Death Race (1973 TV Movie) User Reviews

Lloyd Bridges's top-notch acting as a nasty German officer obsessed with getting vengeance on two pursued survivors

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 26 September 2021]

In the North African desert , there World War II was just ending , appearing a German tank commanded by Gen. Ernst Beimler (Lloyd Bridges gives a mesmerizing acting) and along the way gun down most of British soldiers around . Then , there are two survivors of a down plane and the revenge-minded General carries on his own war , no matter what the cost to himself . Two airmen survive and return to a relentless manhunt . Beimler's war is about to begin from a settlement on the hot desert Sahara . An Encounter Against Death...In the Realities of a damaged American fighter plane that is unable to take off and being mercelessly pursued by a Nazi Tank . An unique look at the African campaigns' experience sympathetically told for both sides . You can escape from everything but justice. The Cause: freedom. The enemy: The world's deadliest fighting revenger. There is no room in a tank for a conscience. War brings out the beast in every man.

Thrilling and exciting screenplay concerning an obsessive General with an eagerly determination to seek vendetta on two fliers , even after he learns the war in North Africa has just ended , while the desperate and wounded allied pilots of a crippled airplane attempt to evade and destroy a pursuing Nazi tank . The tyrannical and increasingly unstable tank commander General Beimler pushes the moral boundaries of the tank drivers to the limits , with almost dire consequences . Interesting and moving script , saddling some nice action scenes at the ending , when it takes place a relentless final confrontation between the plane and tank , specially in the last reel . Sensational acting by Lloyd Bridges as the stubborn General who gunned down all around and seeks revenge when his garrison is defeated by the British under command of General Montgomery . However , his extreme obsession with desire for vengeance upon the Americans isn't believable , but the moments that click make the movie more than worthwhile . This character about an avenger who seeks revenge on those who previously vanquished him bears remarkable resemblance to ¨Captain Ahab's Moby Dick'¨ by Herman Melville and following a similar premise to ¨Murphy's War¨(1971) by Peter Yates and subsequent ¨The Beast of War¨(1988) by Kevin Reynolds . Filmmaker Rich delivers a professional direction , as he really had a talent for directing actors and getting the most out of them and with special mention for Lloyd Bridges .Other important players appearing and providing nice interpretations are the following ones : Roy Thinnes, Eric Braeden , the future comedian actor/director Dennis Dugan , and Doug McClure as a good-tempered flyer,

It contains magnificent color cinematography on location in desert and barren outdoors. Adequate as well as stirring musical score by Mooney and Milton Rosen. The motion picture was compelling and splendidly directed by under-rated producer and filmmaker of the 1960s and 1970s movies called David Lowell Rich . He was a prolific television director, an expert at made-for-TV movies in the 1970's and worked briefly at Columbia during the late 50's. Rich directed a lot of TV films and movies, such as : Northeast of Seoul , Bolt , A lovely way to die, Chu Chu and the Philly Flash , School for Girls , The Sex symbol, The Chadwick Family , Runaway , Convicted and many others . In the 1960s he directed episodes of several cult TV shows including Mission Impossible , and one episode of The Twilight Zone . In the 1970s he got caught up in the disaster movie craze by putting out atleast five disaster films, four for TV , such as : The Concorde...Airport '79 and Horror At 37,000 Feet (1973) combined a flight disaster with supernatural events and wonderful over-acting from William Shatner, most of them failed at boxoffice . However, all the above films, including The Concorde...Airport '79, are fun to watch and , unlike some other films of the disaster genre, were never tiring . Rating : 7.5/10 . Better than average warlike film . Worthwhile watching .

Looks like he picked the wrong week to quit speaking English.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 30 October 2021]

Actually, Lloyd Bridges does speak English but it is with a German accent, and that alone in itself its worth a few laughs especially if you are fans of the comedies that he did from "Airplane!" on up. This is your average World War II Lost in the desert action film, and plot line, it's not bad if a bit predictable and often slow moving. There's a good cast which includes the German-born Eric Braeden (of The Young and the Restless), Douglas McClure, Roy Thinnes and an over-the-top Ivor Barry as a British officer who was a combination of Colonel Crittenden from "Hogan's Heroes" and cartoon character Captain McBragg.

A cool looking plane painted as a shark is a fun prop, and the desert location footage does add a lot of potential adventure. But this is the equivalent of the hundreds of B programmers released during World War II, many of which featured Bridges during his time as a contract player at Columbia. Unlike those films, the Nazis are not paid in a stereotypical manner but as human beings simply on a mission even if they are the enemy. Bridges does give a showy performance but he is such an all American actor that is difficult to see him playing a character on the opposite side of the spectrum. Good job too for the ensemble, and decent work by the cameraman.

An Inconclusive Ending Grounds This World War II Desert Thriller

[zardoz-13 · 4/10 · 19 October 2014]

A crippled American fighter-bomber tries to elude a tenacious German tank in the North African desert in director David Lowell Rich's "Death Race," a contrived cat-and-mouse World War II thriller, co-starring Doug McClure, Lloyd Bridges, Eric Braeden, and Roy Thinnes. For the record, the plane is an actual, vintage, 1940's era Allied war plane, and two P-40s are shown flying over the desert. However, the German Panther tank is a replaced American Sherman tank. The performances are average, with Lloyd Bridges hamming it up as a German officer who has clearly gone off his rocker. As World War II movies go, "Death Race" is definitely outlandish. The worst problem with this hour and 15 minute epic is its inconclusive ending and leaves the opposing sides in a desert stand-off.

Doug McClure plays a happy-go-luck American fighter pilot Lieutenant Del Culpepper who is running low on fuel when he lands at a British airfield, only to find himself recruited back into combat by the English. As turns out, the Africa Korps is in full retreat, and the British want to destroy a German minefield to prevent unsuspecting Arabs from wandering by accident into it and getting blown-up. Culpepper is extremely reluctant to carry out his mission. The British explain that they have a similar P-40 Tomahawk, but their aircraft is not equipped with a bomb rack. Another American pilot, Arnold McMillan (Roy Thinnes of TV's "The Invaders"), who joined the British Eagle Squadron before the United States entered the war, serves as Culpepper's wingman on the mission.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking German commander, Hans Pimler (Lloyd Bridges of TV's "Sea Hunt"), has survived a battle that leaves him the lone survivor. Just when things look bad for one of the Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's top officers, Pimler spots a lone German Panther tank tooling through the sand dunes. He hitches a ride on it. About the same time that all this takes place, Culpepper decides to drop his only bomb. Culpepper doesn't have his heart in his mission and only sticks around because McMillan, a fighter ace in his own right, threatens to shoot him down. After Culpepper has ditched his bomb, McMillan sites a German convoy and makes a strafing run on it. The Panther tank and its crew that got lost in the desert is now under Pimler's command, and the high ranking German officer participates in the battle. The Panther's tank commander is wounded, and Pimler manages to shoot down McMillan's plane. Culpepper lands and rescues McMillan, but the two Americans find themselves pursued by Pimler in the Panther tank. As it turns out, Pimler is taking the crew of the Panther tank to a secret rendezvous in the desert where survivors have been ordered to meet in case of disaster. They chase our heroes in the damaged plane who realize that they are bound for their original target, the German minefield. Along the way, Culpepper and McMillan shrug off their differences and struggle to keep their ground aircraft far enough ahead of Pimler so they won't be captured.

Eventually, the big showdown comes with Culpepper driving his plane at Pimler's tank in an old West showdown. By this time, McMillan has bitten dust and the tankers under Pimler's command have lost faith in their unhinged leader. As crazy as "Death Race" is, director David Lowell Rich and scenarist Charles Kuenstle, who later provided the story for "Airport '77," could have furnished a stronger ending rather than the wash0ut they end this made-for-television movie. The footage of convoy scene where McMillan strafes the Germans has lifted from the Universal Pictures' theatrical release "Raid on Rommel."

Action in North Africa

[gordonl56 · 8/10 · 7 April 2015]

DEATH RACE aka STATE OF DIVISION – 1973

This is a made for television film with the leads being played by, Doug McClure, Lloyd Bridges, Roy Thinnes and Eric Braeden.

Doug McClure and Roy Thinnes are pilots serving in North Africa during the fight against the German Afrika Korps. They receive an assignment to bomb some possible German minefields. They take off in their P-40 Tomahawks to deal with said minefield.

On the return flight they see a German convoy driving through the desert. Veteran pilot, Thinnes, decide a bit of strafing would be in order. This however does not quite come off as planned. Thinnes is shot down by a German Officer, Lloyd Bridges, commanding a tank. Thinnes parachutes to safety not far from the German tank.

McClure, against his better judgement, lands nearby and bundles the wounded Thinnes into his own P-40. But before he can take off, the German tank puts a cannon shell through the wing of the aircraft. The plane will run, but it will not fly. McClure guns the aircraft for all it is worth and heads off over the desert.

The tank commander, Bridges, is not amused with the damage done to his convoy and sets out in pursuit. The film now become a cat and mouse chase with Bridges losing his cool as the pursuit continues. Tank crew member, Eric Braeden, suggests to Bridges they get back to the German lines as the tank is needed there. Bridges just growls and orders the chase to continue.

As the chase continues, Braeden can see that Bridges has gone right around the bend. Should he take command, or do as ordered. He decides on the latter course of action. That is till the tank catches the P-40. McClure helps the wounded Thinnes from the aircraft and waves a white flag to surrender. Bridges will have none of it, and opens fire with the top mounted machine gun killing Thinnes. Braeden has had enough of the battle crazy Bridges, and shoots him dead. He just won't mention to headquarters how Bridges bought it. Braeden then dismounts the tank and walks toward McClure as the camera pulls away.

I recall watching this the first time as a teenager, and being impressed with it. The use of real P-40's sure did not hurt. This low budget, but effective film is definitely worth a look for the war film buff.

Best enjoyed if you don't think this one out too much.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 8 March 2017]

This film is set in WWII and the Germans in North Africa are on retreat now that the Americans have gone on the offensive. When two P-40 pilots are sent to destroy a mine field (just HOW they would do that, I have no idea), they see a small column of German vehicles. One dives to engage them and is miraculously shot down by the tank*! The second plane lands nearby to rescue the downed pilot and in doing this, the tank damages the second plane so badly it cannot fly. So, it's forced to drive about the desert avoiding the German tank...sort of like a game of cat and mouse. What's next?

The one thing that startled me about the film was the casting of Lloyd Bridges as the German tank commander. His accent made him sound just like an American actor TRYING (and not succeeding in the least) in doing a German accent. Why they didn't have him play one of the pilots is beyond me. And, why they didn't have Eric Braeden (who was part of the crew) play the tank commander I do not know...especially since Braeden IS German and played a German commander in the TV series "Combat!" as well as "Rat Patrol".

So apart from the difficult to believe premise and odd casting of Bridges, is the film any good? Well, it is rather entertaining watching Lloyd Bridges play a bit of a maniac! Not the least bit realistic...but fun in a kitschy way. Otherwise, no...it's not a very good film.

*The German tank in the film is actually an American Sherman tank. This is because after the war, there were very few German tanks left....and there were thousands of Shermans. In fact, in most films the German tanks are American tanks and often Shermans or Walker Bulldogs sub for German tanks.

For it's time, very well done short WWll movie

[Geoffrey901 · 9/10 · 30 January 2005]

Death race, a.k.a. State of Division, was a made for TV movie, that for the time especially, was very well done. The German tank actually had correct markings for one used in North Africa, the P-40 was about the right series, the clothing and weapons were all pretty much correct-except for two glaring goofs. Bridge's character sported a Luger pistol, and while this is an authentic German WWl sidearm, almost no command rank officer carried one, most favored the more modern and reliable Walther P-38. The only other readily apparent wrong is the P-40 supposedly had 20mm cannons as wing guns. No Curtiss P-40 of any series (B through N) was equipped thusly from the New York factory, and the only change the British made to theirs was changing the wing and cowl mount guns to .303 Brownings instead of the standard .30 caliber U.S. I actually enjoyed this movie for the most part, as it really was very authentic, and for someone like me (a confirmed military history buff!), the closer they get it to right, the easier it is to just watch and get lost in the story. I do wish it had been made longer, so more character development could have taken place. McClure's Culpepper starts off as a 'get by' kind of guy, not really caring much about the war or any greater ideal than his next meal or shower. They really rushed his change to a 'now I see why I should care' after a day and a half spent with the Thinne's McMillan, an Eagle squadron pilot, whom he starts taking a liking too through their shared dilemma. McMillan starts to explain why he enlisted with the British, why he put himself into harms way, but never gives the reason. The final 'battle' sequence at the end is pretty exciting, but again feels rushed. The movie runs approx. 90 minutes, so overall, except for the above listed comments, I feel this is an enjoyable movie for both the WWll buff or the action/drama movie watcher.

Good for a TV movie, predictable ending, overall not bad at all

[RepublicofE · 8/10 · 21 March 2016]

If you've seen other movies of this ilk, then you can likely predict the ending just by reading a brief synopsis of the premise before even watching it. The film has mediocre-to-average acting, with the exception of the German general who may be considered a little above average.

As the movie progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that it will end with a dramatic show-down between the tank and the plane, at least one of which will only have one crew member left, because the director just seems to pass up all other opportunities to end the movie differently, and by the last 15 minutes there really is no room left for any other ending. I saw it coming from the beginning, but I was kind of disappointed. I'm not sure what I think would have been a better/more satisfying ending, but I was just hoping despite knowing better that the director would resist the temptation of doing as so many other war movies seem to, that is, making the plot eventually come down to "Moby Dick but with a submarine/ship/plane/tank/person/whatever". The German general character didn't even seem to be heading that way even though I knew that one way or another that is what would happen. He was set up more as a wise tactician and loyal soldier, and only at the very end do they pull out the "military leader obsessed to the point of madness with pursuing and destroying his enemy" trope.

During the movie, the general reveals that pursuing the plane is in reality just a secondary objective en-route a secret rendezvous point in the middle of the desert in which the straggling German forces who got left behind during the retreat are to re-group and attempt to wage guerrilla warfare from behind the Allied front lines. At first I thought the general was just making it up in order to give his men hope to keep them from loosing all morale and mutinying, but then later they reveal though the British characters that this secret base does actually exist and the general really is making his way there, which gave me hope for a different ending than I was expecting. But then they sort of just set that aside and keep going on toward the inevitable dramatic showdown like I originally thought. The secret base they keep referring to, despite being made clear to really exist in the movie's universe, is never actually shown on-screen, probably due to budget limitations. I can get past that, and in fact I think not showing it may have added a special element of suspense, but it was an element of suspense I feel they squandered by not having that secret location have any bearing on the climax. The general, who throughout most of the movie is played as an expert tactician who knows how to carefully bide his time and stalk his wounded prey in order to have his cake and eat it too, suddenly turns into a crazy and unstoppable killer, despite being within just a few hours of the secret base, having more than enough supplies to get there safely, and having two now-defeated enemies whom, instead of taking prisoner as collateral and a source of information as appeared to be his original plan, he decides to just gun down while they are surrendering (one survives), having never displayed any indication before that he considered that an option.

Still, even though the ending was extremely predictable and didn't really make sense from a character motivation standpoint, it was still filmed and acted well enough, and ends on a relatively satisfying cliff-hangar. Given the clearly limited budget and promotion they had, I' say they did a pretty fine job all things considered. Not a riveting masterpiece, but it's a fine little film that's worth its short hour and 15 minutes.

I've got a tank and an airplane and a camera-- Let's make a movie!

[davidemartin · 8/10 · 29 April 2001]

I remember this as an intriguing chase film, with a grounded fighter plane being chased across the North African desert by a lone Panzer. Given how movies sometimes get made, I can't help but wonder if this nifty little film came about for one reason, that the producers had access to a vintage tank and a (non-flying) fighter plane for a week or two....

Doug McClure is good as the stalwart American pilot but Bridges is oddly cast as a Rommel wannabe, intruding on the kind of roles Eric Braeden/ Hans Guddergast usually played before breaking into soap operas.

A movie I saw 10 years ago and just found on IMDB

[sparky2010 · 10/10 · 26 December 1999]

I can still vividly remember the closing sequence to this film even after 10 years. It was just one of those movies that has stuck in my memory.I tried to recall the name of the movie on several occasions and it was only by chance that I found it on IMDB.

Excellent roles played by both the late Lloyd Bridges and Doug McClure. It was unfortunate that probably this being a "TV" movie it was not listed in the obituaries of these actors. I have tried unsuccessfully over many years of hunting to find a copy of this movie.

The portrayal of the increasing insane Pimler by Bridges was just brilliant. If anyone reading this review ever locates this movie, please get in touch.

Saw this one in 1973 and have wanted to see it again ever since.

[wrinkled · 3 March 2000]

This is for all you "Death Race" fans who want to see this movie one more time. It was re-released on VHS in 1986 under the title: "State of Division". Please Note: that the cover and description don't really match the original movie, but it is indeed "Death Race". The quality of the video / audio is iffy at best but it most certainly watchable. My understanding is that the movie is out of print (OOP) but I have found several copies. I paid a whopping 9 bucks for a new copy. Best of luck...

interesting equipment in real desert sands

[djaxon · 3 November 2002]

The equipment is worth watching in this movie. The two P-40's are nice to watch, and what other movie shows a P-40 being "bombed up" with a really big 500 pounder. The tank is a chance to see armor work in real sand. It is a late model M-4 but so what, it looks good and is fun to watch in desert terain, which is not all flat as it really was in North Afrika. And wasn't that sargent in Rat Patrol? All the actors give a good show and I liked this movie for its location, equipment and action.

spell bounding attention holder

[ebert-11 · 16 September 1999]

I remember seeing this movie during college at University of Houston and I remember being spell bound by the concept of a tank chasing a plane across a desert, and the psychological warfare that was taking place in side the tank,because of his endless pursuit of the enemy who was crippled like an animal, but was not ready to show mercy. until the surprising end.

A great movie that brings you into there struggle.

Would like to find a copy of this movie somewhere for purchase