Storyline

Captain Foster plans on raiding German-occupied Tobruk with hand-picked commandos, but a mix-up leaves him with a medical unit containing a Quaker conscientious objector. Despite all odds they succeed with their mission. On the way they pick up and drug the mistress of an Italian general, blow up the entire fuel supply for the Afrika Korps, and swap philatelic gossip with Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.—Col_Hessler

Plot Keywords

captain, sailor, nazi, prisoner of war, medic, soldier, tense, thrilling, north africa, pow camp, ship, undercover operations, illness, dangerous mission, world war ii, ambush, impersonation, adventure, rescue, 1940s

Short Review

In Libya in 1942[citation needed], Captain Alex Foster (Richard Burton), an intelligence officer with the British Army, allows himself to be captured by a German Afrika Korps convoy transporting British prisoners, pretending to be injured. Once integrated with the prisoners, remnants of a commando force and a medical unit, Foster outlines his plans to take over the convoy, with the help of the prisoners, and redirect it towards the Libyan port town of Tobruk. On the way, they find an unexpected concentration of German tanks, and they surmise that a fuel depot must be hidden nearby. Foster, in Afrika Corps uniform, and Major Tarkington (Clinton Greyn), the medical officer as his 'prisoner', gain access to the depot and meet Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (Wolfgang Preiss). During a friendly dispute over philately between Rommel and Tarkington, Foster notices a map which indicates the location of the fuel depot...The film was poorly received by critics. In 2006, the BBC's Radio Times wrote: "It says a lot for Richard Burton that he was able to plumb the depths in dreary Second World War action movies such as this one, about a British officer releasing prisoners to attack Tobruk, without doing any apparent damage to his career. Even the usually dependable director Henry Hathaway falters in this flawed effort that was originally meant for TV".This WWII Richard Burton warmovie is a bit different I must say. By that I am not meaning the fact that the film use footage shot for "Tobruk" four years earlier and that it´s not based on a true or real event, rather it has a different WWII vibe and feel. Despite poor reviews back in the days, I did like it. Trivia: The film was a massive flop and was quickly withdrawn from theaters.

Trailer

Streaming Service

1. Amazon Video : Rent from $1.99, Or $0.00 with a Prime membership