Disappointing effort.

Definitely got to be a ‘B’ rated movie even in the 1960s. Lots of big name stars only just getting their early careers going. Somehow the script and acting doesn’t create the tension that should be in a good WW2 story. This film is also supposed to be based on fact as it’s trying to be a spy drama like ‘A Man Who Never Was’ (a very good 1956 film). Erwin Rommel is given false information, via the two spies and Nazi sympathisers he infiltrated into the Cairo nightclub scene, about how the British eighth army will make their last stand around Cairo. A lot of screen time taken up with nightclub belly dancing and furtive glances to see who is spying on whom.

Michael Caine does not include this in his film career profile and you can see why, he plays a special services radio operator and his German accent with a cockney twang is funny to listen to. He did much better in his next film Zulu. The low budget didn’t help as the desert backdrops are obviously painted and it’s mostly studio sets with a couple of outside location shots with actual WW2 film archive slotted in.

Overall a disappointing effort but worth watching if you enjoy seeing the stars in their early careers.