84 From ’84: Sahara

Sahara

Intent on winning a competition in place of her distinguished late father, beautiful young heiress Dale takes on the guise of a man and competes in his spot, embarking on a car race that crosses the unforgiving Sahara desert.

Cast:

• Brooke Shields as Dale Gordon
• Lambert Wilson as Sheikh Ahmed Al Jaffar
• Horst Buchholz as Heinrich Von Glessing
• John Rhys-Davies as Rasoul
• John Mills as Cambridge
• Ronald Lacey as Beg

1984 viewing

I vaguely remember this movie from the 80s. It’s a Raiders of the Lost Ark knock off by the great Cannon Production Company. Maybe one day I’ll do a series on all the Cannon films.

Brooke Shields was all the rage back in the 80s, from her stint in Blue Lagoon to her controversial Calvin Klein commercials.

I’ve always known about Brooke Shields but I didn’t concern myself too much with her until the late 1990s when she married Andre Agassi. And even then it was a passing bit of pop culture.

Let’s get on with this movie…

40th Anniversary Re-watch

Dale Gordon (Brooke Shields) is the headstrong heiress who disguise herself as a man to race in the Trans-African Auto Race. Oh yeah, the movie is set in 1928. Dale is racing because her father died in a practice run and she wants to fulfill his dream and win the prize money.

The premise reminds me of the 2004 movie Hildago, about a 3,000 mile horse race across the desert. Hildago is a better movie.

Along the way Dale encounters Sheikh Ahmed, who becomes her ally and love interest. The real star of the movie is Rasoul played by the great John Rhys-Davies. Rasoul will stop at nothing to thwart Dale from winning the race.

John Rhys-Davies played Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark, a movie Sahara is trying to emulate. Another Raiders connection is Ronald Lacey, he played Arnold Toht, the villain who gets the medallion burned into his hand in Nepal.

Coproducer Menahem Golan came up with the story idea after Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark went missing in the desert during a car race.

Overall Sahara isn’t a terrible movie. In a year filled with multiple adventure movies though, this one doesn’t rise to the top.

Favorite Line:

… Nothing stood out in this one …

There are some good performances and the scenery is great. But if it’s high adventure you seek, there are better movies coming out in 1984.

Sahara was released on 02 March 1984 and was a box office bomb. It made $1.4 million on a $25 million budget. Normally I’d give this movie 4 out of 10 stars. Cannon Films get a +1 to all movie ratings. (It’s in the rule book, look it up)

Did you watch Sahara? If so let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on X(Twitter). The main Geekster channel is @TRNSocial and I’m @MileHighSamurai You can also find me on Bluesky @MileHighSamurai

5/10 stars

Check out the entire 84 From ’84 movie series