Nine Men (1943) DVD B&W Shown in original aspect ratio Approx. 64 min. Playable in North America (the US, Canada, Mexico, etc.)
Starring: Jack Lambert, Gordon Jackson, Frederick Piper, Grant Sutherland, Bill Blewitt, Eric Micklewood, John Varley, Jack Horsman and Richard Wilkinson. Produced by Michael Balcon. Written and directed by Harry Watt.
Gritty, violent and exciting, "Nine Men" dramatizes the actions of a section of British troops during the North Africa campaign of WWII, cut off behind enemy lines in the Western Desert. Driven by a sandstorm they seek refuge in a stone hut, as they resist being besieged by Italian and German troops. The film’s tense atmosphere, highlighting the imminent danger, is built most effectively, balanced by good humor, while its emphasis on the equality and comradeship of all classes, represented by Jack Lambert, Gordon Jackson (in his feature film debut) and Grant Sutherland (in his final film before retiring from the business).
Written and directed by Henry Watt, "Nine Men" is an Ealing Studios production and marked the first fiction film assignment to the celebrated documentary film director Watt, who had worked at the Crown Film Unit. With only a £20,000 budget, the film's exterior desert sequences were shot at Margam Sands, Glamorgan, Wales.