A mission carried out by the Brits in the desert from 1957. Starring Richard Burton, Curt Jurgens (he played the villain in The Spy Who Loved Me) & Ruth Roman (I remember her from Strangers on a Train) & directed by Nicholas Ray. An elite commando unit is commissioned to steal some German papers & rendezvous w/their base after crossing a treacherous Libyan expanse. Complicating matters is Jurgens & Burton have to deal w/Roman (she's now married to Jurgens but once lovers w/Burton). The heist goes off w/o a hitch but the German army is close behind resulting in occasional gunfights where the wounded must be carried off or left behind which plays into unit's loyalties when Burton gets bit by a scorpion (!) & Jurgens must make a decision to accomplish his goal while convincing others (but mostly himself) he made his choice free of Roman's past w/him. Serviceable enough, this film works in fits & spurts but ultimately we have a strong beginning & end but a weak middle. Look for Christopher Lee as one of the soldiers.
Review of Bitter Victory
