During World War II, a squad of five American soldiers become lost in Tunisia and are killed one by one in fights with German units. Finally only one man, Private Russo, is left, in the midst of a mine field, together with a German officer, locked in a stalemate. Russo has water, while the German claims to have a map revealing the mine positions. So Russo agrees to swap water for the map, but the German officer tries to double-cross him. This was Burt Topper's debut film, made on 16mm on weekends together with some friends in Indio, California. It was also Wally Campo's debut film, as well as script supervisor Joyce King's.
Practical Effects
Real California desert stands in for Tunisia shockingly well.
Direction
Topper squeezes genuine tension from zero budget.
Director
Burt Topper
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Burt Topper shot this while working as a theater manager in Pasadena, using borrowed equipment and local actors.
This micro-budget survival thriller predates 'Enemy Mine' by decades with its two-soldiers-stuck-together setup.
US
