The tale of an army patrol holding a desert outpost has been filmed many times.Two examples that come to mind are John Ford's"The Last Patrol" and Ealing's "Nine Men".Whilst this film is not quite up to their standard this is nevertheless an exciting war film with plenty of action sequences well staged.The cast is good.Leo Genn as a Major concerned for the welfare of his men.Michael Medwin,playing somewhat against type,as a by the rules young lieutenant,and Kieron Moore,who for some reason wont come down from the water tower unless he is either fried to a frazzle or blasted out of there.Actually he rings the one false note about the film.You would suspect that the first thing that the German tanks would destroy is the water tower,yet it remains standing till almost the end.Percy Herbert is also in the film.A desert war film without him would be unthinkable.
10 Reviews
Fighting The Good Fight In Hampshire
boblipton24 January 2022
A company of the British Army is ordered to hold off the entire German army in North Africa while Raymond Francis -- called "The General" int he movie, but presumably intended to be Montgomery -- can get the rest of the British Army off their.... well, moving.
With explosions aplenty, what's most interesting about this Hammer film is how it tries, mostly successfully, to maintain the illusion of it taking place in North Africa, while being shot in the moorlands around Aldershot, where the British Army did a lot of training. There's smoke to obscure what's going on in the background. The camera shoots the players mostly in close-ups, or inside of tents, or occasionally at a high enough angle that obstructions hide the background. The clear shots show a very English-looking countryside, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility that there are place that look like that in Tunisia.
I don't believe that the average movie-goer would have noticed those things. It's a pretty good, if generic, war flick.
With explosions aplenty, what's most interesting about this Hammer film is how it tries, mostly successfully, to maintain the illusion of it taking place in North Africa, while being shot in the moorlands around Aldershot, where the British Army did a lot of training. There's smoke to obscure what's going on in the background. The camera shoots the players mostly in close-ups, or inside of tents, or occasionally at a high enough angle that obstructions hide the background. The clear shots show a very English-looking countryside, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility that there are place that look like that in Tunisia.
I don't believe that the average movie-goer would have noticed those things. It's a pretty good, if generic, war flick.
"Heaven and Earth hold their breath"
richardchatten30 July 2022
This tale of a "bunch of shagged-out expendables" was first of a trio of sweaty war movies made by Hammer. Rather than the flamboyant colour of their horror films Michael Carreras for his debut feature as director presumably deliberately opted for murky black & white.
Above average war movie
searchanddestroy-117 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Hammer Films was really a very good studio. Not only for horror movies but also for war ones. Remember Val Guest's films such as CAMP ON BLOOD ISLAND and YESTERDAY'S ENEMY. Perhaps one or more. Very tense, well paced, sharply shot, with very deep characters. Emotion and action in the same scheme. What else could we ask for?
The story of a group of British soldiers, during WW2, in Tunisia, who gets order to hold a position, in the middle of the desert, in order to prevent Afrika Korps to advance.
I have seen many British war movies, academic ones, very talkative, flat, even with great actors such Dirk Bogarde, Richard Attenborough, Richard Todd or some others...Movies very long, long, long. Boring at the most. Not bad ones, not corny, but long. Period.
But, I repeat, the Hammer war films are worth the detour.
The story of a group of British soldiers, during WW2, in Tunisia, who gets order to hold a position, in the middle of the desert, in order to prevent Afrika Korps to advance.
I have seen many British war movies, academic ones, very talkative, flat, even with great actors such Dirk Bogarde, Richard Attenborough, Richard Todd or some others...Movies very long, long, long. Boring at the most. Not bad ones, not corny, but long. Period.
But, I repeat, the Hammer war films are worth the detour.
Hammer war flick deserves credit
Leofwine_draca17 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
THE STEEL BAYONET is a Hammer war film made in 1957, cashing in on a craze for similarly-plotted movies made during the 1950s. Once again the film has a North African setting, with the battle of Tunisia serving as the real-life backdrop for the events portrayed. The heroes are a bunch of tired British soldiers tasked with holding a ruined outpost from a Nazi advance. The movie was shot on Salisbury Plain which does a decent job of standing in for a more exotic location. It's generally a slow burner, with a number of suspense set-pieces thrown into the mix, and the format works rather well. The cast is small but studded with familiar British character actors, from the big leads (the reliably down-to-earth Leo Genn and the prim-and-proper Michael Medwin) to the underrated bit-part stars like Michaels Ripper and Balfour. Hammer producer Michael Carreras wasn't known for being one of the studio's best directors, but he handles the material well here, and things end on a rousing, extended battle sequence which is undoubtedly worth the wait.
Tense, simple and well made.
planktonrules1 January 2023
"The Steel Bayonet" is a very simple but well made WWII action film. In many ways, it's tense and exciting like another British war film, "Zulu" as both are about British soldiers who are badly outnumbered but somehow manage to hold tight and complete their missions.
When the story begins, a badly decimated group of British soldiers in North Africa have finally been pulled off the front lines for rest. However, almost immediately, they are called back into action for a special mission--to secure an observation post and hold it until told to leave. Unfortunately, they are outnumbered badly and their odds of success seem very slim.
This is a simple and well made film. My only complaint is a couple times, grenades land only a few feet from the Brits and after exploding, the men are just fine! Kids, don't try this at home...you will NOT survive! Overall, well worth your time and competently made.
When the story begins, a badly decimated group of British soldiers in North Africa have finally been pulled off the front lines for rest. However, almost immediately, they are called back into action for a special mission--to secure an observation post and hold it until told to leave. Unfortunately, they are outnumbered badly and their odds of success seem very slim.
This is a simple and well made film. My only complaint is a couple times, grenades land only a few feet from the Brits and after exploding, the men are just fine! Kids, don't try this at home...you will NOT survive! Overall, well worth your time and competently made.
Hammer's publicity was right on the ball, but the movie itself needed trimming!
JohnHowardReid22 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Photographed in black-and-white Hammerscope (advertised as "CinemaScope" in the U.S.A.). Producer: Michael Carreras. A Hammer Production, released through United Artists. Copyright 1957 by United Artists Corp. No New York opening. U.S. release: March 1958. U.K. release: 3 June 1957. No record of Australian theatrical release (probably 1958). 7,652 feet. 85 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: "C" company under Major Gerrard (Leo Genn) are the remnants of a battle-weary battalion in the North African campaign in WW2. They are ordered to occupy a deserted farm-house and use its tall wind tower as an observation post in preparation for a full- scale allied counter-attack against the Afrika Corps.
NOTES: Locations included the British Army's tank training grounds at Aldershot, England.
COMMENT: Over-cluttered with dialogue. But if the film was trimmed (a lot of Leo Genn's dialogue could go — his heart was obviously not really in the role anyway — he enunciates his lines beautifully but with an almost total absence of conviction), there would be sufficient action left to satisfy the fans, although the all-male cast and the absence of any interesting players will limit the film to the lower half of double bills.
The characters are one-dimensional anyway, and the plot is the usual hoke. The direction is mostly stolid, but it has a few imaginatively atmospheric touches and the use of exterior locations is quite effective.
OTHER VIEWS: During the French liberation, actor-barrister Leo Genn, received the Croix de Guerre for bravery whilst serving in the Royal Artillery during World War II. In "Steel Bayonet", he stars as a brave infantry commander assigned the vital task of taking a derelict Tunisian farm building, for use as a British observation post, and holding the position against overwhelming odds.
At the end of hostilities, Genn was posted to S.H.A.E.F. Special Enquiries Branch tackling War Crimes Investigations — working on Belsen among other assignments, he held an important brief during the subsequent trials, thus returning to his pre-war legal profession for a short time.
Genn returned to the screen to star in "Green For Danger". A Broadway stage version of "Another Part of the Forest" and a co- starring screen role in "Mourning Becomes Electra" followed. "Snake Pit" and "The Velvet Touch" came next in Hollywood before he returned to England to appear in the stage version of "The Seventh Veil" with Ann Todd. Several films followed that and included a second trip to Hollywood in 1952.
Constantly acting on both sides of the Atlantic made Genn in demand and popular with both Americans and his native countrymen. Though many of his roles have been military, he played Buckingham in an Old Vic production of "Henry VIII". On the screen, he appeared in "The Miniver Story", "Quo Vadis", "The Magic Box", "Moby Dick" and "Lady Chatterley's Lover". .
Co-starring with Kieron Moore in "Steel Bayonet", Leo Genn plays his fourth military role. — Hammer Publicity.
An earnest, but inept attempt. — Variety.
SYNOPSIS: "C" company under Major Gerrard (Leo Genn) are the remnants of a battle-weary battalion in the North African campaign in WW2. They are ordered to occupy a deserted farm-house and use its tall wind tower as an observation post in preparation for a full- scale allied counter-attack against the Afrika Corps.
NOTES: Locations included the British Army's tank training grounds at Aldershot, England.
COMMENT: Over-cluttered with dialogue. But if the film was trimmed (a lot of Leo Genn's dialogue could go — his heart was obviously not really in the role anyway — he enunciates his lines beautifully but with an almost total absence of conviction), there would be sufficient action left to satisfy the fans, although the all-male cast and the absence of any interesting players will limit the film to the lower half of double bills.
The characters are one-dimensional anyway, and the plot is the usual hoke. The direction is mostly stolid, but it has a few imaginatively atmospheric touches and the use of exterior locations is quite effective.
OTHER VIEWS: During the French liberation, actor-barrister Leo Genn, received the Croix de Guerre for bravery whilst serving in the Royal Artillery during World War II. In "Steel Bayonet", he stars as a brave infantry commander assigned the vital task of taking a derelict Tunisian farm building, for use as a British observation post, and holding the position against overwhelming odds.
At the end of hostilities, Genn was posted to S.H.A.E.F. Special Enquiries Branch tackling War Crimes Investigations — working on Belsen among other assignments, he held an important brief during the subsequent trials, thus returning to his pre-war legal profession for a short time.
Genn returned to the screen to star in "Green For Danger". A Broadway stage version of "Another Part of the Forest" and a co- starring screen role in "Mourning Becomes Electra" followed. "Snake Pit" and "The Velvet Touch" came next in Hollywood before he returned to England to appear in the stage version of "The Seventh Veil" with Ann Todd. Several films followed that and included a second trip to Hollywood in 1952.
Constantly acting on both sides of the Atlantic made Genn in demand and popular with both Americans and his native countrymen. Though many of his roles have been military, he played Buckingham in an Old Vic production of "Henry VIII". On the screen, he appeared in "The Miniver Story", "Quo Vadis", "The Magic Box", "Moby Dick" and "Lady Chatterley's Lover". .
Co-starring with Kieron Moore in "Steel Bayonet", Leo Genn plays his fourth military role. — Hammer Publicity.
An earnest, but inept attempt. — Variety.
Excellent script and performances ***SPOILERS***
naseby18 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Little known and I once heard some reviewer in a movie book, describe it as dull - he's wrong, sorry! A company of British soldiers in WW2 Tunisia with the odd 'paddy' as it were, which would make any British company a good one, is depleted, slightly demoralised and awaiting the final push FROM the Nazi Afrika Corps. Leo Genn plays Major Gerrard leading the company, plus support from the excellent Michael Medwin, especially good as the reluctant Lieutenant Vernon bemoaning his pay AND being upstaged by the faithful Sergeant known as 'Tom' to Genn (Played well by the underestimated Robert Brown).
The unit is tasked with taking over what seems to be an old Foreign Legion fort and using it as an artillery spotting/observation post, with Captain Mead (Kieron Moore) doing the spotting. Of course with him there's a 'Raife' Richardson bit, where he's atop the observation tower, knocking over his water and suffering from sunstroke, though not going blind like Raife in 'The Four Feathers' - I digress anyway! There's plenty of angst, bitching etc., and although the action couldn't be seen to be overdone, it's rightly where it is without being as I say, too much.
The final scene is where the post is overrun, but Genn manages to give the last order on the radio, targeting 'himself' and the men as it's now in Nazi hands could be a little bit corny perhaps, but the dialogue and performances more than make up for this in any way. This is a must, but I'd rate it as good as any war film like 'The Cruel Sea' or 'Ice Cold in Alex' - sadly not shown enough to warrant that, let's hope someone can elevate it to its true status in years to come - just like 'Sea of Sand' too! Some good old British stalwart character actors star the great Percy Herbert and Michael Ripper. The standard B/W photography easily belies the fact it was shot on Salisbury Plain and NOT the North African Desert it implies, very well!
The unit is tasked with taking over what seems to be an old Foreign Legion fort and using it as an artillery spotting/observation post, with Captain Mead (Kieron Moore) doing the spotting. Of course with him there's a 'Raife' Richardson bit, where he's atop the observation tower, knocking over his water and suffering from sunstroke, though not going blind like Raife in 'The Four Feathers' - I digress anyway! There's plenty of angst, bitching etc., and although the action couldn't be seen to be overdone, it's rightly where it is without being as I say, too much.
The final scene is where the post is overrun, but Genn manages to give the last order on the radio, targeting 'himself' and the men as it's now in Nazi hands could be a little bit corny perhaps, but the dialogue and performances more than make up for this in any way. This is a must, but I'd rate it as good as any war film like 'The Cruel Sea' or 'Ice Cold in Alex' - sadly not shown enough to warrant that, let's hope someone can elevate it to its true status in years to come - just like 'Sea of Sand' too! Some good old British stalwart character actors star the great Percy Herbert and Michael Ripper. The standard B/W photography easily belies the fact it was shot on Salisbury Plain and NOT the North African Desert it implies, very well!
A Very Underrated Film and I Have Never Seen it on TV - Should Have Been a Classic
andyrobert15 December 2019
I saw this film at the cinema in 1963 - it was still doing the rounds since it was first released in 1957. Many young people, at the time, had an abiding interest in films about the Second World War.
What struck me most about the film was its realism, and how well acted it was - Leo Genn has always been a fine actor, especially when playing Military Officers. He, himself, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War and was awarded the Croix de Guerre.
The realism came in the form of the worthy absence of propaganda and social comment, and there were no staged heroics, nor poignant moments, that are sometimes designed the make the actors look good.
I think the film was shown as a second feature and had a 'A' certificate - which would have been equivalent to a 'PG' today.
The British Film Industry is always something I have been interested in, and I like to watch some films two or three times, but I have never seen this film again since I first saw it at the cinema. It has never been released on DVD, and I am surprised that it has never become a classic and that I have never seen it shown on television.
What struck me most about the film was its realism, and how well acted it was - Leo Genn has always been a fine actor, especially when playing Military Officers. He, himself, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War and was awarded the Croix de Guerre.
The realism came in the form of the worthy absence of propaganda and social comment, and there were no staged heroics, nor poignant moments, that are sometimes designed the make the actors look good.
I think the film was shown as a second feature and had a 'A' certificate - which would have been equivalent to a 'PG' today.
The British Film Industry is always something I have been interested in, and I like to watch some films two or three times, but I have never seen this film again since I first saw it at the cinema. It has never been released on DVD, and I am surprised that it has never become a classic and that I have never seen it shown on television.
Called Steel Bayonet on TPTV
allumjcc8 August 2022
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