I notice that some reviewers of the film refer to 'landrovers' being winched over the hill in that famous scene. Not having seen this movie since it came out I seem to recall that the trucks were fairly accurate copies of the Canadian Chevrolet vehicles used by such units in the desert campaigns(the SAS used US Jeeps)...the landrover wasn't invented until after the war, and I doubt that the director would have let such an inaccurate bit of prop in his film.
shareRight, they were Chevy 3/4 ton trucks, but they were suppose to be Italian trucks according to the plot.
shareThey wouldn't be very good Chevy trucks with a mercedes badge! Them and the Jeeps also hard serial numbers starting with WH - for Whermacht, so they were designed to be German mercedes trucks and captured jeeps being used by the Italians.
shareI think you're getting confused with "Ice Cold in Alex with John Mills. They wound the ambulance up the hill on the starting handle in reverse gear (twice).
shareBut they should have also 'driven' the jeeps up the hill as well as pull them up on the winches - this might have saved the last vehicle from crashing down - but then there'd be no film! haha!
Also, my dad was in the desert during the war and we watched the film together a few years back, and he says it was one of the more accurate films about the desert war - the dust/punctures/native (un)involvement(distrust)/looting the dead etc - and he also told me a story about him having to stand by and watch another unit 'get it' while his was ordered not to get involved as they were on a different 'mission' and from another regiment.
A correction... the trucks weren't Landrovers OR Chevys, they were actually Dodge M37's (postwar 3/4ton trucks) with modified grilles and added Mercedes emblems.
shareGood spot. I noticed the Merc badge but also noticed the Afrika Korps emblem, which would mean they were not meant to be Italian.
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Thanks for sharing the information about the Qattara Depression. Question though, after the British army unit stumbles upon the nomads, they mention that they can't go around because it is the only path.
Are there perhaps routes through the Qattara Depression that trucks/jeeps in single file can navigate, but it wouldn't be logistically feasible to move an army through? Especially an army with tanks that would be more likely to sink through.
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Actually, the scene I was referring to was when the British army unit came upon the dead nomads, that Douglas' unit had killed. One of them said that every nomad in the area would now know a British unit was in the area. That is when another one asked if they could take a different path.
I did not know about the paratroopers at the Second Battle of El Alamein. It would have been interesting to see how things would have turned out. Personally, I am glad that the Allies won the battle though.
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"If that pass was the only way through, you would think the Germans would have it guarded around the clock, just in case."
That makes sense. The only reason I can think of not to do it, would be if the Germans didn't want to keep resupplying a unit that far away. I believe at the beginning of the movie when they were showing the area on a map, it was quite far from where the Germans were. The Germans might not want to position men there, and resupply them on the chance a small unit might pass through. This is going on the assumption that a large unit couldn't get through that pass. Also, I am sure the Germans had the nomads alerting them if they saw activity in the area. I must add though, I know next to nothing when it comes to military strategy and logistics. Lol!
Of course all of this is in the context in the movie. In real life I tend to believe what you said earlier about nothing being able to get through.
Cheers!
I am far from an expert on winching, but it seems like Captain Douglas, upon seeing the truck hadn't been unloaded, should have run over and put the brakes on, and then had the truck unloaded.
Good idea about driving trucks/jeep up as well as winching them though. And thanks for sharing what your dad said. Very interesting stuff; too bad about the other unit though.
Historical accuracy in props is held in WAY GREATER regard by various "historian" IMDB posters than by many producers and directors.
It's entertainment, people, not live footage from history.
Sloppy movie making detracts from my entertainment. And, no, I'm not a historian. Just an average movie viewer.
:)
I don't expect tremendous attention to detail, but I do like them to get it right most of the time. One reason I like 1950s war movies is that most of the original military kit was still available on the used market, or lent to the movie makers by the military, thus adding a great deal of authenticity.
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