by Clarke Fountain
synopsis
This 1939 German film tells the story of the conflicts involving T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) from the point of view of his opponents. It was not released before World War Two broke out, and was banned by the Allied victors from being shown because it was classified as "war propaganda." It resurfaced during the 1989 Berlin Film Festival, and it has since become clear that this is simply a well-made war-action drama, and does not bear the taint of any strong anti-British propaganda at all. The story concerns a German officer (Joachim Gottschalk) who, after fighting a losing battle with Lawrence's forces, manages to evade his foes by hiding in the desert and, with much difficulty, leads his contingent of survivors to safety.
