Katanga

Great story line - Mercenaries are sent in to the middle of the Congo under the guise of rescuing the village people but their real mission is to recover 50 million dollars of diamonds. Good versus evil with an undertone of racial discrimination.

Superb cast - Robert Taylor, Jim Brown, Yvette Mimieux, Kenneth Moore, and the evil doer Peter Carsten.

Brilliant cinematography - the color scheme is very pleasing to the audience's sense of comfort and appeal

Screenwriting - greed, lust, good versus evil, this film has it all,

Action - non stop

I give this 54 year old film a well deserved 8 out of 10 IMDb rating, Now this is a true action/adventure film.

The band of awkward soldiers and ex-soldiers willing to do everything for money is represented well here. A formula to be repeated over and over again mainly in Italian "Wild Geese" clones finds its embodiment in Rod Taylor, who brings his schooling of 120 % acting over as usual. His long time comerade is the overconscious Ruffo, a native of their Congolese country of action played by former football-jock and blaxploitation icon Jim Brown. I have the feeling the American version had an important side of the coin taken out: More interesting than the routine plot of escorting diamonds in a train through areas infested with wildman rebels is the inner struggle of Rod Taylor's character with the omnipresent racism towards his black pal, mainly shown by Sergeant Henlein, played by very German actor Peter Carsten. In the German dubbed version this is explained well: Taylor - who has got the German name Willy Krüger - and Henlein were comrades in the Nazi Wehrmacht. The bad guy still acts like a nazi while Taylor/Krüger even tries to forget his past by being a complete almost anti-patriotic mercenary. Technically the film does not fail to entertain. Solid characterizations, good acting throughout, colourful photography and a lively Africanized jazz score make "The Mercenaries" a great adventure movie.

DARK OF THE SUN ( As I know it though there`s several different titles for the film ) is the simple stoy of a bunch of mercenaries in 60s Congo liberating a bunch of Europeans ( And more importantly a lot of diamonds ) besieged by the muderous Simba nationalist cult. Throw in a load of cliches like a drunken doctor , a damsal in distress , a nazi war criminal , a redemption sub plot with the hero gaining his humanity , tedious moral dialogue about the future of Africa and several revealing mistakes where the victims of Simba violence are quite clearly stuffed dummies and you might think this is a really bad film . Maybe it is but it`s also good old fashioned entertainment . The battle scenes may have dated somewhat compared to BLACK HAWK DOWN and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN but they still pack a punch especially the editing when the action cuts from the Simba hordes attacking the train to the hero and the banker waiting patiently for the time lock to open the vault where the diamonds are stored. If you liked THE WILD GEESE you`ll like this film too

This is an excellent film and definitely one of Rod Taylor's best performances. Taylor is Curry, a mercenary commander in the Congo, during the Katanga secession. Jim Brown is his friend and number two, a US educated Congolese. Taylor plays Curry as a true mercenary of the period: ruthless, greedy, loyal to his comrades, and distrustful of his rivals and employers.

The film mixes two different periods of the civil wars in the Congo; the Katanga secession in 1960 and the Simba revolt in 1964. The original book is set squarely during the Katanga period and involves the Baluba war, not the Simba's. However both periods were exemplified by brutality on all sides. The film accurately portrays the enmity between the Katanga forces and the UN troops sent to intervene. It also accurately depicts the Belgian interests in Katanga.

Much like the train the mercenaries ride, the film starts out slow and builds up steam along the route. By the end, it's a runaway that comes crashing to its end. This is war and humanity at its worst, make no mistake. The closest I can come to finding a "good guy" is Jim Brown, the soldier who wants his country to be free and have its place in the modern world.

The Nazi character was based on an actual German mercenary in the Congo, Siegfried Mueller. Mueller was noted for wearing the Iron Cross, which he earned in the Second World War, on his uniform. The film makers changed it to a swastika for greater effect (I presume). There is a slight problem with the continuity of this character, as part way through the film, his voice is obviously dubbed by another actor. Presumably, this was due to sound problems and the unavailability of the actor to loop his lines (It sounds like Paul Frees).

All-in-all this is a great film; vastly superior to others of the genre, such as The Wild Geese and The Dogs of War. Just remember, war more often brings out the worst in humanity, rather than the best.

A nasty and terrific gem of an action movie, the best of Rod Taylor's career. Very exciting, expertly acted, and with a beautiful score that sounds like it was done by Maurice Jarre (it wasn't). Highly recommended.