Sahara (1943)

In honor of Memorial Day, war films are on the schedule for the next two days here at They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To.  First up is 1943's Sahara, which features the all-male cast of Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, Dan Duryea, Lloyd Bridges, J. Carroll Naish, Rex Ingram, Richard Nugent, Kurt Krueger, and a few others.  This film, as its name implies, showcases a bit of the North African fighting in World War II.  While films depicting European and Pacific theatres of war are numerous, there are precious few bringing life to what went on in Africa.  For that reason alone, this film is worth viewing.  Directed by Zoltan Korda, Sahara was the recipient of three Academy Award nominations, among them a Best Supporting Actor nod for J. Carroll Naish.

It's June, 1942, in the desert of North Africa; a 4-man U.S. Army tank unit led by Sgt. Joe Gunn (Humphrey Bogart) has been ordered to abandon their training mission and to retreat. Because of increased Nazi activity surrounding them, they are instructed to retreat to the South, a route which will require miles of harsh desert travel.  With their tank, Lulubelle, damaged, and a minimal amount of water, the retreat will be difficult, but only a short distance into the journey, it becomes even more so.

Stranded in the blazing desert are five Allied soldiers, all somehow the only men left from their respective units.  Though the American's water supply is hardly adequate to take on more men, they know that they really have no choice, for to leave a man behind means sure death. Because they need to live so they can fight again, the Americans take the Allies on board their tank.

As the nine soldiers make their way across the desert, desperately in search of water, two men are struggling through the harsh sands. One of them is an Ally---a British Sudanese, whose company died in battle; with him is his Italian prisoner (J. Carroll Naish).  With a knowledge of the desert terrain, the Sudanese soldier informs Sgt. Gunn that there is a caravan trail leading to a well 160 miles away; able to guide them there, he, also, is taken on board the tank. Although Sgt. Gunn at first intends to leave the prisoner behind in the desert since there isn't enough water or food for him, he relents and takes him on board.


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As these 11 thirsty men traverse the unyielding desert in a tank low on fuel and plagued with engine problems, a Nazi aircraft fires on them, injuring one of their own.  Although they shoot the plane down and take its pilot prisoner, it just means one more mouth needing water...in a land of sandstorms where water is nearly non-existent.  The Nazis, as well, are in need of water and seeking a well; inevitably, the paths of the two armies are destined to cross.  How many men will survive the grueling trek across the desert?



Filmed on location in the deserts of California and Arizona, Sahara gives a very realistic portrayal of the difficulty of desert warfare.  I could definitely feel the men's thirst and fatigue; in fact, I could quite relate to it, as my husband, kids, and I had a desert encounter of our own five years ago.  On the 470-foot-high sand dunes of southwest Idaho's Bruneau Dunes State Park (75-minutes from where we live), we found ourselves without water and with a long, arduous hike to get back to our car.  How we got ourselves in such a position is a long, complicated story, but suffice to say, we were exhausted and dying of thirst...and it was in the early evening during the second week of May (translation: unlike soldiers in the North African campaign, we had no hot mid-day sun bearing down on us from a cloudless sky.)  My experience with the harshness of desert conditions makes Sahara a very real film to me (even without the warfare). I could literally feel the dust and sand and the parched throats of the men.

The acting in the film is quite good, and there are some very profound moments; of course, there are also the usual flag-waving moments.  All in all, it's a very good, 4-star film, which I highly recommend, especially as we observe Memorial Day and remind ourselves that freedom isn't free.

Just an aside---the U.S. premiere of Sahara was at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Alhtough not on the TCM schedule in the near future, Sahara is out on DVD, so it should be fairly easy to track down.  War film lovers ought to quite enjoy it.

Happy viewing!!

The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

While football may be the new favorite sport of most people, my family remains firmly in the baseball camp.  Yes, we do love college football, but when it comes to professional sports, baseball---especially Boston Red Sox baseball---is where it's at in our house.  For that reason, we gravitate to baseball films, and my favorite, bar none, is 1942's The Pride of the Yankees.  Starring Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright, this 5-star film tells the story of baseball great Lou Gehrig, who as probably everyone knows, was struck down with ALS---the disease which now bears his name---in the prime of life.

The movie begins when Lou is about ten, and it chronicles his early baseball years, his hazing by the team, his courtship of Eleanor, his "Iron Horse" years, the beginning of his descent into the world of ALS, and ultimately, his "Luckiest Man" speech.  While the film has many comical moments, at its core, it remains the story of a man afflicted with a devastating illness. 

As my regular blog readers know, I am a mega-huge Coop fan. It's rare that I don't like one of his movies, rare that I don't like the character he is portraying. But this film is just about my absolute favorite. The Pride of the Yankees is my third favorite Cooper film, behind only Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Ten North Frederick.

Coop and Teresa Wright, who would be paired together again two years later in Casanova Brown, have terrific chemistry in this movie.

Both Cooper and Wright were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances here. Neither won; however, Teresa was also nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category that same year, for her role in Mrs. Miniver, and she did win that Oscar.  In all, The Pride of the Yankees received 11 Academy Award nominations, coming away with the win in the Best Film Editing category.

In my mind, The Pride of the Yankees is not only the best baseball film of all-time, but it is a delightful breath of fresh air. In this day of scandalous baseball, with its obscene salaries and rampant steroid use, we need to be reminded of what a "true baseball hero" Lou Gehrig was. He was an honorable man both on and off the field. Instead of whining about the devastating hand he had been dealt, he exhibited strength and courage in the face of great adversity. Our world needs more men like him. I think this film ought to be required viewing for today's professional athletes (along with 1950's The Jackie Robinson Story).

Besides Cooper and Wright, the film also features Walter Brennan and Dan Duryea.  And the legendary Babe Ruth takes to the screen too, playing himself.  In my Red Sox-lovin' household, a watching of this film provides my one and only allowed opportunity to look positively on a man wearing the Yankee pinstripes.

A definite must-see, The Pride of the Yankees is out on DVD, so it should be very easy to track down.  Do keep the tissues handy, as you're sure to need them.

Happy viewing!!

Too Late for Tears/aka Killer Bait (4 stars)

Too Late for Tears is a 1949 film noir starring Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, and Dan Duryea, with Arthur Kennedy and Kristine Miller taking on supporting roles.  Re-released in 1955 under the title Killer Bait, this very exciting noir, gets to the action right away.  There's no waiting around for things to happen in this film; from the very first scene, the femme fatale (in the person of Lizabeth Scott) is working her wiles...as she will do until the final scene.

Enroute to a Hollywood party, Jane and Alan Palmer (Lizabeth Scott and Arthur Kennedy) have an argument, with Jane demanding that they skip the party and just go back home.  As Alan turns the car around on the dark, nearly-isolated highway, an oncoming vehicle comes dangerously close to them, and as it overtakes them, a briefcase is thrown into their backseat.  After discovering that the briefcase is loaded with cash, the Palmers realize the briefcase was inadvertently given to the wrong people and that it was actually meant for another vehicle...a vehicle which is now chasing them down the highway.  Sure the money was probably a blackmail payoff, Alan insists they turn it over to the police; however, Jane, who wants to keep it, convinces Alan to wait a week or so before doing so.  Alan reluctantly agrees, and he checks the briefcase at the train station.  While she tells her husband that if he doesn't think they should keep the money, they won't, in reality, Jane has zero intention of giving the money up...ever.

The next day, a man named Danny Fuller (Dan Duryea) pays a visit to the Palmer apartment.  Jane soon discovers that Danny was the intended recipient of the cash and that he had been the one who had chased them down the highway the night before.  Tracking the Palmers through their license plate number, Mr. Fuller demands his cash.   Realizing that Fuller might be of help to her, Jane decides to use him to her advantage.

With Danny as a decoy, Jane kills her husband, then proceeds to play the "worried wife" when he fails to return home that evening.  Jane isn't home free with the money though.  For one thing, she can't seem to locate the claim ticket for the briefcase, and Danny, who never wanted to get caught up in murder, continues to demand his cash.  On top of that, Alan's sister, Kathy (Kristine Miller), and Don Blake, an old Army buddy of Alan's (Don DeFore), have gotten suspicious and are beginning to investigate.

Will Jane play fair with Danny?  Will he play fair with her?  Or will one of them double-cross the other?  Will Kathy and Don get wise to the fact that Alan is dead?  These are the questions which play out in this exciting noir.

Killer Bait is a wonderful, highly entertaining film.  While it's not my favorite noir (Double Indemnity is), it is definitely high on my list of faves.  Dan Duryea, always great in these "sleaze ball" roles, is totally wonderful here.  Actually, I think he's the best thing about this film.  He is appropriately hard, brutal, and commanding...yet he more than meets his match in Lizabeth Scott's femme fatale.   As for Lizabeth Scott, I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of hers.  I would have enjoyed another female lead here---perhaps Rita Hayworth or Lauren Bacall.  Scott worked, though; I just don't overly care for her.  All the other roles were fine, especially Kristine Miller as Alan's sister.  I have never heard of her, but I do think she did a more than adequate job in her role.

This classic noir is easily a 4-star "really like it" film for me, and I highly recommend it.  Since it is out on DVD, it ought to be fairly easy to track down.  Plus, it is available in its entirety on YouTube.  Hope you get a chance to see it.

Happy viewing!!

Criss Cross (3 stars)

Criss Cross, from 1949, is an exciting film noir starring Burt Lancaster, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Dan Duryea. I recently enjoyed a rewatch of this film in honor of Mr. Duryea's January 23rd birthday. 

After the breakup of his 7-month marriage to Anna (Yvonne DeCarlo), Steve Thompson (Burt Lancaster) leaves town for awhile.  Needing to get Anna out of his system, he drifted for a time, and then eventually returned to Los Angeles and his former job at an armored truck company.  Anna is never far from Steve's mind, though, and he begins haunting their old hangouts, hoping to run into her.  One evening, he does, and although she had begun seeing gangster Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea) after their divorce, Anna is still very much interested in reconnecting with Steve.  She convinces him that they need to try again to make a go of things, but shortly after saying that, she ends up marrying Slim.

Of course, Steve is destined to run into the now-married Anna, and after she informs him that Slim beats her and that he and his gang are killers, the two fall into an affair; however, with Slim watching Anna's every move, it's not long before he learns of it.  Trying to protect Anna, Steve claims there is nothing going on between them, that they were only together because Steve wanted her to contact Slim about the two of them partnering together in an armored truck robbery.  Now Steve, who is really a good guy at heart, finds himself the "inside man" on a major heist.  Will he go through with it?  And will Anna really leave Slim and run away with Steve after the job is done?

Criss Cross is an interesting, exciting film, with good performances by all.  Dan Duryea oozes nastiness here---he's his usual wonderful, sleazy self.  Burt Lancaster, whose characters I find almost always a bit rough around the edges, was super as the man who wants to be good, but who is drawn to a bad woman.  And Yvonne DeCarlo...wow, she was a stunning beauty in 1949.  The only thing I've ever seen her in is The Munsters, and I would never in a million years have believed she was a beautiful woman.  But she was gorgeous here!!  I was beyond in love with her hairstyle.  Another thing---to my mind, the film offers a surprise ending---truly, I never saw that ending coming!  I love surprise endings like that.

The film is out on DVD and should be quite easy to track down.  If you are a Burt Lancaster, Dan Duryea, Yvonne DeCarlo, or film noir fan, I am sure you will enjoy this one.  Hope you get a chance to see it.

Happy viewing!!

Happy Birthday, Dan Duryea!!!

Today is the 105th birthday of one of the best of the "bad guys"...Dan Duryea (January 23, 1907-June 7, 1968).

Dan Duryea, who totally excelled at playing the nasty, is my daughter's favorite of the "bad guy" actors. She once read somewhere that he was known as "the heel with appeal." I definitely agree with that statement, as even when he's playing the heavy, there is something quite appealing about him. From what I've read about him, he was a gentle, kind, likeable man---very definitely light years away from the kinds of men he portrayed on screen.  Additionally, he is defined as a "model husband and father."  His gravestone, which I discovered through the website Find a Grave, bears the inscription, "Our Pop, a man everybody loved." 

Though Mr. Duryea was most often a supporting star in each of his films, he always gave a top-notch performance. My absolute favorite of his films is The Pride of the Yankees, the Gary Cooper flick about Lou Gehrig.  In that film, though, Mr. Duryea was only an extremely minor player; therefore, I will list five other movies of his which I really like..and in which he has much more of a role than he did in that one.

1.  Killer Bait  (a film noir with Lizabeth Scott and Don DeFore---reviewed HERE)

2.  Black Angel (with June Vincent)

3.  The Woman in the Window  (film noir with Joan Bennett and Edward G. Robinson)

4.  Lady on a Train  (with Deanna Durbin and Ralph Bellamy)

5.  Scarlet Street  (another film noir with Joan Bennett and Edward G. Robinson)

So, Mr. Dan Duryea, here's to you on your 105th birthday!!  Most definitely, you were "the heel with appeal."  Thanks for being so good at being so bad!