| The Black Tent | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Brian Desmond Hurst |
| Produced by | William Macquitty Earl St. John |
| Written by | Bryan Forbes Robin Maugham |
| Starring | Donald Sinden Anthony Steel Anna Maria Sandri André Morell Donald Pleasence |
| Distributed by | Rank Organisation |
| Release date(s) | March 1956 |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Black Tent is a 1956 British war film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Donald Sinden, Anthony Steel, Anna Maria Sandri, André Morell and Donald Pleasence.[1] It is set in North Africa, during the Second World War and was filmed on location in Libya.
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During the British retreat through Libya, a British officer takes shelter with a group of Arab Bedouin. He marries the chief's daughter. Sometime later his younger brother, who had believed him to be dead, is informed that he may be alive in Libya - prompting him to set out and search for him.
The film starts with a tank battle where blond haired Captain Holland (Anthony Steel) is laying in the dunes unconscious. When he comes to, he walks over the dunes until collapsing near a Bedouin encampment at an oasis. He is noticed by a female goat herder called Mabrouka (Anna Maria Sandri) who gets him back to the camp consisting of several black tents. The film skips forward to a point after the war when Captain Holland's brother, Colonel Sir Charles Holland (Donald Sinden), searching for his brother, is guided into the desert by Ali (Donald Pleasence) on camels bought from a market. They were drawn by a promissory note that had been given by Captain Holland to Bedouins for their assistance and eventually cashed. Sir Charles eventually comes across the Bedouin camp and is entertained by the camp's chief, Sheik Salem ben Yussef (André Morrel). At some point Sir Charles sees a blond boy in the camp who briefly stuck his head though the opening of the tent and then ran away. Later, the Sheik becomes angry at Sir Charles's line of questioning about his brother, the boy, and note and asks them to leave. Mabrouka gives Ali a sock containing something in secret before they leave. Sometime later, Ali mentioned the gift from Mabrouka and gave Sir Charles the sock. Contained within it was a diary written by Captain Holland. The film slipped back in time to recount the story within the diary.
Captain Holland, having been tended by Mabrouka recovered sufficiently to be entertained by the Sheik and move freely about the camp. He learned that Mabrouka is the daughter of the Sheik and is betrothed to Sheik Faris (Michael Craig) from another tribe, who came courting and noticed the British officer in the camp. When a German reconnaissance vehicle was spotted, Captain Holland was taken to some ancient Roman ruins to hide by Mabrouka. The Germans consisted of Anton Diffring and Frederick Jaeger and visited the ruins, unaware of the British officer's presence and took photographs. They retired to the camp of black tents and were entertained by the Sheik. When Diffring was settling for the night in the tent that Captain Holland had stayed he found a British revolver under the pillow where he was going to place his. A romance started between Mabrouka and Captain Holland and after the Germans had left with Sheik Faris being aware of a rivalry. Later, Diffring and Jaeger returned in a half track armoured vehicle with machine gunners hiding inside. They appeared nervous. Holland, who was with Sheik Yussef, sensed a trap and opened fire on the Germans killing them both and then threw a grenade into the half track, killing the occupants. One of the occupants turns out to be Sheik Faris. Sheik Yussef said he was ashamed to have pledged his daughter to Faris. The romance between Captain Holland and Mabrouka deepened and Sheik Yussef bequeathed his daughter in marriage to Holland. There was a formal ceremony at the ruins where they married. They learned of the British victory at El Alamein from a guest. Captain Holland resolved to return to the British lines. Meanwhile he found out that Mabrouka was expecting a child. A group led by the Sheik and Captain Holland travelled towards the British lines but came across a column of Italian vehicles on a winding main road through some hills. There was a fire fight where the Sheik was caught in the open. Captain Holland rescued the Sheik but in doing so sustained a fatal injury from small arms fire.
The film returns to the present day with the Sheik handing Sir Charles a letter. The letter consisted of a will and testament that bequeathed Captain Holland's estate to his son. Sir Charles discussed this with the boy but the boy decided not to leave the tribe and throws the letter onto the fire.
The film used the site of the Roman ruins at Sabratha in Libya, which is by the sea, although the plot suggests that the camp is deep in the Libyan dessert. This is a plot device to provide a bit of eye candy to the viewer and a reason for the Germans to visit in small numbers, like regular tourists.
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