La blonde de la station 6

Jean Martet's title for his play ' Men Without a Past ' is much better than the film's title, as we know next to nothing about the five men trapped in a contract to be in a Sahara outpost. Isolated in the wilderness of sand they tease and torment themselves playing games for money, and one of them a speciality in mental cruelty ' buys ' a letter from one of them giving a month's pay for it, then teases its impulsive seller with its possibly incriminating ( sexual ? ) content, not revealing who sent it. These scenes were the highlight of the film, and the visible and often spoken about need for female company. This does arrive in a bus of three prostitutes to satisfy them, and clearly these women go from outpost to outpost. Most of this happens in the first 50 minutes in the film, and the breakdown tension between the men in their own particular interior cells of isolation is finely acted and the film excellently directed by Seth Holt. Sadly I thought the arrival of Carroll Baker, superb though she is as an actor, fell into the usual female among too many men scenario and the poor ending played out as a variation of Fritz Lang's version of Zola's ' La Bete Humaine ' called ' Human Desire ' ( an underrated film, better in my opinion than the Jean Renoir version. ) The cast were uniformly excellent with Peter Van Eyck standing out as the so-called tough commander of the rest, using his power over the others so as to perversely conceal his inner pain. Carroll Baker fell into too many stereotypes of heterosexual fantasy for my taste, playing the morally ' loose ' woman who deserves punishment and consequently the last half of the film, after her literally accidental arrival, drifts into melodrama. The pure drama of the first brilliant half dissipated because of this, and so did my interest.

I see 6 reviews here, let's not forget we're now in 2018! I can't imagine too many of younger generations bothering about such a film. But I am from that generation and in the 60's was a young man. It was just my lunch "course" served on a small TV screen with low sound quality. it was an ordinary day but as soon as the film started I found the story interesting and intriguing...Then the lady turned up and we had to believe things would change in this devilish remote desert station. Until then and we the arrival of a new worker there were five men all having very different characters, so living in close quarters you would expect some friction. Beside Peter Van...I did not know any of the other actors but I felt they all did a reasonable job. Yes a little over dramatic but we have to keep in mind the period. It pleasantly filled the duration of the feature.

As you look at the evolution of film through the 50's and 60's, one trend readily observed is that of increasing use of sex and nudity - as earlier boundaries began to expand. This film, coming in 1965, appears on the cusp of a change from more veiled hints of sex to more explicit scenes as the 60's closed and we moved into the 70's and beyond.

A few themes run through this film, one being that of the overbearing boss many of us have been saddled with in our careers - one who knows that the men have signed on for an extended stay under his "command" and plays his hand to the hilt. A boss who has little or no regard for his men and motivates through intimidation.

Clearly, the director reaches out to the farthest boundaries of the times (and mores) to inject the sexual tension of Ms. Baker arriving on the scene. She is beautiful and sexual and is never out of control of the situation. There is nothing explicit here (but oh so close); nevertheless, the suggestive nature of visits from members of the crew works just as well. In the end, she stands up to the crew commander in a way none of the men (save one) ever had.

I think the film is a well-acted little gem.

Five men of disparate nationalities work an oil station in the sweaty Sahara; just as tempers begin to boil over within the group, a sexy girl and her ex-husband invade their territory (or rather, crash it--seems this reckless dame harbors a death wish for herself and her former spouse). Brian Clemens and Bryan Forbes, adapting Jean Martet's play "Men Without a Past", invest the dialogue exchanges with interesting give-and-take, but their scenario isn't inventive or enlightening or even titillating (despite the ads). Certainly the basic thrust of the material--when will the men take advantage of their new arrival--is salacious, however the writers are more interested in probing the human condition and all its faults (although there is some sex involved). Director Seth Holt ably delineates the disintegration of morality and decency among the men, but this woman is something else: a willing pawn in their company, she's both tease and temptress. Actors Studio alum Carroll Baker seemed to get stuck in a revolving door of sexually-uninhibited characters after "Baby Doll", yet this role does call for an actual dramatic performance and she delivers. ** from ****

A rather strange film made by Artur Brauner,whom I briefly knew and who died aged 100 last year.As usual this is a combination of UK and continental stars.All ending up at this lonely pumping station.Everyone is covered in sweat except Baker.Ian Bannen chews the scenery with relish whilst Denholm Elliott underplays