The Steel Lady

Plot

In a manner not dissimilar from the events of the film Flight of the Phoenix, four employees on an oil company crash-land in the deserts of North Africa and face a slow death, until they discover a German Panzer from World War II buried in the sand.

The plane crash leaves them with limited food and water, no radio, no way to repair the plane and no hope of rescue, until one of the crew sees the antenna of a German battle tank sprouting from the sands. Digging down they discover the ‘Steel Lady’ of the title, complete with mummified crew, lost in the dunes ten years before, out of water, fuel, and supplies, rather like themselves.

After recovering and burying the German crew, they attempt to repair their radio with parts from the Tank’s radio set; only marginally successful, they manage to tell the outside world that they are down and alive, but can only pass on their position’s Latitude before the jury rigged radio burns out.

It is then that the wild idea occurs. If they could dig out and clean out the tank, they have enough petrol left in the plane to let them drive out of the desert…

Cast

Production

Filming started in December 1952.

Release

It was released on a double bill with Captain John Smith and Pocahontas.