Sands of the Kalahari

**_Getting back to nature in the Namibian desert_** A small group of people decide to take a charter flight from Windhoek to Johannesburg but, unfortunately, find themselves stuck in the Kalahari Desert, miles from nowhere. Will any of them make it out alive? "Sands of the Kalahari” (1965) was released three weeks before “Flight of the Phoenix" and could be viewed as the British version. Don’t get me wrong, they’re based on two different books and so have totally different stories, but the setting is very similar. One obvious difference is that “Sands” includes a female in the cast, the lovely Susannah York as Grace Munkton. Even though both movies are desert survival adventures, they’re just as much dramas since the setting is stationary and there's very little opportunity for action, except an occasional confrontation. The “action” is the tension between the people and corresponding psychological warfare. Here, the pilot Sturdevan (Nigel Davenport) immediately surfaces as the alpha male, but O’Brien (Stuart Whitman) soon takes that spot, for reasons you’ll see. Grace is naturally attracted to him while the other males become increasingly leery of the, let’s say, ignoble side of his “survivalist” spirit. While you can’t help but admire O’Brien in ways, it’s Bain who rises as the reluctant hero (Stanley Baker). Nevertheless, this has to be Whitman’s most memorable role with an unforgettable climax, which was ripped off by “Day of the Animals” a dozen years later. I suppose “Flight of the Phoenix” is the superior film, but this one’s not far off. It runs 1 hour, 59 minutes, and was shot not far from the South Atlantic coast of Namibia in Swakopmund, which is roughly 200 miles west of Windhoek. Studio stuff was done in Shepperton Studios, which is located just southwest of London. GRADE: A-