Spur in der Wüste

It's great to see that this "B" movie hasn't been totally forgotten. In the early/mid '50's there was a movie house in E. Weymouth, MA (The Victor) that charged 14 cents for kids' admission to Saturday matinée's. The films they showed were of the type that became TV 'movietime' fodder later in the 50's, but until then, for 14 cents you got to see a decent double feature on the big screen - great audio, in "air conditioned comfort." Steel Lady was the film I remember most out of dozens of Saturday potboilers. The plot was totally plausible to a ten year old, and it's good to see that some other reviewers are willing to cut it some slack, even today. I look forward to finding a copy to see how it has held up.

When I watch a movie like this one, I am not just watching a movie, I'm re-experiencing the simplicity of the early fifties. The details are not important. In 1953, we were convinced that radiation could produce tomatoes the size of Buicks. The improbability of restarting a WWII German tank buried in sand for 10 years would not have been an issue. I would take the simplicity of the fifties over the sophistication of the present any day. But then I watch movies for release, I go to work for reality.

I believe this was one of the old movies bought up by Ted Turner as part of the MGM library he bought some years ago. I have a copy on VHS tape from a late night run on Turner's TNT network.

It is without doubt that the movie was shot on a tight budget. For instance we only see the plane crash from a head on inside view of the plane. You could even tell that at impact not all of the actors lurched forward at the same time. When they find the German tank it's hull machine gun is gone and only a hole exists in the hull were it used to be. The machine gun they use is located in the turrent and they have no ammunition for the main gun. It is doubtful that even if they could get the engine running that the wheels and track would move since the grease would have dried up years before. But in spite of these budget/story shortcomings the movie is pretty good overall. I felt the cast did as good a job as possible all things considered. Overall I would rather watch this low budget movie from the early 50's then many of the low budget movies cranked out today using computer generated special effects which also seem to substitute for decent acting and an original storyline.

I first saw this movie on television in the 60s, and still remember it for its feel of adventure( finding a lost German tank after a sandstorm) and enjoyed some intersting to watch B-movie character actors (Rod Cameron, John Dehner, Tab Hunter as a young hero-worshiping oil hand, and others). The running fights between the tank and the arabs was also fairly well-staged. I have hoped for years that this movie would be finally offered on VHS. I would definitely buy it. Although its scope is considerably smaller than Bogart's SAHARA(a WW2 movie about a wayward tank and its crew struggling to survive) it still holds up well as a simple adventure feature and I'd love it to see it again..

I have seen this film at least 5 time as a viewer from my early teens through late 20's and as a U.S. Army Post theater projectionist I ran the film every night for four days. The picture is about several oil men in a multi-engine transport plane that gets caught in a sand storm which chokes up the engines forcing the pilot to crash-land in the middle of the desert (I believe the Flight of the Phoenix films were remakes of this movie). Using parts from the plane they use to refurbish a German WWII army tank they find (The German name on the side of the tank translates roughly to The Steel Lady), they fight their way to the rescue point for a very heroic ending I will not give away. Decently acted and a must see. I give it a high rating of 8.