Here's one film where the low budget really helped. The anonymity of the cast lends a realistic touch and the lack of frills, plus the desert locations (presumably Southern California) all add up to a minor but enjoyable war flick. Apparently this was supposed to make a star of Wally Campo, and judging from his performance he should have had more work than the dozen or so genre flicks he ended up in.
12 Reviews
Quite profound for an American international cheapy.
mark.waltz10 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Films about world war II made after the war are a mixed bag. For every "Dirty Dozen" or "Patton" or "Schindler's List", there are dozens Alfie films that have been lost in the Vols and have only popped up because of an interest in older films by collectors. Certain earlier classics like "Battleground" and "Home of the Brave" achieved legendary status less than a decade after the war ended because they took the stories to more gripping levels with more realistic battle scenes and interesting characterizations. For "B" films like this, there's usually not enough time to really develop character. finding an interesting story and sustaining it is difficult enough. But here, there is a point of view, and at times it really begins to make you think about the emotional impact of being involved in a war and being forced to kill.
The story is simple. Five soldiers have been separated from their troop, and they have several encounters with the enemy while trying to find their way in the Tunisian desert. The Nazis that they encounter are desperate to get a map and will kill for it, and the showdowns are rigid as the sun on them is like a burning furnace turning the heat up in the sky. Each of the soldiers has a unique personality, and for one, the idea of shooting the enemy in the back is out of the question. But it's obvious to others, shoot them first or they'll shoot you, and the script isn't afraid to show individual soldiers becoming cowardly.
This comes in at just over an hour, and there are several moments that are truly memorable. As they debate over the fate of a dead German, one of them asked if they should bury it. One of the more aggressive soldiers answers that question simply by tossing a grenade the corpse's way. The standoffs are tense, and the film does hold your interest in spite of being one of several dozen programmers that came out about the war pretty much each year.
The story is simple. Five soldiers have been separated from their troop, and they have several encounters with the enemy while trying to find their way in the Tunisian desert. The Nazis that they encounter are desperate to get a map and will kill for it, and the showdowns are rigid as the sun on them is like a burning furnace turning the heat up in the sky. Each of the soldiers has a unique personality, and for one, the idea of shooting the enemy in the back is out of the question. But it's obvious to others, shoot them first or they'll shoot you, and the script isn't afraid to show individual soldiers becoming cowardly.
This comes in at just over an hour, and there are several moments that are truly memorable. As they debate over the fate of a dead German, one of them asked if they should bury it. One of the more aggressive soldiers answers that question simply by tossing a grenade the corpse's way. The standoffs are tense, and the film does hold your interest in spite of being one of several dozen programmers that came out about the war pretty much each year.
Hell Squad review
JoeytheBrit15 May 2020
A lot better than expected for an ultra-cheap war movie that was filmed on weekends by writer-producer-director Burt Topper. Wally Compo has the key role as a private in a small troop of soldiers separated from their unit whose numbers seem to grow smaller with every sand dune that they pass. Hell Squad has all the things low budget movies usually lack - decent script, passable acting and some tense situations.
One of those vague drive-in treats from the past.
mreid194910 February 2001
They just don't make movies like this anymore. Very entertaining and realistic. It always seemed that these old films were always technically accurate even though their budget had to be minuscule. Maybe it was because the cast and crew had all served in the military during WWII and it wasn't necessary to do a lot of research on equipment, events, etc. Appealing in its own way just as "Saving Private Ryan" is another. Would love to see again.
Incredibly dull and cheap.
planktonrules12 November 2021
Before the studio became known for Beach movies and counter-culture hippie films, American International Pictures was known for angry delinquent and war films. The commonality to all these movies are low budgets and mostly casts of unknowns. "Hell Squad" is just chock full of unfamiliar faces and cheapness.
The story is VERY simple and the cast very, very small. Supposedly these American soldiers are in North Africa during WWII but they are separated from their unit and must make their way back to the front. Along the way, they meet up with all sorts of Germans...and ALL of them are lying scum who either wear American uniforms or make fake radio broadcasts.
So, you've got about a dozen actors in total and almost no script and you run around the California desert playing soldier. There just isn't much to this one and it's awfully dull. The only interesting thing to me is that one of the Germans was played by a man named Curtis Loser. Nice moniker...and rather apt for this film.
The story is VERY simple and the cast very, very small. Supposedly these American soldiers are in North Africa during WWII but they are separated from their unit and must make their way back to the front. Along the way, they meet up with all sorts of Germans...and ALL of them are lying scum who either wear American uniforms or make fake radio broadcasts.
So, you've got about a dozen actors in total and almost no script and you run around the California desert playing soldier. There just isn't much to this one and it's awfully dull. The only interesting thing to me is that one of the Germans was played by a man named Curtis Loser. Nice moniker...and rather apt for this film.
Once Upon a Time in Tunisia
Coffee_in_the_Clink27 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This is a somewhat obscure and low-budget WW2 adventure set in Tunisia in 1943. A group of half-witted GI's find themselves lost and cut-off from all communications when they set off behind their lines on a mission. They are subsequently picked off one-by-one in skirmishes with German soldiers, who appear to be just walking aimlessly around the desert and waiting for them. "Hell Squad" runs in at just over an hour-long but you can be sure that it feels a lot longer. We run in to one ridiculous ambush after another and in between that we have to contend with a lot of boredom and Willy Campo's extremely irritating character Private Russo. The cherry on the cake is the final ten minutes or so where Russo is stuck in a minefield and he plays a battle of wits against a dehydrated German soldier, who he attempts to trade a canteen full of water with in exchange for a map showing the location of the mines. This scene in particular is extremely boring to watch and feels like it will never end. The ending is very appropriate as we are forced to endure Private Russo's over-the-top and ridiculous laughter as a cue for the end credits. Nothing to recommend here. Plenty of other obscure war films out there to seek out.
When campaign ended
leestan-6706412 January 2021
Somewhere in Tunisia
richardchatten25 May 2020
Possibly inspired by 'Fear and Desire'. This psychological war movie seemingly shot entirely on location comprises an impressive writing-producing-directing debut by Burt Topper.
Topper was plainly no Kubrick - who was? - but does a sound job wearing all three of his hats; and gets good performances out of all his cast, led by bearded Wally Campo (also given an 'introducing' credit).
Topper was plainly no Kubrick - who was? - but does a sound job wearing all three of his hats; and gets good performances out of all his cast, led by bearded Wally Campo (also given an 'introducing' credit).
There's Something Here that's Hard To Express
boblipton24 February 2021
It's another of those short features produced in the late 1950s about WWII dog tired dog soldiers slogging along (here, notionally Tunisia), facing boredom and danger and the occasional German Master Race officer. Burt Topper, who wrote as well as directed, clearly had something in the back of his head that he could get into the script, because there are some moments of clear tension, despite my annoyance at the dead cliches and the blaring and obvious score.
Perhaps it was a matter of the performers being better than the material. As is usual fr an AIP production, the cast is populated by people whose name no one would recognize at the time, people who could be hired for little money. Usually I recognize a name or three, but here they were all strangers to me, most of them performers who have three credits and then silence. Perhaps they went back to the theater and made a living. Perhaps they gave up and went home to run the family business. Hollywood is a magnet that attracts far more good actors than it can use.
Perhaps it was a matter of the performers being better than the material. As is usual fr an AIP production, the cast is populated by people whose name no one would recognize at the time, people who could be hired for little money. Usually I recognize a name or three, but here they were all strangers to me, most of them performers who have three credits and then silence. Perhaps they went back to the theater and made a living. Perhaps they gave up and went home to run the family business. Hollywood is a magnet that attracts far more good actors than it can use.
Realism in horror
drystyx22 December 2021
This "B" war film has "A" credibility for realistic drama in war.
A typical motif done well. The motif is a small unit of soldiers stuck behind enemy lines.
There is a lot going for this film. A good script is the chief reason. We get some realistic emotion in a situation of deadly danger that is no game.
Best of all, we get a "roll the dice" or "let the cards fall where they may fall" story here. There's no "contrived Hollywood predictability of bullets only finding good guys and underlings. There's no "ticket" to immortality by being the usual creep, officer, or man with a secret that means a bullet can't find you. The bullet or grenade can hit anyone at any time.
In other words, the viewer doesn't feel like the writer and director is prancing around behind the hill. It's a "natural and uncontrived" chain of events.
Which sets this apart from the usual Hollywood formula movie that owned the industry after about 1965. Cleverly done, which is probably why the bubble boys won't care for this one.
A typical motif done well. The motif is a small unit of soldiers stuck behind enemy lines.
There is a lot going for this film. A good script is the chief reason. We get some realistic emotion in a situation of deadly danger that is no game.
Best of all, we get a "roll the dice" or "let the cards fall where they may fall" story here. There's no "contrived Hollywood predictability of bullets only finding good guys and underlings. There's no "ticket" to immortality by being the usual creep, officer, or man with a secret that means a bullet can't find you. The bullet or grenade can hit anyone at any time.
In other words, the viewer doesn't feel like the writer and director is prancing around behind the hill. It's a "natural and uncontrived" chain of events.
Which sets this apart from the usual Hollywood formula movie that owned the industry after about 1965. Cleverly done, which is probably why the bubble boys won't care for this one.
This low-budget film is gripping, and deserves much more attention than it gets.
gillyboy31 December 1999
This no-frills account of a squad of GI's, separated from their outfit in the North African campaign during World War 11 peels away the glamor of soldiering and leaves one only with its desperation and misery. Yet, it is not depressing, as it shows how human beings go on in the face of apparent hopelessness. The climax is gripping. Ironically, I came upon the film by accident, since there was an error in the program listing in the paper.
Loser is a winner
sebo-35 April 2001
The main cast performed brilliantly in this low-budget no frills movie. But how can anyone overlook the resounding performance of Curtis Loser in his first (and last) major film role. The role of 'German radio operator in an American Uniform' took hours of taxing work and it was a demanding role. But Loser pulls it off wonderfully. A masterpiece on Loser's part.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
