses, during that specific era. These male actors, especially Fred Astair with his old monkey face, could be possibly make those young pretty women fall in love with them. Every time when I watched these old gizzards playing Romeo, it just made me feel disgusting and unnatural.But Bogart in this film, well, I just felt he's in the right place to play such believable heroic role, and didn't give me any disgusting feeling from the very beginning to the very end and, love it!

grantss Excellent WW2 drama, starring the great Humphrey Bogart. Solid plot, though a bit over-the-top in terms of plausibility. (Remember, this film was made in 1943 - the middle of WW2 - so was essentially a propaganda movie). Great direction - not a foot wrong.Bogart gives his usual take-charge cool-as-ice performance, and is superb. Right up there with Casablanca in terms of his performance.Spot Lloyd Bridges (I didn't! Was surprised when I saw him in the credits).Definitely hasn't dated and is well worth the watch.

utgard14 Excellent WW2 film about a small group of soldiers fighting off Nazis in the Sahara desert. Humphrey Bogart plays an American tank commander who, along with his crew, picks up several Allied soldiers and a couple of Axis prisoners. Eventually they find water in a well by the ruins of an old fort. When the Nazis come looking for the same well, the soldiers have to decide whether to run or fight.Terrific cast backing up Bogie. Special mention for Rex Ingram, J. Carrol Naish, and Bruce Bennett. Solid script and direction. Nicely photographed by Rudolph Maté with a good Miklós Rózsa score. Humphrey Bogart starred in some great WW2 movies. Most of them were made for Warner Bros. but this one was made at Columbia. I think this is the best WW2 movie they put out and it's on par with anything made at the other studios. A strong dramatic film with great characters and exciting action. One Bogie fans won't want to pass up.