La brigade des bérets noirs

A British tank unit is captured in the dark days of the North African campaign of the Second World War, including sketchy (by British standards) Victor Mature. He's there because his Jewish wife was killed by Nazis, so he tried to kill Goebbels. Also because they needed an American star for this British production to satisfy Columbia Pictures. Anyway, they escape and wander around Lybia.

Terence Young's movie is a disturbing mixture of standard tropes from POW movies, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, and bits that I have only noticed in THE GREAT ESCAPE. Perhaps they were stories floating around, perhaps the screenwriters (including Young) had read the memoirs, and perhaps Young was drawing on his own wartime experience, as he did with his earlier THEY WERE NOT DIVIDED. The mixture of cliches and oddities gives the movie and interesting but erratic pacing. Certainly the actors, including Leo Genn and Anthony Newly help, as does the brilliant on-site Technicolor camerawork by Ted Moore.

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.

"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.

This exciting war/adventure about a misfit band of soldiers on a daring mission while flee from a camp from Lybia desert. Tank Force! (1958) is set during WW2 in North Africa, an American sergeant, Daniel Thatcher (Victor Mature) serving with the British 8th Army in a British tank corps in North Africa. He and most of his unit (Leo Genn, Anthony Newley, Bonar Colleano) are captured by the Germans, and imprisoned at a concentration camp. But Nazis learn his identity as a man who once tried to assassinate Josef Goebbels, Hitler's right-hand man. He hatches various plans of escape from the POW camp. The escaped prisoners throughout desert trying to make their bid to freedom , including pursuits and tank attacks. When iron men in iron monsters fought for a continent !. Hitting the Screen With Irresistible Force!. And introducing...Italy's most exciting new film firebrand Luciana Paluzzi !. The Titanic Battle of World War II! When the men from the ranks held the Desert - in Tanks !.

This WW2 movie is packed with noisy action, suspense, thrills, spectacular tank combats and is quite entertaining. By the time the plentiful action and incident get under way, there's not much time to relax either. This is the story of four men who believed in freedom, and had the guts to seek it across the burning desert. This is a thrilling, if implausible WWII adventure that has its good moments here and there. Director Terence Young (who had previously served in the British Army) and his cast were shooting in the Libyan and Morocco deserts for 8 weeks. The film was internationally released as No time to die ! Or Tank Force!. Runtime film is adequate, 86 min minutes, but isn't boring and gets lots of amusement for the fast-movement. From the beginning until the ending , the action movie is continuous. Interesting screenplay by director Terence Young himself, Merle Miller and "loosely based" on author Ronald Kemp's "No Time to Die" novel (London, 1954). It is co-written by veteran James Bond film series writer Richard Maibaum who co-wrote thirteen Bond movies and collaborated with producer Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli on eight other pictures . This is one of the best of several movies about commandos and imprisoned soldiers from beyond behind enemy lines. The film is more in the wake of the concentration camps with a study of the characters, and their getaway as will be the later ¨John Sturges' The Great Escape¨ more than the style of commando subgenre as ¨Dirty dozen¨,¨Tobruk¨, ¨Kelly's heroes¨ , ¨Where eagles dare ¨ and the group of films that were made regarding to warlike adventures during the 1960-1970 years about special forces in dangerous missions. However, Tank Force!(1958) obtained limited success at the box office.

The film is mediocre, but you really can't blame Victor Mature as a tough Sergeant for his idiomatic choice of command to his fellow escapees from an Italian prison camp in the Libyan desert. Because he is laying that almost inevitable role in British movies of the Fifties, the token Yank. Mature became one of Hollywood's busiest and most popular actors after the war , though rarely was he given the critical respect he often deserved. These enjoyable films were all ordinarily played by Mature who was nearly at his most agile and deft style , as he starred various Adventure films and was superstar of Hollywood epics . His roles in John Ford's My darling Clementine (1946) and in Henry Hathaway's Kiss of the death (1947) were among his finest work, though he moved more and more frequently into more exotic roles in films like Samson y Delilah (1949) and Sinuhe, the Egyptian (1954) . Never an energetic actor nor one of great artistic pretensions, he nevertheless continued as a Hollywood stalwart both in programme and in more prominent films like The Robe (1953). More interested in golf than acting, his appearances diminished through the 1960s, but he made a stunning comeback of sorts in a hilarious romp as a very Victor Mature-like actor in Neil Simon's Zorro (1966). One of six movies (Zarak, The Bandit of Zhobe, Safari..) that Victor Mature made for the British production company Warwick Films. Warwick was set up by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli, and its main purpose was that it offered a Europea lifeline to fading Hollywood stars such as Mature, Robert Taylor and Alan Ladd. Victor Mature is well aaccompanied by a good secondary cast - mainly made up of British actors-, such as: Leo Genn, Anthony Newley, Bonar Colleano, Anne Aubrey, George Coulouris, Alfred Burke, David Lodge and the wasted italian Luciana Paluzzi, who Terence Young himself, shortly after, would lead her to success as a Bond girl in Thunderball (1965).

The motion picture was professionally directed by Terence Young, though has some flaws and failures. Young participated in the Royal Armored Corps as an officer during the Second World War. Terence Young was an uneven filmmaker with hits and flops. As he made three of the best Bond films: Doctor No , Thunderball, From Russia with love, he also directed other genres , Western : Red Sun , Drama/intrigue : Klansman, Bloodline , Jigsaw man , The poppy is also flower, wait until dark ; Costumer : Adventures of Moll Flanders , Adventure : The Rover and WWII : Triple Cross. Rating 5,5/10 , acceptable and passable . The movie will appeal to WWII buffs.

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.