Drama / War
1943 / 98 minutes
Rating: 8/10

Tanks need gas and people need water, and American tank commander Joe Gunn (Humphrey Bogart) needs both. After a skirmish in the North African desert Gunn and his crew become separated from their unit and head off into the sand hoping to find either their comrades or their allies, or water. Along the way they pick up a motley mix of Allied soldiers and Axis prisoners and it becomes clear that without water none of them will last much longer. But a German motorized column also wants water, so when Gunn beats them to the only local source, he has to fight to keep it – him, his crew, and a few Allied soldiers versus an entire German column!

Cautions

The big language concern would be a use of the N-word, used by a Nazi towards a black soldier.

This is a war film, so quite a few soldiers die, though overall it is quite tame, gore-wise. The worst might be one soldier who is stabbed to death, but, compared to modern films especially, it is shown with restraint.

Conclusion

This is Bogart at his best rallying the troops – not the pure propaganda that some other WWII-era pics were, but definitely one to inspire fighting, even to the death, for your buddies, your country, and for what’s right.

I’m looking forward to watching this one again with my kids, and extending this review some when I do. In the meantime, if you watch it, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.