Bitter Victory
Director: Nicholas Ray
Year Released: 1957
Rating: 2.0
Two British soldiers - Richard Burton and Curt Jurgens - are sent to Africa to steal some Top Secret Nazi Plans from under the boots of The Desert Fox - as it turns out, Jurgens is currently married to an old flame of Burton's, and she still has feelings for him (back story!). There's a real lack of urgency to this oddly paced World War II picture - even in its reconstructed form it seems a bit jumbled - though its points about cowardice and bravery and betrayal are straightforward. Contrivances pile up, scorpions skitter up legs (and sting!) and Jurgens Looks Guilty: the audience fills in the rest.
