Alan Hale, Ronald Reagan and Errol Flyn on a desperate journey.

Sometimes I find myself enjoying films with the simplest of plots. Scott can attest, that sometimes I get confused if there is too many characters and scene changes. I know that is not something a film critic should mention, but some movies can be too damn complicated.

Desperate Journey follows a bomber on a mission over Nazi Germany. It gets shot down after bombing their target. They get captured by the Nazi's, but in the process discover a hidden German aircraft factory. They escape and try to make their way back to England. Not only do they want to make it back to friendly territory, but they need to let the powers that be know of the secret factory.

On their journey across Germany, Lt. Forbes decides that he and his men should try to cause as much damage to German interests as possible. This sounds heroic, but it comes with a cost as his men start dying along the way. Like Tom Hanks ordering his men to take the German position they could have just as easily walked around in Saving Private Ryan, Forbes makes decisions that I am sure he would question the rest of his life.

Desperate Journey works as an action adventure film. The men steal vehicles and get into car chases. They run over roof tops being pursued by Nazis. They get shot at and never know who to trust. This all makes for a fairly exciting film. Alan Hale provides some levity along the way. He is good for a couple of laughs, but his antics of spitting seeds at everyone, including Nazi guards, threaten to erase the tension.

The story line rarely leaves the men on their escape. This keeps the movie focused, and the plot driven. The men are a smorgasbord of nationalities. There is a Brit, a Aussie, a Yank and a Canadian in the flight crew. I do not believe there were actually too many international crews, but for the sake of the viewing audience of 1942, it demonstrated international solidarity against Nazi oppression.

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