Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

gordonl56 DEATH RACE aka STATE OF DIVISION – 1973This 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.

zardoz-13 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."

Geoffrey901 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.

ebert-11 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