Station Six Sahara (1963)

It is hot in the Sahara Desert. Hot as hell. It is also lonely. Yet work has to go on there, especially when it comes to oil – the lifeblood of 20th-century civilisation.

So at “Station Six” in the Sahara, we come across some of the men who – for various reasons – have accepted this solitary existence, manning the pipeline under the pitiless sun, far away from the amenities of modern living and – more importantly – far away from the solace and comfort of womankind.

The atmosphere among the group at the station is one of coiled tension, always dangerously near flash-point.

When German-born Martin Donetz (Jörg Felmy) joins them, he soon realises that among such smouldering animosities – which any moment threaten to erupt in a violent outburst – life for him is not going to be easy.

The station overseer, Kramer (Peter van Eyck), appears to be the ruthless, bullying type on the surface but nevertheless cherishes a certain love for his job. He tends the pipeline with the devotion of a mother for her child and proudly declares, “I can tell you when there’s a break in the pipe a hundred miles down the line just by listening to my pump”.

Second in command at Station Six is the snobbish Major Macey (Denholm Elliott), a British man determined to do his ten-year stint and then return home to gatecrash his way into society using his amassed wealth. In the meantime, he fawns around Kramer and regards the men under him with thinly-disguised contempt.

Completing the group of voluntary exiles are French-Spaniard Santos (Mario Adorf) and Fletcher (Ian Bannen), a tough sharp-tongued Scotsman. It is Fletcher who usually initiates the principal topic of conversation (women) and criticism of each other.

As long as it remains an all-male outfit, Station Six is able to avoid real trouble and maintain an uneasy peace. But the arrival of a pretty girl is the spark needed to trigger those pent-up emotions which now explode with characteristic violence.

Catherine (Carroll Baker in her first appearance in a British film) – a bored, spoilt young beauty – manages to escape serious injury when she is involved in a car crash deliberately engineered by the jealousy of her ex-husband Jimmy (Biff McGuire), who wrecks the car in which they are travelling.

Jimmy gets the worst of his desperate action, and the couple has to remain at the station during his recovery.

Catherine’s presence becomes the focal point of the men’s various obsessions. The atmosphere, brooding and sullen even at best, now becomes unbearably tense, and she finds herself the central figure in the violent events that follow.

A touch of poignancy is added by Jimmy as he gropes towards the hope that he and Catherine might resolve their differences and find a new future together.

With a screenplay by Brian Clemens and Bryan Forbes, music for the film was provided by Ron Grainer.

Catherine
Carroll Baker
Kramer
Peter van Eyck
Fletcher
Ian Bannen
Major Macey
Denholm Elliott
Martin Donetz
Jörg Felmy
Santos
Mario Adorf
Jimmy
Biff McGuire
Sailor
Harry Baird

Director
Seth Holt