Load of rubbish!!

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Blistering performances.

DESTINATION GOBI is another desert-based WW2 movie, directed by Robert Wise - no stranger to the genre having made THE DESERT RATS - and featuring the ubiquitous Richard Widmark heading an otherwise undistinguished cast. This one's a little different, telling the true story of navy men running a weather research station in Mongolia, who find themselves under attack by the Japanese and who team up with Mongol forces to fight them.I enjoy war films like this which are a little different from the norm, exploring theatres of war usually avoided in the popular books and films on the subject. DESTINATION GOBI isn't a great movie but it does keep you watching just to find out what happens. Widmark is a reliable lynch pin on which to hang the movie although the supporting cast disappoint, particularly the US actors pretending to be Mongolian which never works. There isn't a wealth of action here, but that which does occur is authentic (the plane attack is very well portrayed) and the suspense keeps you going until the end.

DESTINATION GOBI – 1953 Richard Widmark scored in a whole series of excellent film noir and westerns during the first 15 or so years of his career. His war films though are a mixed bag with most being average at best. (1950's Halls of Montezuma being the best of the bunch) It is late 1944 and the war in the Pacific is drawing nearer to Japan. The US Navy sets up several weather stations in the Gobi Desert. These are to supply weather information so the Navy can plan their attacks etc.A small group of ratings with one officer, Russell Collins, and a Chief Petty Officer, Widmark, set up one of these stations. Months go by and the men send in daily radio reports and wait for the weekly supply air-drop. The place is blazing hot by day and freezing cold by night. The men are bored silly.A group of Mongol nomads arrive and set up camp. The nomads are led by Murvyn Vye. Relations between the Navy men and the Mongols are good for the most part. The Navy decides to form the Mongol horsemen into a protection detail. They fly in 60 old US Cavalry saddles for the Mongols.Everyone seems happy with the deal till several Japanese aircraft pay a less than friendly visit. Several Mongols are killed along with the Navy officer, Collins. The station radio gear is shot to pieces and the Navy men are left alone when the Mongols all bug out.Now in charge, Widmark decides to lead the men to the sea 800 miles away. The rest of the film follows their run-ins with various Mongol groups including Vye's bunch again. They end up at the coast and are gobbled up by the local Japanese garrison. Vye and his Mongols come to the rescue and break the Navy men out.The whole group, Navy and Mongols alike, swipe a Chinese junk and set sail for Okinawa. There are a couple more close calls with death as they overcome a Japanese patrol craft and are nearly sunk by U.S. Navy aircraft.The rest of the cast includes, Earl Holliman, Martin Milner, Darryl Hickman, Max Showalter and Don Taylor. Richard Loo also puts in one of his patented bits as a Japanese officer.The story is apparently based on a real event. How much of the film story is real, or not, I'm not sure. Instead of playing the story straight, they keep throwing in comic bits which really do not work. Having said that, five time Oscar nominated, and four time winner, director Robert Wise, does a nice job moving the film along. Four time Oscar nominated, two time winner, cinematographer, Charles G Clarke supplies some nice camera-work.At 90 minutes it moves along fast enough to be entertaining.

My father was a part of this group, they were actually called SACO. He liked this movie, thought it was somewhat accurate. He was a Navy Chief Petty Officer, a Medic, he loved Mongolia, it reminded him of Montana, where he grew up, and he admired the people. He liked the humor in it. They were actually a sort of obscure, almost "guerilla" group. Kind of like Navy Calvary. I thought it was called "Saddles for SACO", (maybe another earlier title?). He always felt it was a great mistake to underestimate the indigenous people, he used to use Mr.Custer as an example. All the West Point training or Annapolis , for that , purpose , may not help you in the end.And he told me, all Americans think they're John Wayne, unfortunately, those ponies didn't always know.

I saw this movie on television years ago. Thankfully it was filmed in color, which only serves to enhance the appearance of the Mongol culture depicted in the film. Richard Widmark is always fun to watch and watching the two opposite cultures Mongol and Navy try to deal with each other was interesting. The story was unusual although mostly factual and would like to see it again, even purchase it. It manages to keep your attention mostly without explosions and chaos typical of a wartime environment. Good movie!