Sob o Sol da África

This taut, engrossing and exciting war drama is more a fascinating character study than just another WWII film. Made in the sweltering heat of the northern Sahara Desert of Libya, I found myself sitting up until 2 am to see it through to the end, enjoying every minute of it, feeling like I was experiencing every task of the events in the story along with the characters.

The story tells of ambulance corps officer played by John Mills named Captain Anson, whom the war has driven to drink, who is unwillingly ordered to leave besieged Tobruk before the Germans break through and take the strategically important town over. In his ambulance he takes with him two young nurses, along with the stalwart Sergeant Major Tom Pugh played by Harry Andrews, and heads out across the desert for Alexandria in Egypt. Their journey leads them through many obstacles, and along the way they pick up the enigmatic South African army officer, Captain van der Poel (van-der-POO-el he corrects them in his distinctly Afrikaner accent) played by Anthony Quayle, who has become detached from his unit and is looking for a lift. Can they beat the elements of the desert and make it to Alexandria, where Anson knows of a certain bar that serves the ice cold lager he so longs for and promises the others?

In height and build Mills is a much smaller next to big men like Andrews and Quayle, but I was very impressed with how his strong acting and personal inner character make him seem as tall and broad shouldered as the other two. I also admired how the whole cast put their all into the many no doubt very difficult scenes, obviously having to deal with the physically exhaustive work that was asked of them, the tortuous heat and sand fleas nipping at their legs. I could see they were feeling the affects and that adds to the realism of the whole film. Note even the lovely Sylvia Syms as the seemingly unshakable nurse Sister Diana Murdoch, didn't avoid having to look hot, sweaty and bothered like her male co-stars, unlike some Hollywood actresses of that time who I will not even mention. That and the ambulance must have been an oven during the whole shoot.! A truly unique film and worth the whole gripping two hours.

I must have watched this film more than 10 times, and have enjoyed it. I especially enjoy the story of triumph over adversity; both in terms of the adversity of nature itself, as well as human nature.

The subplot of the commonality of humanity, together with the final denouement adds to my enjoyment.

As an Englishman living in Australia, I appreciate, especially the final scene in the club. I never fail to relish a glass of beer, or to finger-wipe the condensation on the glass.

(PS I would have made it 10 out of 10 if Miss Syms could have unhooked two more buttons on her shirt)

I must confess to being biased towards this film, as I am a grandson of the author and screenwriter. It is extremely pleasing to read that this film has given a lot of pleasure to many who have seen it. Why I think the film succeeds is because it was written by a man who took part in the North African campaign, as a doctor in the RAMC, who had to deal with the human cost of war. People, and how they cope with adversity, is often more interesting than depicting warfare itself. This makes it an unusual war film for the time, to say the least. The character of Captain Anson, so ably played by John Mills, is telling for me as my grandfather sadly did have an alcohol problem later in life. On a lighter note, the terrific final scene in the bar has an amusing story attached to it - apparently, the scene had to be shot five or six times, and as nothing else looked like beer in a glass than, well, beer, poor John Mills had to keep knocking back the beers until the scene was "in the can"!

A brilliant move that came as one of the British War Movie DVD Collection. Remember the Carlsberg ad that used the film? I thought that it was a clever bit of digital enhancement on the glasses for the 'Carlsberg' logo, but no... it was there in the movie! I had forgotten just how drop-dead gorgeous Sylvia Syms was too! Hollywood had no-one to touch her for beauty and sex appeal! The movie stated that it was a true story, but I cant find any historical basis for it, but that doesn't really matter. A good yarn none the less, which I will watch often.

...from British-Pathe and Fox, and director J. Lee Thompson. An ambulance containing British Army Captain Anson (John Mills), Sergeant Pugh (Harry Andrews), and two nurses, Diana (Sylvia Syms) and Denise (Diane Clare), evacuates Tobruk in North Africa ahead of the advancing German army. They want to make it to British HQ in Alexandria, a long, perilous journey through the unforgiving desert. As they venture further into the desert and uncertain escape, they happen upon Captain van der Poel (Anthony Quayle), a South African army officer who got separated from his battalion. He joins them.

I've seen literally dozens of desert survival movies, and didn't expect to see any more that would bring something different to the table. So I was pleasantly surprised by this British war film, as it brings some unexpected turns to the tale. The entire cast has some of their career-best roles, with Quayle and Mills at the head of the class. Director Thompson depicts the oppressive heat of the setting vividly. This is a fairly obscure film in the U. S., and it deserves to be better known. Its initial American release was botched when Fox renamed it Desert Attack and hacked nearly an hour from its running time. Recommended.