Yesterday’s Enemy – 1959 | 95mins | War | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Cynical WWII drama Yesterday’s Enemy broke with cinema tradition by suggesting the British were not always honourable in combat, yet if a degree of atonement is necessary it is provided by the Japanese behaving in a similar fashion. Based on a TV play by Peter R. Newman, director Val Guest’s gritty Bafta-nominated war film belies its low budget and studio-bound atmosphere to provide an ironic twist to the genre.

1942, a British brigade led by Capt Langford (Stanley Baker) and adrift of the main force encounter a small Japanese force holed up in a village deep in the Burmese jungle. Langford’s troops overcome the enemy position and discover the body of a high-ranking officer with a top secret map in his possession – Langford suspects a sole uncooperative Burmese prisoner knows the maps importance and executes two innocent villagers in order to obtain the information. The actions are criticized by other soldiers as a war crime, particularly the unit’s attached padre (Guy Rolfe) and war correspondent (Leo McKern). Langford attempts to get the information back to divisional headquarters, but he and his men are ambushed and captured by waiting Japanese troops. Now the boot is on the other foot, and the Japanese commander demands Langford talks or the remaining survivors of his brigade will be executed.