Night Ambush (1957)

Led by British officers, partisans on Crete plan to kidnap the island's German commander and smuggle him to Cairo, Egypt to embarrass the occupiers.

Directors:

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

W. Stanley Moss (adapted from the book: "Ill Met By Moonlight" The Wartime Diary in Crete of), Michael Powell

Stars:

Dirk Bogarde, Marius Goring, David Oxley

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dirk Bogarde	...	Major Patrick Leigh Fermor D.S.O. O.B.E. also known to the Cretans and the German Secret Police as PHILEDEM
Marius Goring	...	Major General Kreipe
David Oxley	...	Captain W. Stanley Moss, M.C.
Dimitri Andreas	...	Niko (as Demetri Andreas)
Cyril Cusack	...	Sandy
Laurence Payne	...	Manoli
Wolfe Morris	...	George
Michael Gough	...	Andoni Zoidakis
John Cairney	...	Elias
Brian Worth	...	Stratis Saviolkis
Roland Bartrop	...	Micky Akoumianakis (as Rowland Bartrop)
George Eugeniou	...	Charis Zographakis
Paul Stassino	...	Yani Katsias
Adeeb Assaly	...	Zahari
Theo Moreas	...	Village Priest

Storyline

Based on the true story of how, during World War II, a gang of desparadoes (British officers enlisted for "hostilities only" and local partisans) went to the occupied island of Crete and kidnapped a German General from under the nose of his army. That was the easy bit. They then had to get him back to Cairo, Egypt, dodging an intense air and land search.

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Plot Keywords:

crete | partisan | world war two | nazi occupation | british army | 

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Taglines:

They stole a General under the noses of his 20,000 crack paratroops

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Greek German

Release Date:

July 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Night Ambush

Filming Locations:

Alpes Maritimes, Alps, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Rank Organisation, Vega Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The lines of poetry that Major Patrick Leigh Fermor (Sir Dirk Bogarde) recites prior to the kidnapping are from "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" (Canto III, Stanza 22) by Lord Byron.

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Goofs

The headlight covers switch between the wartime "slit" to no covers and back again when the general is being abducted in his car.

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Quotes

Major General Kreipe: Kindly inform General Brauer that he is an incompetent idiot.

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Alternate Versions

The UK version of the film, titled "Ill Met by Moonlight", is 11 minutes longer than the version originally released in American markets.

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Connections

Referenced in The South Bank Show: Michael Powell (1986)

User Reviews

interesting WW II spy intrigue from U.K.

Filmed ten years AFTER the end of the second world war, Night Ambush (ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT to the rest of the world) is a story of British operatives in Crete, reporting home on the activities of the Germans. Their plan is to grab a German officer and take him away. The only name I recognized here is British actor Dirk Bogarde, who plays Major Patrick Fermor. In this story, David Oxley plays Captain I.W. Stanley Moss; Moss is also the original author of his own true account of this WWII story, according to Wikipedia. Part of the story is kind of a jolly old adventure, with dancing and singing, which was a little odd for spies keeping a low profile. Take note of the German officer who barges in at the dentist's office to inspect everyone's papers; Christopher Lee (would have been about 30) has played many roles, frequently the villain in Star Wars, Man with the Golden Gun, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and even Sherlock Holmes. Interesting career,he has worked with many of the greats. As others have mentioned, incredible outdoor photography, which seems to be the Italian Alps. Quite good quality sound and photography by the Rank Organisation, for the 1950s. Screenplay and direction by Powell and Pressburger, who had made 25 films together. Good way to spend 104 minutes (although IMDb shows "US version 93 mins", Turner Classics DID show the 104 min version ....there were a couple off- color remarks, but certainly not 10 minutes worth.) Doesn't seem to have won any awards, but interesting spy story from WW II.