Available on Blu-ray
‘That sand’s a bastard,’ says someone on a cargo plane carrying oil workers and military personnel to Benghazi in Libya. It’s a clue: that the plane is gonna go down. When it does the all-male motley crew and passengers will need to hope and pray that they’ll be rescued – there’s no radio communication, little water and only dates to eat (who needs Dulcolax?). When it becomes clear that rescue is not coming attempts are made to go and get help. There are inevitable ego clashes between the Scot, the German, the Mexican, the Frenchman, the Brit and the Yank. Even though the nerdy aeroplane designer, who is the only one with an escape plan, has a weakness (spoiler alert prevents saying what it is).
The German (Hardy Kruger) claims to be an aeroplane designer and says that he can rebuild the plane. The pilot (Jimmy Stewart) is not convinced but says prophetically ‘the little men with the slide rules and computers will inherit the earth’. All the well-defined characters in the movie are flawed heroes, from the coward to the self-important officer and the drunk navigator. The ensemble includes Richard Attenborough, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Peter Finch and Ernest Borgnine – all big hitters.
Jimmy Stewart, in a fuselage-chewing performance, is slowly losing control of the situation. Although the film is workmanlike, it was no great financial success when it was first released. Its message must have seemed old fashioned even when it was made. Audiences wanted more psychologically deep antiheroes. This is a war film with no war; an action film without much action. Its memory has been kept alive in Sunday afternoon reruns and was remade in 2004.
Director Aldrich made a diverse range of populist films in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. There’s a graphic dimension to the scene setting here that recalls the Commando comics of the era – the men’s stubbly square jaws set firmly against the seemingly impossible odds of survival. The undulating desert is both beguiling and terrifying.
Anyone who has seen the film will remember the joyfully gung-ho denouement that could be used as a workplace training film on the advantages of trust-building and working together.