Os Fugitivos de Zahrain

Not at all a bad film, reminiscent of "Ice Cold in Alex", in that an ambulance and its occupants have to make a perilous journey across inhospitable terrain. At first the colour seemed a bit garish, but I was interested to see that outdoor filming was in the Mojave Desert, which was a very convincing substitute for the Middle Eastern country of "Zahrein". Madlyn Rhue seemed a bit insipid as the nurse, and James Mason stole the short scene he was in (which contributed nothing to the plot, save to allow Jack Warden to steal his whisky, the consumption of which did add something later on).

Quite why the treacherous Anthony Caruso ("Tarah") was tolerated by his fellow fugitives was a bit puzzling. The final action sequence was not convincing, in fact it was contrived.

But overall an enjoyable film to watch.

Here's a movie that few have watched in which you can regale your old-movie- watching friends with the mention of this flick. Lots of action for a 1962 low budget film. A younger Jack Warden does a fine job as does a young Madlyn Rhue. Yul Brynner is...well... Yul Brynner. A nice cameo by James Mason too! One can only imagine if this film had a bigger budget. Unless you're an expert on global dessert terrain the last scene is really the only one where it is apparent this was shot in California and not in the middle east. Definitely worth watching!

Yul Brynner, condemned revolutionary, leads a band of escaped convicts and their hostages across the believably Arabian - but actually Mojave - desert, encountering film-stealing James Mason on the way. No more plot than that, but they do enough for it not to fizzle out. It's not bad at all - solid, not gung-ho, and plenty of truck-driving action.

It certainly jumps straight into a decent jeep/truck chase, and if you enjoy watching a bright yellow truck being mightily abused, and cringeing when it doesn't topple over, you'll love Escape From Zahrain. At the end, the appearance of a P-51 strafing our plucky travellers is also an exciting bit of cinema. In the middle, there's solid character conflict, Yul demonstrating why he's the boss.

The sound stage sequences definitely look as though they were filmed on the (cheap) Star Trek lot, but the actual desert sequences are really good, as far as trucks being driven across the desert goes. Yul Brynner appropriately regal (permo-turban), Sal Mineo reprising 'Rebel Without A Cause', Jack Warden doing 'Trusty American Slob', and Madlyn Rhue making up the numbers as a nurse. Anthony Caruso as an unstable psychopath provides a bit of light relief.

With an obligatory bow for a few political polemics regarding the Middle East, Escape From Zahrain is essentially an action adventure film about the leader of a rebel faction being broken out of custody and escaping from a Middle Eastern principality. Zahrain is a mythical country along the lines of Muscat-Oman, Yemen, or Qatar or better still the more well known Kuwait. With the ruling class living fabulously wealthy lives due to oil, most of the people are barely scratching out a living. In the next century a place like Zahrain would be a breeding ground for terrorists.

Yul Brynner is the rebel leader and Sal Mineo is an idealistic student who leads a group that springs Brynner and a few others who are along for the ride. They include some common criminal types Anthony Caruso and Jay Novello and one unusual one in Jack Warden, formerly employed by the big oil cartel, but now in prison for embezzlement. Can't be too pleasant for him in a third world jail.

Losing the truck they escaped in, they hijack due to Warden an ambulance belonging to the oil company and get driver Leonard Strong and nurse Madelyn Rhue as well. This then is the crew trying to Escape From Zahrain.

The rulers want Brynner real bad and they're out in force for him. Probably the biggest manhunt in the history of the country.

In a recent biography of Sal Mineo, Mineo was pleased to be reunited with Brynner whom he had played on Broadway with in The King And I. Mineo took over the part of the crown prince during the run and Brynner was like a father to him in real life. Brynner was not an easy guy to know or get along with, but apparently he and Mineo hit it off, very few did with this man who kept an air of mystery about him his entire life.

Warden and Caruso are a pair of interesting characters. In contrast to the idealistic Brynner and Mineo, these two are a pair of realists. Caruso is a real low life, but he does prove useful, but only when one keeps an eye on him. Warden is a cynic in the Bogart tradition, but kind of comes around in the end even though all he wants to do is get out the whole middle east.

Escape From Zahrain moves at a pretty good clip. It doesn't let the political polemics get too much in the way of the action.

Released in 1962, "Escape from Zahrain" is a survival-in-the-desert flick that takes place in the fictitious Arabian country of Zahrain. Yul Brynner plays Sheriff, a righteous Arab revolutionary, while Sal Mineo plays his young disciple who sets him free from captivity and certain death. An Arab nurse (Madlyn Rhue), an embezzling oil worker (Jack Warden) and a mad Arab (Anthony Caruso) are also along for the ride. Can they make it to a bordering nation and freedom or will they all perish in the desert?

Although it's Grade B (and cartoony) in comparison to the way more popular and sophisticated desert film "Lawrence of Arabia" (also from '62), "Escape to Zahrain" is actually more compelling, which is different than saying it's better, it's not. It's just more immediately satisfying. Two other survival-in-the-desert films that "Zahrain" brings to mind are "Flight of the Phoenix" and "Sands of the Kalahari", both released in 1965. If you like those two films, you'll definitely like this one. As great as they are "Zahrain" is as good or better.

There's some serious action at the beginning and end of the film, but the heart of the picture is the long trek through the desert and the interplay of the characters. Sheriff (Brynner) and Ahmed (Mineo) have had it with the corrupt officials of Zahrain who rape the land with the technology of the Americans but then greedily keep the cash for their own filthy rich lifestyles; meanwhile the citizenry wallows in poverty and ignorance. The nurse (Madlyn) was educated in Europe and doesn't understand the reckless passion of the revolutionaries. She's against them because she's nursed the wounded & dying followers of Sheriff, mostly youths. The American, Huston (Warden), is viewed as part of the problem by the revolutionaries, but they need him to escape and survive. And then you have the freakin' crazy Arab, Tahar (Caruso), also called "Frankenstein" or "Franky" by Huston. Is he friend or foe, or neither? Also on hand is a pleasant cameo by a major star from that time period, but I don't want to give it away.

The film was shot in the Mojave Desert, California, but you'd hardly know as the filmmakers did a great job of giving the illusion that it's somewhere in the Middle East. My wife, for instance, guessed that it was shot in Egypt.

At 93 minutes the film doesn't overstay its welcome.

FINAL WORD: Despite being a serious Grade B picture, "Escape from Zahrain" is Grade A in heart. The film is bookended by quality action sequences, but its core is character-driven. You get to know these characters as they trek through the sweltering desert. Their strengths and weaknesses are revealed and you can't help but start to care for them, just as they develop a sense of community amongst themselves.

Criminally underrated and unknown, "Escape to Zahrain" ranks with the best desert films, Grade B though it is. It's also one of Yul's best and the other principles. No kidding.

GRADE: A-