Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #130242 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-12-13
• Format: NTSC

Customer Reviews

Minor European entry in the WWII war drama....
Directed by Umberto Lenzi, better known for his zombie horror films of the 70's and 80's ("Eaten Alive" et al), this modest production features a group of German commandos disguised as British regulars of the North African campaign whose mission is to infiltrate Allied headquarters and assassinate Roosevelt, Churchill, and De Gaulle at the Casablanca conference.

Not to be confused with the slightly better Italian-German co-production, "Sullivan's Commandos" starring Lee Van Cleef which was released in 1967, this film does offer some better than expected characterizations amidst the principal characters, especially Horst Frank, second in command of the five man German squad at odds with
his commander's allegiance to Nazi ideology.

As the squad succumbs to the relentless heat, enemy snipers, poisonous scorpions, and bands of marauding Arabs, the focus of the film is concentrated on the dynamics and pesonality conflicts surrounding the unit before they reach their ultimate objective. Expect lower-than-average production values--especially 1960's era American tanks passing for those used 20 years earlier and a Piper Cub as a German Storch recon plane. Apparently, the director could not be bothered with such concessions to period accuracy or even accurate German markings!

Interesting Story, Poor Techincal Advisors
I enjoyed the acting and the scenery. However, the use of post WWII armored vehicles detracted from any realism the director might have been attempting. The 1/4 ton trucks (Jeeps)used by the U.S. soldiers were actually made about the time of the Korean War.
When the five German commandos parachuted into the Libyan desert, one commando is seen wearing the unopened main chute on his back. Among the five of our heroes they had five one-quart U.S. canteens in British canteen covers. They apparently had a trek of over 100 miles to their objective and only men who are part camel could have survived on one quart of water each.
Our erstwhile commandos had among them two small fanny-pack type packs. Having served proudly in Vietnam in Special Forces, I know our rucksacks would have been laden with at least six quarts of water, MG ammo, radios, batteries, some rations, compasses that worked (sand-free), and would have weighed probably seventy pounds. This equipment would have been in addition to our LBE and weapons.
The patches on the stolen U.S uniforms were for the 5th U.S. Army and they were correct. The enlisted brass worn on the collar tabs were incorrect. At times the German commander carried what appeared to be a Russian Markarov pistol, and at other times he was packing a U.S. 1911a1 Colt .45. Maybe one was his throw down gun.
Even with the terrible technical advice, I did enjoy the movie. The Arab protagonist was a truly beautiful female.

Spaghetti WW2?
First of all, the entire movie feels like it is the 1960s. Historical accuracy is out the window. All the Americans look and act kind of like UN troops (lots of MPs running around too). The German commandos are supposed to be acting like English commandos, but we don't know why. They do not act or look German or British, at least not from the 1940s.

Things go wrong immediately with their grand plan. So they disguise themselves as Arabs, and then later as Americans, and of course fail miserably both times. For no reason the Americans let the commandos out of a trap and decide to let the German commandos continue their mission. Eventually the Americans get bored with this game and trick them into another trap in which the commandos walk into a room so that the MPs can gun them down.

In this movie, everyone appears to be the bad guys, especially the Germans and the "Yanks." This might be the worst WW2 war movie I have ever seen, except it is almost impossible for me to classify it as a WW2 movie. In my mind, it is a bad, low-low-budget, Italian commando fiction without heroes.