Le dernier train du Katanga

This is an excellent film and definitely one of Rod Taylor's best performances. Taylor is Curry, a mercenary commander in the Congo, during the Katanga secession. Jim Brown is his friend and number two, a US educated Congolese. Taylor plays Curry as a true mercenary of the period: ruthless, greedy, loyal to his comrades, and distrustful of his rivals and employers. The film mixes two different periods of the civil wars in the Congo; the Katanga secession in 1960 and the Simba revolt in 1964. The original book is set squarely during the Katanga period and involves the Baluba war, not the Simba's. However both periods were exemplified by brutality on all sides. The film accurately portrays the enmity between the Katanga forces and the UN troops sent to intervene. It also accurately depicts the Belgian interests in Katanga. Much like the train the mercenaries ride, the film starts out slow and builds up steam along the route. By the end, it's a runaway that comes crashing to its end. This is war and humanity at its worst, make no mistake. The closest I can come to finding a "good guy" is Jim Brown, the soldier who wants his country to be free and have its place in the modern world. The Nazi character was based on an actual German mercenary in the Congo, Siegfried Mueller. Mueller was noted for wearing the Iron Cross, which he earned in the Second World War, on his uniform. The film makers changed it to a swastika for greater effect (I presume). There is a slight problem with the continuity of this character, as part way through the film, his voice is obviously dubbed by another actor. Presumably, this was due to sound problems and the unavailability of the actor to loop his lines (It sounds like Paul Frees). All-in-all this is a great film; vastly superior to others of the genre, such as The Wild Geese and The Dogs of War. Just remember, war more often brings out the worst in humanity, rather than the best.

source: Dark of the Sun

The Mercenaries

This action film was BY FAR the favorite war movie of the foreign volunteers with whom I served in the Rhodesian Army. We probably all thought of ourselves as Bruce Curry clones. Once, when on a leave from a bush trip, I saw that this film, under the title The Mercenaries, was showing in a Salisbury theatre so, of course, I had to go see it. I arrived slightly late and the house lights were already dark, so I took my seat and enjoyed the ride. When it was over and the house lights came on, I looked around and saw that probably EVERY one of the foreigners who happened to be in town at that time was in the audience with me. Some of them were even going to stay and watch it again.

This movie is my all-time favorite by far. I saw it on PBS a few years back, and had to buy it. Now whenever I get bored I pull it out. This movie just can't go wrong. Just a few elements to keep in mind: Mercenaries, an Armoured Train, a Nazi, Diamonds, Goofy UN Soldiers, a Drunk doctor, Yvette Mimeux, Jim Brown, a Moral ending, a chain saw fight, and more then a few scenes and lines that make you wonder why you never heard of this movie before. Rod Taylor is perfect for the lead role in this movie with such lines as: "Why don't you put that Swastika back on....you've earned it!"...I can't say enough about this movie. The book by Wilbur Smith "Train From Katanga" is an excellent read as well.

Great story line - Mercenaries are sent in to the middle of the Congo under the guise of rescuing the village people but their real mission is to recover 50 million dollars of diamonds. Good versus evil with an undertone of racial discrimination. Superb cast - Robert Taylor, Jim Brown, Yvette Mimieux, Kenneth Moore, and the evil doer Peter Carsten. Brilliant cinematography - the color scheme is very pleasing to the audience's sense of comfort and appeal Screenwriting - greed, lust, good versus evil, this film has it all, Action - non stop I give this 54 year old film a well deserved 8 out of 10 IMDb rating, Now this is a true action/adventure film.

A nasty and terrific gem of an action movie, the best of Rod Taylor's career. Very exciting, expertly acted, and with a beautiful score that sounds like it was done by Maurice Jarre (it wasn't). Highly recommended.