Bitter Victory (1957) on Netflix
In wartime Egypt, David Brand and Jimmy Leith are picked to lead a raid on Benghazi. Brand commands. Leith knows the desert, and Brand's wife Jane was once Leith's lover.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb6.7/102,504 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes76%
Trailer
Plot summary
During World War II, in Egypt, the army considers two officers to lead a risky raid on German positions at Benghazi. Major David Brand, a South African, is a career soldier with no experience of battle or command, speaks no Arabic, and knows little of the country. Captain Jimmy Leith, a Welshman, is a volunteer who knows the region well and speaks Arabic. Both are chosen, and Brand is given the command. His men regard him as a stickler for the rule book. Jane, Brand's wife, is a WAAF flight officer who enlisted to stay near her husband. Brand invites Leith for drinks with her. Leith and Jane had been lovers years before her marriage, and he had walked out on her without a word.
Cast
- Ramón de Larrochaas Lieutenant Sanders
- Fred Matteras Oberst Lutze
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Bitter Victory (1957)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Christopher Lee wrote in his autobiography that on arriving in Libya, all but the main stars took part in a cast lottery for parts, and nobody was happy with the role they got, Raymond Pellegrin was stuck as an Arab guide with only four lines.
- British distributors put out a second version with the final scenes removed, cutting the film from 101 minutes to 90 and ending instead with the arrival of help and Lutze setting fire to the documents.
SPOILER
The British Board of Film Censors demanded small cuts that made Leith's execution of the wounded German less explicit, and the uncut version was not aired on British television until 2006.
