This suspenseful film only runs 68 minutes, but it is packed with enough events for two full length films. 9 British soldiers on a convoy through the desert find themselves stuck when the Italians blow up their truck. The convoy moves on without them. The Brits trek trough the sand until they find an ancient hovel. There they hold out while being sieged by the Italians. Low on ammunition and water, they make it seem as if they have 40 men inside their little fort with plenty of ammo. Like the similar Sahara, they have to use their wits to survive. This all British production is a little known gem with many rewards. Look for a young Gordon Jackson of "The Great Escape." A must see for all fans of WWII films. Rating: 7 out of 10.

At first the film appears a bit of a mystery. Produced in 1943 when films tended to be either escapist or patriotic flag-wavers, the rather clunky start is puzzling: basic training for army newbies who are apparently unexceptional. The newbies are a complete mixture of classes and educational levels with nothing in common - a very mouthy ignorant one, a clever quiet swat. Their sergeant-instructor too is unexceptional - not a bully or tyrant rather quietly business like but fairly approachable. None showing any promise.

This lot - the nine - find themselves dealing with their lorry stuck in the Libyan desert sand, separated from the main force. A enemy plane strafes them, destroying the truck and seriously injuring two. The truck quickly explodes destroying water, ammunition and food, leaving the men with their weapons and minimal supplies. The now 7 with two wounded men manage to hole up in a small stone building. A force of Italian soldiers perhaps 5 times larger with an armoured car discovers them and proceeds to attack.

I'm no expert nor even amateur but what they achieve I guess is possible but absolute text book - that the film is a demonstration of what a well led force could achieve against superior odds but a badly led enemy. Because it is presented as a story with memorable individuals, all the (many?) lesson contained are more easily remembered. I am guessing that a great deal of thought would have been given to the lessons the film needed to teach The differences portrayed between the two forces is not bravery vs cowardice, competence vs incompetence of the squaddies but leadership, The British squaddies, left to themselves are shown making believable mistakes which in such a hard pressed situation clearly would be fatal.

It's a clever bit of film-making, teaching by example - good and bad - the viewer gets wrapped up in the fate of the 9 so pays intense attention to the story. A lot is about adopting correct - ie helpful to group survival - attitudes. Interesting are the "Orders for Today" hand-written by the sergeant, stuck on the wall inside the building. Simple clear goals so all understand and which will survive in the likely event that the sergeant is killed and no longer able to lead.

The ending appears on the optimistic side but not beyond belief. It's a question of leadership with a degree of luck. I am guessing the film is a counsel of perfection but that was the point: for people to watch, learn.

NINE MEN is one of the earliest 'desert war' films I've ever seen, and the plot is very familiar from those films which came later. It involves a small squad of soldiers, trekking through North Africa, who are besieged by Italian forces and forced to take refuge in an old building. The film then follows their struggle to survive against superior forces. It's an okay watch, made with the typical strong production values of Ealing Studios, but the cast is undistinguished (aside from a youthful Gordon Jackson) and there's not quite enough excitement given the perilous situation in which our characters find themselves.