Keine Zeit zu sterben

This is a film made here in the UK by Warwick Films,the partnership of Irwin Allen and Cubby Broccoli.They generally specialised in making up market action films in colour with an American star.In this instance it is Victor Mature who at 46 is a bit overage for any army let alone the British tank corp.His rational for being in the British Army is all a bit silly as is the script which at times seems to be a boys own adventure.He has the stoical Leo Genn in support.Anthony Newley,a rising star at the time is the cockney private,normally played by Sam Kydd,and in one of his last films,before his tragic early death,Bonar Celleano.The problem with the film is the star and the script.Otherwise it is entertaining.

A meaner version of 'The Great Escape' set in North Africa rather than Europe, gathering together for the first time 'Thunderball's director, cameraman and femme fatale (while the supporting cast includes Robert Rietty, who dubbed Largo).

As a Warwick production it inevitably includes unfunny comedy relief from Anthony Newley, (along with Anne Aubrey in her film debut). Most of the Germans are played by Brits, although Bonar Colleano (shortly afterwards killed in a car crash) is ironically dubbed and sporting a bleached crewcut as a Pole.

Members of the eponymous tank force languishing in a North African POW camp in North Africa during WWII plan a daring escape. An ageing Victor Mature looks out of place surrounded by a host of British character actors in an otherwise solid little action picture filmed in Technicolor. Its routine plot is enlivened by strong action in the opening and closing scenes, a Polish character who switches repeatedly from good guy to bad, and an interesting German officer with a conscience.

I caught this on TV under the title TANK FORCE. It's a British WW2 movie made up to look like an American film with Victor Mature as the imported lead and to the film's credit it always convinces as a bigger budgeted production. While scenes of tank warfare are limited to moments at the beginning and end, for the most part this is a fitfully exciting desert adventure with some suspense and incident to see it through.

The film features a mature Mature and a very good Leo Genn as allies who are sent to an Italian prisoner of war camp in North Africa and who vow to escape. The supporting cast is populated by the familiar faces of Anthony Newley, Percy Herbert, George Coulouris, and many others. Once the plot gets going it trundles along quite nicely with the usual run of plot twists, betrayals, and sudden death, and there's even time for a scene of romance or two here and there. Genn in particular is very good as the Brit with the stiff upper lip and the exciting climax rounds things off quite nicely.

"Tank Force" is set in North Africa during WWII. The story begins with an Axis victory and many Brits are captured. Among them is Thatcher (Victor Mature)...a middle-aged American who somehow got into a British unit. I have no idea if Americans served with the British infantry or tank corps during the war, though I know some American volunteers did fly for the RAF. It seems Thatcher is more eager than most to escape the Italian/German POW camp, as some time before he made an attempt on Goebbels' life...and the Germans would love to know his identity. So, this means he had better escape...and soon.

Most of this movie consists of the characters on the run from the Axis...hoping to eventually reach Allied lines. Occasionally, they fight it out with the baddies. Otherwise, that's about all there is to it. It's not bad though not especially deep as well. I also think the Goebbels angle was unnecessary and even detracted a bit from the film, as it's hard imagining anyone in this situation ever having any chance of escaping.

By the way, according to IMDB there is an American edit as well as a British edit for this film and the longer of the two is the British one. The copy I had ran 86 minutes and was the American version.

Also, the 'German' tanks in the film are British and the halftracks are American. This sort of thing doesn't particularly bother me, as nearly all the German vehicles were destroyed in the war and simply weren't available for movies.