Nine Men
Encyclopedia
Nine Men is a 1943
British patriotic war film
. The film is an Ealing Studios
production, which marked the first fiction film assignment for celebrated documentary film director Harry Watt
. In common with many Ealing productions of the time, Nine Men used a largely unknown cast, few of whom were full-time professional actors.
Lacking a budget for large-scale battle scenes, Nine Men focuses tightly on psychological tension and the personal interactions between its nine protagonists.
, Glamorgan
.
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
British patriotic war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
. The film is an Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
production, which marked the first fiction film assignment for celebrated documentary film director Harry Watt
Harry Watt (director)
Harry Watt was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty. His 1959 film The Siege of Pinchgut was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival...
. In common with many Ealing productions of the time, Nine Men used a largely unknown cast, few of whom were full-time professional actors.
Plot
Sergeant Jack Watson and the eight men under his command are travelling through the Libyan desert in an Allied convoy when their truck is destroyed by Italian forces and they find themselves stranded as the convoy moves on without them. They take refuge in a semi-derelict desert fort, where they must hold out while being besieged by the Italians, with only a limited supply of ammunition and their own wits to help them survive.Lacking a budget for large-scale battle scenes, Nine Men focuses tightly on psychological tension and the personal interactions between its nine protagonists.
Cast
- Jack LambertJack Lambert (British actor)Jack Lambert was a British film and television actor.-Selected filmography:* Red Ensign * The Ghost Goes West * Premiere * Nine Men * Floodtide * The Lost Hours...
as Sgt. Jack Watson - Gordon JacksonGordon Jackson (actor)Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE was a Scottish Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals....
as Young'un - Frederick PiperFrederick PiperFrederick Piper was an English actor who appeared in over 80 films and many television productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Never a leading player, Piper was usually cast in minor, sometimes uncredited, parts although he also appeared in some more substantial supporting roles...
as 'Badger' Hill - Grant Sutherland as Jock Scott
- Bill Blewett as Bill Parker
- Eric Micklewood as 'Bookie' Lee
- John Varley as 'Dusty' Johnstone
- Jack Horsman as Joe Harvey
- Richard Wilkinson as Lt. Crawford
Location filming
The film's exterior desert sequences were shot on location at Margam SandsMargam
Margam is a suburb of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway.- History :...
, Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
.