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IMDbPro

Yesterday's Enemy

  • 19591959
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
36,926
28,642
Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:45
1 Video
28 Photos
DramaWar
In World War II, during the Japanese invasion of Burma, the lost remnant of a British Army Brigade HQ, led by the ruthless Captain Alan Langford, escapes through the jungle toward the Britis... Read allIn World War II, during the Japanese invasion of Burma, the lost remnant of a British Army Brigade HQ, led by the ruthless Captain Alan Langford, escapes through the jungle toward the British lines.In World War II, during the Japanese invasion of Burma, the lost remnant of a British Army Brigade HQ, led by the ruthless Captain Alan Langford, escapes through the jungle toward the British lines.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
36,926
28,642
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Val Guest
    • Writer
      • Peter R. Newman
    • Stars
      • Stanley Baker
      • Guy Rolfe
      • Leo McKern
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Val Guest
    • Writer
      • Peter R. Newman
    • Stars
      • Stanley Baker
      • Guy Rolfe
      • Leo McKern
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 30User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
    • Nominated for 4 BAFTA Awards
      • 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    Yesterdays Enemy
    Trailer 2:45
    Yesterdays Enemy

    Photos28

    Philip Ahn in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Gordon Jackson in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Stanley Baker, Alan Keith, Leo McKern, Wolfe Morris, and Guy Rolfe in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Wolfe Morris in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Gordon Jackson, David Lodge, and Barry Lowe in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Edwina Carroll in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Stanley Baker and Gordon Jackson in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Stanley Baker and David Oxley in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Gordon Jackson, David Lodge, and Barry Lowe in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Stanley Baker and Wolfe Morris in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
    Stanley Baker, Leo McKern, David Oxley, and Guy Rolfe in Yesterday's Enemy (1959)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Stanley Baker
    Stanley Baker
    • Captain Langford
    Guy Rolfe
    Guy Rolfe
    • Padre
    Leo McKern
    Leo McKern
    • Max
    Gordon Jackson
    Gordon Jackson
    • Sgt. McKenzie
    David Oxley
    David Oxley
    • Doctor
    Richard Pasco
    Richard Pasco
    • 2nd Lt. Hastings
    Philip Ahn
    Philip Ahn
    • Yamazaki
    Bryan Forbes
    Bryan Forbes
    • Dawson
    Wolfe Morris
    Wolfe Morris
    • Informer
    • (as Wolf Morris)
    David Lodge
    David Lodge
    • Perkins
    Percy Herbert
    Percy Herbert
    • Wilson
    Russell Waters
    • Brigadier
    Barry Lowe
    Barry Lowe
    • Turner
    Burt Kwouk
    Burt Kwouk
    • Japanese Soldier
    Timothy Bateson
    Timothy Bateson
    • Simpson
    • (uncredited)
    Geoffrey Bayldon
    Geoffrey Bayldon
    • Soldier who Dies
    • (uncredited)
    Brandon Brady
    Brandon Brady
    • Orderly
    • (uncredited)
    Edwina Carroll
    Edwina Carroll
    • Suni
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Val Guest
    • Writer
      • Peter R. Newman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Stanley Baker regarded this as one of his best films, although he regretted they did not have a larger budget.
    • Goofs
      There are six prisoners in front of a firing squad, but only five soldiers in the firing squad each fire one shot.
    • Quotes

      Captain Langford: He knew there's only one way to fight a war, any war. With your gloves off.

    • Crazy credits
      There is no 'The End' at the end of the film. The camera merely pans away from a memorial which reads 'WHEN YOU GO HOME TELL THEM OF US AND SAY- FOR THEIR TOMORROW WE GAVE OUR TODAY'; and silence, but with just birds singing.
    • Connections
      Featured in Talkies: Remembering Stanley Baker: Talking Pictures with Glyn Baker (2019)
    • Soundtracks
      Burma March
      (uncredited)

      Composed by Franz Reizenstein

    User reviews30

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Uncompromising look at the cruelty of war.
    Yesterday's Enemy is a taut claustrophobic war film about a whittled down company of British soldiers caught behind the lines in Burma. It takes no sides other than to point out the absurd futility and dehumanization of individuals in war and the limited options they are faced with. It is a sober unromantic and highly provocative work that foreshadows the quagmire in Viet Nam and unapologetically addresses actions taken in the heat of battle far from the sideline moralizing out of harm's way.

    Captain Langford leads his lost patrol with a firm hand cajoling and threatening members of the unit to remain disciplined and vigilant. When they stumble upon an austere Burmese jungle village they are surprised by a fierce Japanese resistance attempting to protect a senior officer. With the village under control Langford seeks answers through intimidation, torture and finally execution of innocent locals. Eventually they are overwhelmed by the Japanese who adopt the same methods to get answers about their missing general.

    Despite it's sound stage jungle locale Yesterday's Enemy director Val Guest attains a very atmospheric feel of heat and pressure with the uncompromising downward thrust of the film as reality trumps morality. Stanley Baker's Langford and Gordon Jackson's Sgt. McKenzie remain stoically impressive throughout as they address the reality they are given while Guy Rolfe's Padre and Leo McKern's journalist Max ably bring balance and debate to the picture in arguing the other side.

    Yesterday's Enemy (even the title points out the absurdity of war) unromantic and dark vision offers no solutions but raises dozens of questions about the ugliness of war without flinching remaining with you long after the firing has ceased. It is Britain's Steel Helmet.
    helpful•11
    2
    • st-shot
    • Sep 28, 2010

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 11, 1959 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Languages
      • English
      • Burmese
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Feinde von gestern
    • Filming locations
      • Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures Corporation
      • Hammer Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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