Some of the best examples of effective Second World War propaganda can be found in Hollywood films. On the other hand, American filmmakers, despite having unmatched technical and financial resources and a pool of talent, didn’t hesitate to take their cue from someone else when it was warranted. The example can be found in Sahara, the 1943 film directed by Zoltan Korda, known as the first and one of the very few Hollywood films to be a remake of a Soviet film. The Soviet film in question was The Thirteen, a 1936 action adventure film which is considered the first in the specifically Soviet genre of “Ostern”, set in Central Asia during the Russian Civil War. This version, however, brought the setting in time and place somewhat closer to American audiences – the North African desert in June 1942.

Times are getting very tough for the Allies, whose British Eighth Army has just suffered a massive defeat at the hands of Rommel’s German forces and their Italian allies, and is now forced to retreat towards Egypt. Part of the Eighth Army is a small detachment of freshly arrived M3 Lee/Grant tanks, brought from the USA with American crews that are to serve as advisors or gain experience for future combat. One of these tanks is “Lullaby”, commanded by Sergeant Joe Gunn (played by Humphrey Bogart) who, upon learning that most of the escape routes are cut off, decides to take his chances by going southwards. Along the way they pick up a group of British stragglers led by Captain Halliday (played by Richard Aherne) and a Free French soldier, Jean Leroux (played by Louis Mercier). Later they are joined by British Sudanese Sergeant Major Tambul (played by Rex Ingram) and his Italian prisoner, Giuseppe (played by J. Carrol Naish). When their tank is attacked by a Luftwaffe fighter plane, they shoot it down and take Captain von Schletow (played by Kurt Kreuger), the pilot who ejected, as a prisoner. The main issue happens to be a lack of water, but the group manages to find a soon-to-be-dry well where they take shelter. Later they learn that their location is on the path of a German battalion whose commander, Major Hans von Falken (played by John Wengraf), also wants water for his men. Despite an opportunity to escape, and despite having only nine men against 500 enemy soldiers, Gunn decides to stand and fight, reasoning that the delaying action could contribute to Allied forces regrouping and stopping Rommel.

Just like the Soviet original, Sahara has a rather simple plot, which is more-or-less limited to a single location. The number of characters is also limited, which, as with most good action films, allows them to be fleshed out before the proper action begins and lets the audience wonder which of them would survive the ordeal. The modern wartime setting, on the other hand, allowed filmmakers to add a tank, half-track and fighter plane, which were provided by the US Army, together with testing grounds in the Californian desert. The film works very well as an action piece, but it also worked as propaganda, which is, somewhat ironically, more explicit than in the Soviet original. Sahara very clearly tries to use the battle for the well as a metaphor for the entire war and to underline the importance of Allied nations working together for the common goal. The defenders belong to different nations (USA, Britain, South Africa and France), and even include a black Muslim, played by Rex Ingram, one of the rare African-American actors who achieved something close to stardom in Classic Hollywood (and who is best known for the role of the Djinn in The Thief of Bagdad). None of the protagonists show any racist bias toward Tambul, unlike the captured Luftwaffe pilot who is quickly silenced by Gunn. Sahara is, despite its clear propaganda purpose and occasional slippage into melodrama, not only effective but a realistic action film, and it features an entirely male cast. The only thing that takes away from the realism are parts of the dialogue, especially near the end when Sergeant Gunn makes motivational speeches reminding his men of the sacrifices others had made during the war.

Despite its limitations and the role of Sergeant Gunn not being among the most iconic in his career, Humphrey Bogart later considered Sahara one of his favourite films. The rest of the cast was also good, with J. Carrol Naish in the role of an Italian soldier who gradually turns against Fascism (almost prophetically, in light of Italy capitulating shortly after production wrapped) being nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Role. Veteran cinematographer Rudolph Maté, with his stylish black-and-white photography, also added a lot to the film. In 1995, an eponymous colour remake starring James Belushi was produced in Australia for cable television, but it turned out to be inferior to the 1943 version.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ Leofinance blog https://leofinance.io/@drax.leo

Unstoppable Domains: https://unstoppabledomains.com/?ref=3fc23fc42c1b417 Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax y Bitcoin Lightning HIVE donations: https://v4v.app/v1/lnurlp/qrcode/drax Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax 1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e

BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7