Sword in the Desert (1949)

Wonderful character development!

Lack of good storyline.

Disappointment for a huge fan!

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

This is an anti-British film, and apparently the British attempted to limit the distribution.Directed by George Sherman, the film stars Dana Andrews, Stephen McNally, Jeff Chandler, and Marta Toren. Andrews plays a freighter captain who has agreed to let his ship be used to smuggle Jewish refugees ashore in Palestine. He plans on taking his money and leaving, but things don't work out that way. He's very angry to find himself embroiled in the conflict as the British seek to round up the immigrants and arrest the organizers.In most films, I think, the Andrews character might have been impressed with the commitment of the McNally, Chandler, and Toren characters and agreed to help them. But this guy not only betrays them once because all he cares about is his ship, but he almost betrays them again. He does come to some understanding and admiration for Kurta (Chandler), but it takes a while.The beautiful Marta Toren, alas, died at the age of 30, about eight years after this film. Such a shame. She married an Italian director in 1952 and worked in Italy, doing better roles.Very good movie with an emotional and quite beautiful ending. According to what I heard during a discussion of the film, the British and the Jews never actually fought in battle as they do here, but director Sherman wanted to show that there was indeed a conflict.The Middle East remains a powder keg, and Israel still has lots of problems. This was pre-Israel Palestine, with the Jews seeking a place where they could be safe. Given what's going on in the world today, I wonder now if anyone can ever be truly safe.

SWORD IN THE DESERT - 1949This is one of the first films to deal with the creation of Israel after World War Two. The British, who were in charge of the area at the time, were embroiled in a battle with the Jewish underground. Their job was to stop the waves of Jewish immigrants fleeing worn torn Europe looking for a home. The British really did not want to be there, but were waiting for a resolution from the UN.The story itself starts with a cargo ship and her Captain, Dana Andrews. Andrews had picked up a load of refuges in Italy and was dropping them off the coast of Palestine. He is getting 100 dollars a head for his "cargo". He wants to land the cargo and leave pronto like before he gets caught by the British Naval patrol. He lands the cargo but is stranded on shore when a British Patrol shows. He is forced to flee with the refugees. Now how does he get back to his ship? The rest of the film follows his quest to return to said ship. He also grows to understand the "cargo" is more than just that. They are people looking for a home. There are plenty of gun battles, chases and a great prison camp escape to keep up the pace. The director, George Sherman, was a whizz at these middle budget action productions. All in all, this is not a bad way to spend 101 minutes of your time. The cast includes, Marta Toren, Jeff Chandler, Stephen McNally, Peter Coe and Hayden Rorke.

I saw the movie when I was a kid and love every minute of it. I always thought that attacks on the British in Palestine was a rare thing. When I got the book A Job Well Done about the British Palestine Police Force, I surprise how often the Jews particularly the Irgun and the Sten gang fought the British starting in 1943 until 1948. They attack the police stations, RAF airfields, and British Army camps especially after the end of World War II. They also sabotage the oil pipeline going into Palestine and blowing up the railroad lines that would have made Lawrence of Arabia proud. I love the way Dana Andrew's character change his mind in not identifying the leader of the resistance movement after seeing those refugees line up against barbered wire. His character must have saw a similar situation in Europe with the Jews or in Asia with all those Allied POWs in the Japanses camps. Its amazing how anti-Jewish feelings among the people in Europe and American resurface shortly after the end of World War II.The only problem I had was where the Jews had attack the camp, and despite total surprise, the British manage to get their guns and inflict casualties on the Jews while suffering few of their own. If those were German soldiers in movie, they would been mow down.

This tidy little Universal "B" about the Israeli fight for independence would be interesting if just for the subject matter alone--there were few, if any, contemporary Hollywood pictures that dealt with that particular struggle--but this isn't a bad picture in and of itself. Dana Andrews plays a ship captain who smuggles Jews into Israel purely, at first, for the money, but finds himself being caught up in the cause his "cargo" is fighting for--and also falling for an Israeli girl (the exotic beauty Marta Toren, who, although she looks like she just stepped out of an Arabian Nights tale, is actually Swedish). Director George Sherman was an expert at turning out tight, energetic little actioners, and continues that tradition here. The Andrews/Toren romance slows things down a bit, but not enough to do any fatal damage. A neat little picture with an interesting perspective on a subject not often touched upon, with a capable cast, good pacing and quick bursts of action that all combine to hold your interest. Check it out.