The Steel Lady (also known as Treasure of Kalifa) is a 1953 American action film directed by Ewald André Dupont starring Rod Cameron and Tab Hunter.

They discover a buried German tank dating to World War II, and they attempt to cross the desert with it.

They have limited food and water, no radio, no way to repair the plane, and with no hope of rescue, face a slow death.

Digging down, they discover it belongs to a German tank from World War II, complete with mummified crew, lost in the dunes ten years before, out of water, fuel, and supplies.

After burying the German crew, they attempt to repair their radio with parts from the tank and manage to tell the outside world that they are alive.

They need to sacrifice some of their water for the tank's radiator, but eventually get it running and choose to drive to a French Foreign Legion outpost over a hundred miles away.

Pretending to be gracious hosts, the Bedouins offer horses and a cargo camel, along with food and water, in exchange for the tank.

The Bedouins demand to search their visitors, so Barlow begins to fight and the Americans flee to the tank and drive away.

In the ensuing stand-off, the Americans are holed up in the tank, fighting off periodic attacks from the Bedouins in the surrounding hills.

During the flight, they recall how Barlow, though greedy and a drunkard, ended up as a worthy fighter who helped save the others.