Escape from Zahrain

23/5/1962 1h 33m 6.3/10

Overview

Yul Brynner plays political leader Sharif who is sprung from a police van on his way to a firing squad by young loyalists led by Sal Mineo. Yul and the other prisoners kidnap an ambulance and head into the Arabian desert with the police in hot pursuit. All the performances are magnificent: Sal Mineo showing his acting talents, Jack Warden in a wiseguy performance as an employee of Zahrain oil who was involved in embezzlement, Anthony Caruso as a slimy psychotic and the underrated Madlyn Rhue as a nurse who becomes emotionally involved in the proceedings.

Director

Ronald Neame

Top Billed Cast

Jack Warden

Huston

James Mason

Johnson

Madlyn Rhue

Laila

Anthony Caruso

Tahar

Yul Brynner

Sharif

Sal Mineo

Ahmed

Reviews

CinemaSerf

11/19/2024

5/10

Yul Brynner, Sal Mineo and Jack Warden star in this sort of revolutionary "Ice Cold in Alex" yarn about a wanted freedom-fighter and a rag-tag band of followers who try to escape from the tyrannical government of Zahrain by taking an ambulance across the desert. Any budget was spent on the stars (and, probably, the aircon) leaving little left for script or decent photography. It's a run-of-the-mill vehicle for the star that moves along well enough. Not one of Ronald Neame's best efforts, though his only of 1962.