Play Dirty (1969)

Director:

André De Toth

Writers:

Melvyn Bragg (screenplay)
Lotte Colin (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

1 January 1969 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

Forget the medals, throw away the rule book, if you want to survive.... Play Dirty

Plot:

The Dirty Dozen meet the Stiff Upper Lip. A British Petroleum executive (Michael Caine) is assigned...

Plot Keywords:

British Army | Nurse | German Officer | White Flag | World War Two In Africa

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Capt. Douglas
Nigel Davenport	...	Capt. Cyril Leech
Nigel Green	...	Col. Masters
Harry Andrews	...	Brig. Blore
Patrick Jordan	...	Maj. Alan Watkins
Daniel Pilon	...	Capt. Allwood (Blore's adjutant at Special Forces HQ)
Martin Burland	...	Dead Officer
George McKeenan	...	Corporal at Quayside
Bridget Espeet	...	Ann
Bernard Archard	...	Col. Homerton
Aly Ben Ayed	...	Sadok
Enrique Ávila	...	Kalarides (as Enrique Avila)
Mohsen Ben Abdallah	...	Hassan
Mohamed Kouka	...	Assine
Takis Emmanuel	...	Kostos Manov (as Takis Emmanouel)
Scott Miller	...	Boudesh
Michael Stevens	...	Capt. Johnson
Anthony Stamboulieh	...	Barman in Arab Bar (as Tony Stamboulieh)
Jose Halufi	...	Arab
Vivian Pickles	...	German Nurse
Stanley Caine	...	German Officer
Jeremy Child	...	2nd Lieutenant
Dennis Brennan	...	Corporal
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rafael Albaicín	...	Chief Arab at Oasis

Directed by
André De Toth		(as Andre De Toth)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Melvyn Bragg		screenplay
Lotte Colin		screenplay
George Marton		story

Produced by
Harry Saltzman	....	producer

Original Music by
Michel Legrand

Cinematography by
Edward Scaife		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jack Slade
Alan Osbiston		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Thomas N. Morahan		(as Tom Morahan)
Maurice Pelling
Elven Webb

Makeup Department
Betty Glasow	....	hair stylist
A.L. Lawrance	....	makeup artist (as R. Lawrance)
Freddie Williamson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Eva Monley	....	production manager
Vicente Sempere	....	production manager: Spain

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nick Caris Carter	....	assistant director
Roger Good	....	assistant director
Antonio Tarruella	....	assistant director: Spain (as Tony Taruella)

Art Department
Mike Fowlie	....	stand-by property man (uncredited)

Sound Department
Paddy Cunningham	....	sound recordist
Teddy Mason	....	sound editor (as Ted Mason)
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound mixer (as Gordon McCallum)
Otto Snel	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Kit West	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Alan McCabe	....	camera operator
Trevor Wrenn	....	second camera operator
Laurie Shane	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
John Brady	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Michel Legrand	....	conductor

Other crew
Robert Bennett	....	technical advisor (as R.S.M. Robert Bennett M.M. B.E.M.)
Andrew Birkin	....	location manager
Phyllis Crocker	....	continuity
R.D. Neville	....	technical advisor (as Brigadier R.D. Neville O.B.E.)
Harry Saltzman	....	presenter
A. Tizam	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Lowndes Productions Limited

Distributors

• United Artists (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1969) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1969) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• United Artists Corporation (1971) (UK) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1973) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Lee Lighting  lighting
• Personnel of the Long Range Desert Group and the Special Air Services, The  English lyricists: "Lili Marlene"

Also Known As:

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Arabic | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:15 | UK:AA (original rating) | Singapore:PG | West Germany:16 (f) | USA:PG (certificate #21963) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:M (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Cabo de Gata, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Lowndes Productions Limited

Trivia:

André De Toth replaced René Clément.

Goofs:

Plot holes: The Arabs at the oasis wouldn't have needed to know the significance of a tiny necklace to realize the soldiers were English; since some of them understood or at least recognized Italian, they would have seen the "W" on the water cans. Italians would have "A" for acqua, and wouldn't be driving a US Jeep.

Quotes:

[Leech unexpected guns down a group of Bedouins]
Capt. Douglas:[startled but calm] What did you do that for?
Capt. Cyril Leech:I didn't like the tea.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Harry Saltzman: Showman (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Lili Marlene

Loyalty means nothing when you got to look after yourself.

After a string of failures, Col. Masters is given one last chance by General Blore with his information taken from behind enemy lines, which involves blowing up a Nazi fuel depot in North Africa. Masters gets a seven-man unit of criminals ready, led by mercenary Captain Leech, but Blore wants a British officer in charge and Captain Douglas with his oil experience gets picked. After they head off, we learn that they're a decoy for another patrol to fulfil the assignment, but this is unknown to them. Leech and Douglas clash over who's in command, but Leech sees Douglas' honoured methods aren't well suited for their situation and lets Douglas string them along, as there's a money reward for him if he returns back with Douglas alive.

What hits me straight away is the comparisons to Robert Aldrich's 1967 film "The Dirty Dozen", which gets unfairly lumped onto this feature. Honestly this low-key WW2 British production has some similarities, but it has its own story to tell and it's a real good one too. Andre De Toth's direction is resourcefully efficient and randomly unpredictable in detailing the plight.

What George Marton's originally cunning story does, is leave behind all of those slapdash clichés. Looking for something more compact, taut and venomously scathing. It's so open minded, it's hard to tell what's going to occur next and while there might not be much background to these characters. This shows how expendable these men are when at war, but the lack development can be put down to the character themselves. Their here for the present, and they got a job to be done and there's not time for personal insight, because they just don't care. The custom pattern that occurs in a jaggedly slow tempo feels deliberate by trying to get the viewer to experience the rugged path that could lead to their impending doom, before even encountering the enemy. These are the moments when the tension really holds up. Glory and principal is discarded in very cynical fashion, in favour of primal instinct for one self. These are a unlikeable bunch. Exciting entertainment this is not, because it stays pretty level with the film's natural grit, devious intentions and lack of reasoning for the mission. Thrown in are one or two daring and unusual aspects, like the two candidly gay Arabs. The bone-dry script (penned by Melvyn Bragg and Lotte Colin) simply grits its teeth with bitter, ironic and stern dialogues that snaps with tersely realism. You can just see why this wasn't a commercial success (say like Aldrich's war film), and the sourly unrewarding and sudden conclusion is the icing on the cake. I liked this final curve-ball.

The harshly barren and dusty terrain depicts the unsparing tone of the film superbly with Edward Scaife's illustratively expressive camera-work skilfully mixing its scenic and upfront shots within the aim of the story's actions. Michael Legrand's understated music score is goes by virtually unnoticed, but this only heightens the tension because there's no real cues. Most of the music comes from a radio playing on the journey. De Toth gustily demonstrates convincing action scenes. They might be quick and few, but when they happen it's chaotic, rough and relentlessly staged with conviction. Just look at the eruption of explosions towards the dying end. His pacing can be off and get rather padded, but he never loses what his trying to say within these scenes and actually they probably add more to wearily sparse tone. Michael Caine and Nigel Davenport do a serviceable job in their parts and the pair's edgily unsure relationship is quite a compelling one. Caine's professionally stout and well-judged performance as Captain Douglas works fine and a slyly hard-boiled performance by Nigel Davenport as the rogue Captain Leech is that of high quality and the pick of the lot. Living it up in minor roles are Nigel Green and arrogantly gusto turn by Harry Andrews. The rest of the support roles pale in the light of the two leads. However they are solid and gritty performances that fit the mould.

This one undeservedly gets left in the dark, but this hardy effort is a well made and acted war piece due for rediscovery. Recommended.