Play Dirty
Encyclopedia
Play Dirty is a 1969 British film inspired by the North African exploits of units such as the Long Range Desert Group
, Popski's Private Army
and the SAS
during World War II
. It was directed by André De Toth
and written by Melvyn Bragg
and Lotte Colin. It stars Michael Caine
, Nigel Green
and Harry Andrews
.
and Captain Douglas (Caine
) is a BP
employee seconded to the Royal Engineers to oversee handling incoming fuel supplies for the British 8th Army
in North Africa. It is a comfortable life until a Popski's Private Army style colonel (Green
) is told he must put a regular officer to lead one of his units on a dangerous mission to destroy an Afrika Korps
fuel depot 400 miles behind enemy lines.
Douglas, who is an expert in fuel pipes and installations, is chosen despite protesting that he is only a port contractor with an honorary commission. Douglas's C.O. dismisses his pleas noting that he is wearing a British Army officer's uniform and therefore can't disobey the order. So Douglas departs on what first seems like a fantasy adventure when he is taken to a Senussi
cafe, which is a front for Masters HQ, there Douglas bumps into Cyril Leech. Leech, a convicted criminal rescued from prison by Masters to lead his unit's sabotage missions, directs Douglas to Masters office. Next day, after being briefed and outfitted in Italian uniforms, Douglas, with the unwilling Leech, leads the unit out into the desert disguised as an Italian Army patrol. The unit is made up from convicted criminals that have been released to Masters' command, these include Greek narcotics smuggler Kafkarides, smuggler Kostas Manou (also Greek
), Tunisian terrorist Sadok, rapist Boudesh and two simple-minded Senussi
tribesmen Hassan and Assine.
The group comes to a dead end in the form of a cliffside. Leech suggests going back, but Douglass wants to tow the vehicles up the cliff in order to avoid an incoming German patrol. The first two vehicles make it up, but Leech refuses to unload the third one; the cable snaps and the truck and its supplies are lost.
The group is unaware that Brigadier Blore had sent out a second, larger group of regular servicemen, and that the mercenaries are merely a decoy to flush out German defenses so that the larger group could accomplish the mission and get all the glory. While the mercenaries are at the top of the cliff, the "official" group encounters a German patrol at the bottom. Leech keeps Douglass from helping the regulars, who get massacred by the Germans; Leech justifies this by saying that to survive you "watch, listen, and say
nothing".
The mercenaries encounter a sandstorm and rocky terrain; they've changed their tires eight times and are out of spares. They come across an abandoned battleground with a destroyed vehicle, and decide to take the tires off it and use them on their own vehicles. Douglass is about to pick up a jack to remove the vehicle's tires, but Leech warns him that it may be wired to a bomb. He calls Sadok over, who finds that it is indeed wired and begins to neutralize it. However, Assine and Hassan are looting the corpses; Hassan sets off a bomb and gets badly injured. The group gets their tires and drive off.
As they continue their journey, Assine tells them to stop because Hassan will die if they continue. Douglass points out that there is a German supply road 20 miles ahead, and they continue toward it. When they reach the supply road, Sadok pretends to be injured, stopping a Red Cross vehicle. When two unarmed medics get out of the truck, Douglass shoots them, and he and Leech get into the front, and Sadok climbs into the trailer. Leech and Douglass hear shouting in the trailer, and when Douglass checks it out he says "it's only a nurse".
Leech and Douglass drive the truck to the rest of the group. When they open the rear of the truck, Sadok and a German nurse (Vivian Pickles) are fighting. Leech knocks her down and prepares to kill her when Douglass tells him that she could give Hassan much-needed medical assistance. As the nurse is seeing to Hassan, three of the mercenaries try to rape her; however, Hassan saves her by shooting one of them in the rear with his pistol. Leech and Douglass hear the gunshot and run over, only to see the nurse dressing the bullet wound on her would-be rapist's ass.
The group finally reaches the fuel depot. Having bound and gagged the nurse to a bunk in the truck next to Hassan, they adventure out to destroy the depot. However, they find that the depot was actually a decoy set up by the Germans. The mercenaries gather in a "barracks" and Leech tells them that the mission is done. Douglass, however, wants to find the real depot, but the rest of the mercenaries refuse to go along with him so he reluctantly leaves with him.
Back at the Army outpost, Blare shows Masters area photographs that show that the fuel depot was not destroyed, and that that's exactly what they wanted, as the British Army is advancing through the desert and wants the depots for their own use. Unable to contact the mercenaries, Masters and Blore leak their mission to the Germans.
In a German-controlled port city, Leech tells Douglass that the only reason he's still alive is because Masters promised him £2,000 to bring him back alive. The two find that the real fuel depot is in the city, and decide to destroy it as a diversion so they can steal a boat. The mercenaries, dressed as German soldiers, sneak into the depot. However, Blare and Masters leak their plan to the Germans, and the Germans become aware of the mercenaries. While they are able to cause a lot of chaos with their explosives, all of them except Douglass and Leech get gunned down. While this is going on, the nurse, still tied to a bed in the truck with Hassan, tries to communicate with Hassan through her gag. Suddenly, Hassan coughs up blood, screams "Assine!", and shoots the nurse in the stomach with his pistol. Both the nurse and Hassan presumably die shortly after.
Leech and Douglass, the only two surviving members of the party, and hiding in a building when British tanks and infantry crash through the walls of the city. Still disguised as German soldiers, they improvise a white flag and walk into the street with their arms up, only to both be shot to death by a trigger-happy British soldier who "didn't see the white flag".
The film, which was shot on location near Tabernas
in Almería
, Spain
, is notable for several long and involved action sequences that play without principal dialogue.
Nigel Davenport's performance is particularly memorable in his role as the lethally efficient, nihilist
ic officer Captain Leech.
The film at first appears provocative, for the 1960s, with its frank pre-Stonewall
portrayal of homosexuality. Though a more reasoned description of the two is silly and child-like. They appear more asexual than homosexual.
The mission's target is a fuel depot at the fictional Libyan port town of Capris Magna.
No explanation is given for why Hassan shoots the German nurse.
Nigel Davenport was initially cast in supporting role but was given the second lead after Richard Harris
was fired.
Long Range Desert Group
The Long Range Desert Group was a reconnaissance and raiding unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The commander of the German Afrika Corps, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, admitted that the LRDG "caused us more damage than any other British unit of equal strength".Originally called...
, Popski's Private Army
Popski's Private Army
Popski's Private Army, officially No. 1 Demolition Squadron, PPA, was a unit of British Special Forces founded in Cairo in 1942 by Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Peniakoff DSO MC. Popski's Private Army was one of several raiding units formed in the Western Desert during the Second World War...
and the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was directed by André De Toth
André De Toth
André de Toth was a Hungarian-American filmmaker, born and raised in Makó, Csongrád, Kingdom of Hungary Austro-Hungarian Empire. He directed the 3-D film House of Wax, despite being unable to see in 3-D himself, having lost an eye at an early age. He is known for his gritty B movies in the western...
and written by Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg FRSL FRTS FBA, FRS FRSA is an English broadcaster and author best known for his work with the BBC and for presenting the The South Bank Show...
and Lotte Colin. It stars Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
, Nigel Green
Nigel Green
Nigel Green was a South African-born English character actor. Because of his strapping build and commanding demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic sixties films as Jason and the Argonauts, Zulu, Tobruk and The Ipcress File.-Early life and...
and Harry Andrews
Harry Andrews
Harry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
.
Plot
It's WWIIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and Captain Douglas (Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
) is a BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
employee seconded to the Royal Engineers to oversee handling incoming fuel supplies for the British 8th Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
in North Africa. It is a comfortable life until a Popski's Private Army style colonel (Green
Nigel Green
Nigel Green was a South African-born English character actor. Because of his strapping build and commanding demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic sixties films as Jason and the Argonauts, Zulu, Tobruk and The Ipcress File.-Early life and...
) is told he must put a regular officer to lead one of his units on a dangerous mission to destroy an Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
fuel depot 400 miles behind enemy lines.
Douglas, who is an expert in fuel pipes and installations, is chosen despite protesting that he is only a port contractor with an honorary commission. Douglas's C.O. dismisses his pleas noting that he is wearing a British Army officer's uniform and therefore can't disobey the order. So Douglas departs on what first seems like a fantasy adventure when he is taken to a Senussi
Senussi
The Senussi or Sanussi refers to a Muslim political-religious order in Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political...
cafe, which is a front for Masters HQ, there Douglas bumps into Cyril Leech. Leech, a convicted criminal rescued from prison by Masters to lead his unit's sabotage missions, directs Douglas to Masters office. Next day, after being briefed and outfitted in Italian uniforms, Douglas, with the unwilling Leech, leads the unit out into the desert disguised as an Italian Army patrol. The unit is made up from convicted criminals that have been released to Masters' command, these include Greek narcotics smuggler Kafkarides, smuggler Kostas Manou (also Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
), Tunisian terrorist Sadok, rapist Boudesh and two simple-minded Senussi
Senussi
The Senussi or Sanussi refers to a Muslim political-religious order in Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political...
tribesmen Hassan and Assine.
The group comes to a dead end in the form of a cliffside. Leech suggests going back, but Douglass wants to tow the vehicles up the cliff in order to avoid an incoming German patrol. The first two vehicles make it up, but Leech refuses to unload the third one; the cable snaps and the truck and its supplies are lost.
The group is unaware that Brigadier Blore had sent out a second, larger group of regular servicemen, and that the mercenaries are merely a decoy to flush out German defenses so that the larger group could accomplish the mission and get all the glory. While the mercenaries are at the top of the cliff, the "official" group encounters a German patrol at the bottom. Leech keeps Douglass from helping the regulars, who get massacred by the Germans; Leech justifies this by saying that to survive you "watch, listen, and say
nothing".
The mercenaries encounter a sandstorm and rocky terrain; they've changed their tires eight times and are out of spares. They come across an abandoned battleground with a destroyed vehicle, and decide to take the tires off it and use them on their own vehicles. Douglass is about to pick up a jack to remove the vehicle's tires, but Leech warns him that it may be wired to a bomb. He calls Sadok over, who finds that it is indeed wired and begins to neutralize it. However, Assine and Hassan are looting the corpses; Hassan sets off a bomb and gets badly injured. The group gets their tires and drive off.
As they continue their journey, Assine tells them to stop because Hassan will die if they continue. Douglass points out that there is a German supply road 20 miles ahead, and they continue toward it. When they reach the supply road, Sadok pretends to be injured, stopping a Red Cross vehicle. When two unarmed medics get out of the truck, Douglass shoots them, and he and Leech get into the front, and Sadok climbs into the trailer. Leech and Douglass hear shouting in the trailer, and when Douglass checks it out he says "it's only a nurse".
Leech and Douglass drive the truck to the rest of the group. When they open the rear of the truck, Sadok and a German nurse (Vivian Pickles) are fighting. Leech knocks her down and prepares to kill her when Douglass tells him that she could give Hassan much-needed medical assistance. As the nurse is seeing to Hassan, three of the mercenaries try to rape her; however, Hassan saves her by shooting one of them in the rear with his pistol. Leech and Douglass hear the gunshot and run over, only to see the nurse dressing the bullet wound on her would-be rapist's ass.
The group finally reaches the fuel depot. Having bound and gagged the nurse to a bunk in the truck next to Hassan, they adventure out to destroy the depot. However, they find that the depot was actually a decoy set up by the Germans. The mercenaries gather in a "barracks" and Leech tells them that the mission is done. Douglass, however, wants to find the real depot, but the rest of the mercenaries refuse to go along with him so he reluctantly leaves with him.
Back at the Army outpost, Blare shows Masters area photographs that show that the fuel depot was not destroyed, and that that's exactly what they wanted, as the British Army is advancing through the desert and wants the depots for their own use. Unable to contact the mercenaries, Masters and Blore leak their mission to the Germans.
In a German-controlled port city, Leech tells Douglass that the only reason he's still alive is because Masters promised him £2,000 to bring him back alive. The two find that the real fuel depot is in the city, and decide to destroy it as a diversion so they can steal a boat. The mercenaries, dressed as German soldiers, sneak into the depot. However, Blare and Masters leak their plan to the Germans, and the Germans become aware of the mercenaries. While they are able to cause a lot of chaos with their explosives, all of them except Douglass and Leech get gunned down. While this is going on, the nurse, still tied to a bed in the truck with Hassan, tries to communicate with Hassan through her gag. Suddenly, Hassan coughs up blood, screams "Assine!", and shoots the nurse in the stomach with his pistol. Both the nurse and Hassan presumably die shortly after.
Leech and Douglass, the only two surviving members of the party, and hiding in a building when British tanks and infantry crash through the walls of the city. Still disguised as German soldiers, they improvise a white flag and walk into the street with their arms up, only to both be shot to death by a trigger-happy British soldier who "didn't see the white flag".
Production Notes
The film has a heavy anti-war theme. For instance, Colonel Masters is portrayed as being incompetent and more focused on studying Ancient Egypt and Alexander the Great than he is fighting a modern war, and Brigadier Bloore repeatedly orders the death of soldiers so he can be held in high regard in the Army. The movie's "good guys" are terrorists and killers who, during their mission, happily murder civilians, rape and kill a German nurse, loot corpses, and sabotage each other's efforts; the "bad guys" range from unarmed medics to rank-and-file German soldiers. The ending scene where Leech and Douglass get shot to death by their own men is a perfect display of the film's anti-war sentiment.The film, which was shot on location near Tabernas
Tabernas
- Cinema :The Desert Tabernas, because of its similarities with the North American deserts like the Far West of the American West, northern Africa, the Arabian deserts, and its lunar landscape, served from 1950s and onwards for the shooting of many films and westerns making the area famous around...
in Almería
Almería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, is notable for several long and involved action sequences that play without principal dialogue.
Nigel Davenport's performance is particularly memorable in his role as the lethally efficient, nihilist
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
ic officer Captain Leech.
The film at first appears provocative, for the 1960s, with its frank pre-Stonewall
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
portrayal of homosexuality. Though a more reasoned description of the two is silly and child-like. They appear more asexual than homosexual.
The mission's target is a fuel depot at the fictional Libyan port town of Capris Magna.
No explanation is given for why Hassan shoots the German nurse.
Cast
- Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as Captain Douglas - Royal Engineers - Nigel DavenportNigel DavenportNigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...
as Captain Cyril Leech - Was serving 15 years in prison for sinking his tramp steamer for the insurance - Nigel GreenNigel GreenNigel Green was a South African-born English character actor. Because of his strapping build and commanding demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic sixties films as Jason and the Argonauts, Zulu, Tobruk and The Ipcress File.-Early life and...
as Colonel Masters (Based loosely on Vladimir 'Popski' Peniakoff) - Harry AndrewsHarry AndrewsHarry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
as Brigadier Blore (At the time when the film is based, Lt.Colonel Shan Hackett was C.O. Special Forces HQ) - Patrick JordanPatrick Jordan-Selected filmography:* Companions in Crime * No Smoking * The Battle of the River Plate * Cloak Without Dagger * The Man Upstairs * The Angry Hills * The League of Gentlemen...
as Major Alan Watkins - Guards Commando Unit - Daniel PilonDaniel PilonDaniel Pilon is a Canadian-born actor, known for his role in Dallas as Naldo Marchetta. He has also appeared in daytime soap operas such as Ryan's Hope, Guiding Light and Days of our Lives....
as Captain Attwood - Blore's adjutant - Bernard ArchardBernard ArchardBernard Joseph Archard was an English actor.Born in Fulham, London, he was a tall, imposing actor with a distinctive face. He was a conscientious objector in the Second World War and worked on the land...
as Colonel Homerton - Aly Ben Ayed as Sadok
- Enrique Avila as Kafkarides - Imprisoned for smuggling arms and explosives into Egypt
- Takis Emmanuel as Kostas Manou
- Scott Miller as Boudesh
- Mohsen Ben Abdallah as Hassan
- Mohamed Kouka as Assine
- Vivian PicklesVivian PicklesVivian Pickles , is an English actress.She began her career as a child star after being chosen by Mary Field for a series of Saturday Morning children's films, including the lead roles in Jean's Plan and the serial The Adventures of Peter Joe...
as a German Nurse
Nigel Davenport was initially cast in supporting role but was given the second lead after Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
was fired.