264 SAHARA
up, Gunn changes the arrangement, demanding “guns for water.” Though the well
has run dry, Gunn buys time by pretending that the well is full of water while
negotiating with Major von Falken ( John Wengraf), the German commander. The
Germans attack the sparsely defended well in waves and are repeatedly beaten
back, but the defenders are killed off one by one. Giuseppe, Tambul, and an
escaping von Schletow all perish. To Gunn’s amazement, the Germans’ final assault
turns into a mass surrender as they drop their weapons and crawl across the sand
towards the well. To Gunn’s further amazement, a direct hit on the well by a Ger-
man artillery shell has accidentally released abundant amounts of water. Gunn and
Osmond “Ozzie” Bates (Patrick O’Moore), the only other Allied survivor, disarm the
Germans while they quench their ravenous thirst. As Gunn and Bates march their
column of POWs east, they encounter Allied troops guided by Waco and receive
news of the Allied victory at the First Battle of El Alamein (1 July 1942–27 July 1942).Reception
Box office receipts for Sahara were good and reviews were strong. For example,
Bosley Crowther called Sahara “a real he- man picture... a laudable conception of
soldier fortitude in this war, and it is also a bang-up action picture, cut out to hold
one enthralled” (Crowther, 1943). The film earned Acad emy Award nominations
for Best Sound ( John Livadary), Best Cinematography (Black- and- White), and Best
Supporting Actor ( J. Carrol Naish).Reel History Versus Real History
The Office of War Information (OWI) advised Hollywood that, for propaganda pur-
poses, the ideal combat movie should show “an ethnically and geo graph i cally
diverse group of Americans [who] would articulate what they were fighting for,
pay due regard to the role of the Allies, and battle an enemy who was formidable
but not a superman” (quoted in Kornweibel, Jr., 1981, p. 8). Sahara exceeds the
OWI’s mandate by featuring an international and interracial cast of Allies willing
to fight and die as a cohesive force. It also shows the Germans as ruthless— von
Schletow and von Falken are ste reo typically arrogant and treacherous Nazis— but
vulnerable to defeat on the battlefield. Fi nally, and most importantly, Sahara con-
tains allegorical ele ments and set speeches that rationalize the war against fascism
in emotionally compelling terms. Joe Gunn, a Yank, takes over from British Cap-
tain Halliday, neatly symbolizing the familiar U.S. role as rescuer of embattled
Eu rope from German tyranny (a role that Bogart just dramatized with great suc-
cess in Casablanca). Major Tambul’s chasing down and vanquishing von Schletow
subliminally reminds audiences of Jesse Owens’ track victories over German com-
petitors in the 1936 Berlin Olympics or Joe Louis’s victory over Max Schmeling in
June 1938: blows against the myth of Aryan supremacy. J. Carrol Naish’s Oscar-
nominated turn as the Italian POW, Giuseppe, is equally crucial to the film’s mean-
ing. Saved by Joe Gunn only to be later murdered by von Schletow, Giuseppe
epitomizes Italy as Hitler’s reluctant ally, repentant in defeat and awakened to the
evils of fascism. Just before his death, Giuseppe recaptures his full humanity by
denouncing the Axis powers in moral and religious terms: “But are my eyes blind