No Time to Die – 1958 | 104 mins | War | Colour

Plot Synopsis

James Bond producer “Cubby” Broccoli employed director Terence Young, writer Richard Maibaum and cameraman Ted Moore four years prior to Dr No (1962) for this fast-paced Boy’s Own-style adventure set in the Libyan Desert during WWII. The fast-moving and realistic battle scenes were made with the assistance of the 2nd Dragoon Guards and shot on location near Tripoli. American hunk Victor Mature was imported to play the token defiant American.

Set during WWII, five Allied soldiers are captured during a tank battle in the Libyan Desert and are taken to an Italian POW camp in North Africa. The five are American Sgt David Thatcher (Victor Mature), Sgt. Kendall (Leo Genn), a Polish soldier (Bonar Colleano), Bartlett (Sean Lelly) and Pvt. ‘Tiger’ Noakes (Anthony Newley). Principled German officer Capt. Ritter (Alfred Burke) takes particular interest in Thatcher when he attempts to escape from the convoy and hides his dog tags.

The prisoners attempt to escape but their initial attempts are undone by an SS spy in their midst. The following evening the five escapes in a military ambulance and head for a Benghazi café where Thatcher has a female contact that will assist them. They luckily evade some Italian soldiers whilst at the café but subsequently they are captured by an Arabian Sheikh employed by the German SS. After Thatcher it tortured, the honourable Ritter aids their escape before committing suicide. After a brief gun battle, they continue their trek to get safely behind Allied lines in a Tiger tank!