In the baking heat of the Sahara in 1943, British army Captain Foster(Richard Burton)is tasked with destroying Tobruk's gigantic harbour battery. However he only has a battered medical unit with which to do it. Will he be able to outsmart notorious desert fox Rommel and complete his mission...
With it's TV movie production values, Henry Hathaway's wartime actioner is essentially a rehash of 1967's Tobruk, which starred Rock Hudson and George Peppard. In fact 95% of this movie's action sequences are pinched from said film, therefore this is basically recycled fun. Some footage is even lifted from Universal's own Away All Boats(the British commandos scrambling onto the landing craft at the end of the movie look curiously identical to American marines). Eagle eyed viewers will also spot Jeff Chandler's explosive demise from that movie, which may or may not have been inserted by accident during the climatic bombardment of the Royal Navy Destroyers. The score is a little annoying and the film gets bogged down in worthless dialogue(a discussion about stamp collecting?). However Richard Burton earns his paycheck as the hardened military man and the action scenes are enjoyable even if they are borrowed.
Arthur Hiller's version may be much more fulfilling, but this is a great time passer for a boring afternoon/evening. 7/10
With it's TV movie production values, Henry Hathaway's wartime actioner is essentially a rehash of 1967's Tobruk, which starred Rock Hudson and George Peppard. In fact 95% of this movie's action sequences are pinched from said film, therefore this is basically recycled fun. Some footage is even lifted from Universal's own Away All Boats(the British commandos scrambling onto the landing craft at the end of the movie look curiously identical to American marines). Eagle eyed viewers will also spot Jeff Chandler's explosive demise from that movie, which may or may not have been inserted by accident during the climatic bombardment of the Royal Navy Destroyers. The score is a little annoying and the film gets bogged down in worthless dialogue(a discussion about stamp collecting?). However Richard Burton earns his paycheck as the hardened military man and the action scenes are enjoyable even if they are borrowed.
Arthur Hiller's version may be much more fulfilling, but this is a great time passer for a boring afternoon/evening. 7/10