Play Dirty (1969 film): Difference between revisions
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'''''Play Dirty''''' is a 1969 British [[war film]] starring [[Michael Caine]],<ref>Anne Billson, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/11223079/Is-Michael-Caine-Britains-most-important-film-star.html "Is Michael Caine Britain's most important film star?"], ''The Telegraph'', 12 November 2014.</ref> [[Nigel Davenport]], [[Nigel Green]] and [[Harry Andrews]]. It was director [[Andre DeToth]]'s last film, based on a screenplay by [[Melvyn Bragg]] and Lotte Colin.<ref>[http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/play-dirty/Content?oid=894694 "Play Dirty"]. review by By Fred Camper, ''Chicago Reader'', 23 October 1997.</ref> The film's story is inspired by the exploits of units such as the [[Long Range Desert Group]], [[Popski's Private Army]] and the [[Special Air Service|SAS]] in [[North African Campaign|North Africa]] during [[World War II]]. |
'''''Play Dirty''''' is a 1969 British [[war film]] starring [[Michael Caine]],<ref>Anne Billson, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/11223079/Is-Michael-Caine-Britains-most-important-film-star.html "Is Michael Caine Britain's most important film star?"], ''The Telegraph'', 12 November 2014.</ref> [[Nigel Davenport]], [[Nigel Green]] and [[Harry Andrews]]. It was director [[Andre DeToth]]'s last film, based on a screenplay by [[Melvyn Bragg]] and Lotte Colin.<ref>[http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/play-dirty/Content?oid=894694 "Play Dirty"]. review by By Fred Camper, ''Chicago Reader'', 23 October 1997.</ref> |
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The film's story is inspired by the exploits of units such as the [[Long Range Desert Group]], [[Popski's Private Army]] and the [[Special Air Service|SAS]] in [[North African Campaign|North Africa]] during [[World War II]]. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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==Production== |
==Production== |
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===Development=== |
===Development=== |
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The film was originally titled ''Written in the Sand'',<ref>Some sources mistakenly identify the original title as ''Written on the Sand''.</ref> |
The film was originally titled ''Written in the Sand'',<ref>Some sources mistakenly identify the original title as ''Written on the Sand''.</ref> It was announced in October 1967 with Michael Caine to star and Rene Clement to direct.<ref>MOVIE CALL SHEET: Robert Shaw Cast in 'Party' |
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Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 17 Oct 1967: c14. </ref> Caine later said he made the film because of his relationship with Saltzman and the fact he wanted to work with Clement.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Elephant to Hollywood|last=Caine|first= Michael|year=2010|publisher=Henry Holt and Co.|page=110}}</ref> |
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The film was also known as ''Deadly Patrol''.<ref>Slide p 155</ref> |
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In February 1968 Richard Harris and Nigel Davenport signed to co star, by which time the film had been re-named ''Play Dirty''.<ref name="irish">Richard Harris to sue film producers |
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our London Staff. The Irish Times 27 Feb 1968: 4</ref><ref>MOVIE CALL SHEET: Cobb to Produce 'Ceferino' |
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Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 17 Feb 1968: 17. </ref> Andre De Toeh called |
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According to Andre De Toth, Lotte Colin did hardly any of the screenplay despite being credited. She was Saltzman's mother in law.<ref>Slide p 157</ref> |
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===Filming=== |
===Filming=== |
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The film |
The film was originally planned by Saltzman to be filmed in Israel. Saltzman had [[Andre De Toth]] do a location scout of the country.<ref> Slide, Anthony ''de Toth on de Toth'' Faber & Faber, 17 Mar 2011 p 152</ref> De Toth said Clement wanted to film in Morocco or Algeria but Saltzman refused to go to North Africa and Clement refused to go to Israel. The film ended up being shot on location near [[Tabernas|Tabernas, Almería, Spain]],<ref name="Cettl2015">{{cite book|author=Robert Cettl|title=King of the Turkeys: Michael Caine in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gHrm7LXMFL4C&pg=PT7|date=4 July 2015|publisher=Wider Screenings TM|isbn=978-0-9873785-1-4|pages=7–}}</ref> |
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Richard Harris left his home in London for Spain on 16 February 1967. He says he was handed a script which was different from the one he had agreed to do when he signed on. He quit the film and sued the producers for payment of his salary, which was a reported £150,000.<ref name="irish"/> |
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| ⚫ | After Nigel Davenport replaced Harris and [[Nigel Green]] replaced Davenport, the film's original director [[René Clément]] resigned and executive producer [[André de Toth]] took over directing the film.<ref>{{cite journal|author=|title=Play Dirty|journal=Filmfacts|volume=12|page=90}}</ref> De Toth said Clement "wanted to make a 'poetry of war'" while Saltzman "wanted blazing guns and roaring tanks."<ref>Slide p 152</ref> |
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Several other films were shooting in Almeria at the same time, including ''Shalako''. Caine later said, "There are six sand dunes in Almeria... We'd all come round the hill chasing Rommel's tanks - and there's horse shit all over the desert and a stagecoach in the other directions being chased by Indians. The other film units were forever wiping out tank tracks to get their westerns and we were forever shovelling up horse shit and wiping out hoof prints to get our El Alamein." Caine later said he had a clause in his contracts that his film could not be made in Almeria. "It was that bad".<ref>{{cite book|page=129|title=Raising Caine : the authorized biography|last=Hall|first= William|year=1982}}</ref> |
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De Toth later said that making the film "I wanted to rub our noses in the mess we have created and how we shy away from our ability to clean it up... I wanted to disturb, to open closed eyes and scramble brains."<ref>Slide p 155</ref> |
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===Novelization=== |
===Novelization=== |
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A novelization was published by Pan Books. The author used the pen name Zeno. |
A novelization was published by Pan Books. The author used the pen name Zeno. |
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==Reception== |
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The film was a box office disappointment.<ref>{{cite book|title=United Artists : the company that changed the film industry|last=Balio|first= Tino|year=1987|page=314|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press }}</ref> |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*{{IMDb title|id=0063443|title=Play Dirty}} |
*{{IMDb title|id=0063443|title=Play Dirty}} |
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Revision as of 13:41, 29 April 2019
| Play Dirty | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Andre DeToth |
| Screenplay by | Melvyn Bragg Lotte Colin |
| Story by | George Marton |
| Produced by | Harry Saltzman[1] |
| Starring | Michael Caine Nigel Davenport Nigel Green |
| Cinematography | Edward Scaife |
| Edited by | Jack Slade Alan Osbiston (uncredited) |
| Music by | Michel Legrand |
Production company | Lowndes Productions Limited |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date | 1 January 1969 (UK) |
Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Play Dirty is a 1969 British war film starring Michael Caine,[2] Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green and Harry Andrews. It was director Andre DeToth's last film, based on a screenplay by Melvyn Bragg and Lotte Colin.[3]
The film's story is inspired by the exploits of units such as the Long Range Desert Group, Popski's Private Army and the SAS in North Africa during World War II.
Plot
During the North African Campaign in World War II, Captain Douglas (Caine) is a British Petroleum employee seconded to the Royal Engineers to oversee incoming fuel supplies for the British 8th Army. Colonel Masters (Green) commands a special raiding unit composed of convicted criminals, and after a string of failures he is told by his commander, Brigadier Blore (Andrews), that he must have a regular officer to lead a dangerous last chance mission to destroy an Afrika Korps fuel depot, lest his unit be disbanded. Despite Douglas' objections, he is chosen for his knowledge of oil pipelines and infrastructure. Douglas is then introduced to Cyril Leech (Davenport), a convicted criminal rescued from prison to lead Masters' operations in the field.
The next day, Douglas and Leech are provided with armed jeeps and lead six other men out into the desert disguised as an Italian Army patrol. They endure a long and arduous trek across the desert: encountering enemy tribesmen, sandstorms, and a booby-trapped oasis, among other dangers. While Leech and his men are often insubordinate towards Douglas' command, they eventually reach their objective, only to discover that the depot is fake. They then head to a German-occupied port city hoping to steal a boat and escape; Douglas sees the fuel depot there and convinces Leech that destroying it would aid their plan. Meanwhile, Masters is confronted by Blore with aerial photographs of the (supposed) depot intact — confirming the mission's failure. Having lost contact with the men for some time, Masters is ordered to leak intel on the team to the Germans; the British Army is now on the offensive, and they wish to keep any enemy fuel depots intact for capture.
Under the cover of night, the men don German uniforms and sneak into the port depot to plant their explosives, but one of them sets off a trip flare and they are quickly surrounded; an officer on a loudspeaker calls each of them out by name, revealing Masters' betrayal. The men scatter as the depot is detonated; Leech and Douglas manage to slip away while the rest are caught and killed. After taking shelter, Leech admits to Douglas that he is being kept alive only because Masters is paying him £2000 for his safe return.
The 8th Army arrives the next morning; Douglas and Leech (still wearing their German uniforms) decide to surrender to the British. Unfortunately, a trigger-happy British soldier opens fire — killing them before they have a chance to speak.
Cast
- Michael Caine as Capt. Douglas – Royal Engineers
- Nigel Davenport as Capt. Cyril Leech – serving 15 years in prison for sinking his tramp steamer for the insurance
- Nigel Green as Col. Masters
Based loosely on Vladimir 'Popski' Peniakoff - Harry Andrews as Brigadier Blore
At the time when the film is based, Lt. Col. Shan Hackett was C.O. Special Forces HQ - Patrick Jordan as Major Alan Watkins – Guards Commando Unit
- Daniel Pilon as Capt. Attwood – Blore's adjutant
- Bernard Archard as Col. Homerton
- Aly Ben Ayed as Sadok
- Takis Emmanuel as Kostas Manou
- Vivian Pickles as a German Nurse
- Stanley Caine as a German Officer
Production
Development
The film was originally titled Written in the Sand,[4] It was announced in October 1967 with Michael Caine to star and Rene Clement to direct.[5] Caine later said he made the film because of his relationship with Saltzman and the fact he wanted to work with Clement.[6]
The film was also known as Deadly Patrol.[7]
In February 1968 Richard Harris and Nigel Davenport signed to co star, by which time the film had been re-named Play Dirty.[8][9] Andre De Toeh called
According to Andre De Toth, Lotte Colin did hardly any of the screenplay despite being credited. She was Saltzman's mother in law.[10]
Filming
The film was originally planned by Saltzman to be filmed in Israel. Saltzman had Andre De Toth do a location scout of the country.[11] De Toth said Clement wanted to film in Morocco or Algeria but Saltzman refused to go to North Africa and Clement refused to go to Israel. The film ended up being shot on location near Tabernas, Almería, Spain,[12]
Richard Harris left his home in London for Spain on 16 February 1967. He says he was handed a script which was different from the one he had agreed to do when he signed on. He quit the film and sued the producers for payment of his salary, which was a reported £150,000.[8]
After Nigel Davenport replaced Harris and Nigel Green replaced Davenport, the film's original director René Clément resigned and executive producer André de Toth took over directing the film.[13] De Toth said Clement "wanted to make a 'poetry of war'" while Saltzman "wanted blazing guns and roaring tanks."[14]
Several other films were shooting in Almeria at the same time, including Shalako. Caine later said, "There are six sand dunes in Almeria... We'd all come round the hill chasing Rommel's tanks - and there's horse shit all over the desert and a stagecoach in the other directions being chased by Indians. The other film units were forever wiping out tank tracks to get their westerns and we were forever shovelling up horse shit and wiping out hoof prints to get our El Alamein." Caine later said he had a clause in his contracts that his film could not be made in Almeria. "It was that bad".[15]
De Toth later said that making the film "I wanted to rub our noses in the mess we have created and how we shy away from our ability to clean it up... I wanted to disturb, to open closed eyes and scramble brains."[16]
Novelization
A novelization was published by Pan Books. The author used the pen name Zeno.
Reception
The film was a box office disappointment.[17]
External links
References
- ^ Matt Green (9 February 2015). Michael Caine - Biography Series. Lulu.com. pp. 17–. ISBN 978-1-312-90478-1.
- ^ Anne Billson, "Is Michael Caine Britain's most important film star?", The Telegraph, 12 November 2014.
- ^ "Play Dirty". review by By Fred Camper, Chicago Reader, 23 October 1997.
- ^ Some sources mistakenly identify the original title as Written on the Sand.
- ^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: Robert Shaw Cast in 'Party' Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 17 Oct 1967: c14.
- ^ Caine, Michael (2010). The Elephant to Hollywood. Henry Holt and Co. p. 110.
- ^ Slide p 155
- ^ a b Richard Harris to sue film producers our London Staff. The Irish Times 27 Feb 1968: 4
- ^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: Cobb to Produce 'Ceferino' Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 17 Feb 1968: 17.
- ^ Slide p 157
- ^ Slide, Anthony de Toth on de Toth Faber & Faber, 17 Mar 2011 p 152
- ^ Robert Cettl (4 July 2015). King of the Turkeys: Michael Caine in America. Wider Screenings TM. pp. 7–. ISBN 978-0-9873785-1-4.
- ^ "Play Dirty". Filmfacts. 12: 90.
- ^ Slide p 152
- ^ Hall, William (1982). Raising Caine : the authorized biography. p. 129.
- ^ Slide p 155
- ^ Balio, Tino (1987). United Artists : the company that changed the film industry. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 314.