Hell Squad (1958) starring Wally Campo, Brandon Carroll, Fred Gavlin, Gregg Stewart, Leon Schrier, Cecil Addis, Jack B. Sowards, Don Chambers directed by Burt Topper Movie Review

Hell Squad (1958)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Hell Squad (1958)

Hell in the Desert

A small group of American soldiers find themselves lost in the Tunisian desert where they fear if they use their radio the Germans will pick up on their transmission. Forced to work alone the five of them try to make it to safety but it is an ordeal which will cost lives and with no idea of where they are going may force one of them to trust the enemy in return for help.

What would you get for $11,500 these days? You certainly wouldn't get a movie even a low budget independent one. But in 1958 writer, producer and director Burt Topper made "Hell Squad" and on that minimal budget he has done a reasonable job. Yes there are no big star names, no fantastic big action sequences but a director who manages to keep the story and characters the focus in such a way it keeps you interested.

Now I will be the first to admit that "Hell Squad" has its issues starting with some ropey acting as we have men staring straight down the camera to deliver lines in an often unconvincing manner. It doesn't help that Topper decides that when he is focussing on one character he often has them speaking straight to the camera which adds to that fake feeling. But when he just observes these men from a distance it has a much more natural feel and becomes interesting to observe these men as they walk across the desert, dealing with danger and their situation becoming increasingly precarious.

There are further issues but on that limited budget "Hell Squad" still impresses especially with the use of California in place of Tunisia. It looks an unforgiving terrain with the heat as hard on these men as the baked ground is beneath their feet. And with this low budget we have a bunch of anonymous actors or at least none whose names are bigger than the movie and this anonymity adds to create this intriguing atmosphere of feeling observational.

What this all boils down to is that "Hell Squad" whilst not a great war movie by any stretch of the imagination impresses with a reasonable storyline and the simple fact it was all done on such a low budget.


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