Rent Sea of Sand (1958)

Desert War. - Sea of Sand review by Steve

This acknowledges the work of the Long Range Desert Group, a squadron of volunteers from other regiments who carried out commando raids in North Africa in WWII. It's a familiar story of an ensemble of soldiers who are detailed to blow up a German fuel dump in the desert, but this is the best of its type.

Once the men have negotiated the minefield and set their detonators, they discover a large number of tanks gathered in preparation for El Alamein and must get this intelligence back to camp, while chased all the way by the Nazis. This is tautly directed by Guy Green who creates great suspense with excellent battle scenes, and impressive explosions.

And if they lay on the heroics towards the climax, then surely that was a part of the reality too. The drama is intensified by the antagonistic relationship between the two officers, with John Gregson playing the by-the-book career soldier at odds with Michael Craig as the thin skinned amateur, and his gang of tough, grubby mavericks.

A big bonus is the artistic desert photography, in stark monochrome. And this is a rare British war film of its period in which the grunts are not just grumbling halfwits. They get to trade some witty backchat. It's a tribute to special operations in the desert war, and their bravery and sacrifice, which blows up the scenery, but digs deeper than most.