''The Steel Bayonet'' is a 1957 British

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Michael Carreras Michael Henry Carreras (21 December 1927 – 19 April 1994) was a British film producer and director. He was known for his association with Hammer Films, being the son of founder James Carreras, and taking an executive role in the company ...

and starring Leo Genn, Kieron Moore and

Michael Medwin Michael Hugh Medwin, OBE (18 July 1923 – 26 February 2020) was an English actor and film producer. Life and career Medwin was born in London. He was educated at Canford School, Dorset, and the Institute Fischer, Montreux, Switzerland. He ...

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

also had a small role in the film, early in his career. It is set during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, in the

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n desert when a small British observation force are surrounded in a farm by overwhelming forces of the German

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

. Filming took place on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wit ...

, which doubled for North Africa.

Plot

''Tunisia 1943'' As the North African Campaign draws to a close, and the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and Italian forces are being pushed back on

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, a company of British Infantry are tasked with holding a small Arab farm against an expected last-ditch counter-attack; the farm's water tower will be used as an observation point by a few

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

spotters. To defend the farm British Lt. Colonel Derry picks a company led by Major Alan Gerrard; these men have been in the thick of the fighting around Tunis and are greatly reduced in number (described by the narrator as down to barely two platoons). So Gerrard's company set out on foot for the farm; on the way they are joined by Royal Artillery Captain Dickie Mead and his signaller, Ames. Arriving at the farm, Gerrard's men expel the occupants and dig slit trenches in front of the farm. With the water tower and its ladder in clear view, Mead decides to wait until just before dawn to climb it. The following day Mead uses his position to target artillery fired on to the German forces. All goes well until the Germans send out a reconnaissance patrol to pinpoint the observation post, but Gerrard's men successfully repulse the attack. With the Germans now sure of the British troops’ position, it becomes a test of nerve for seasoned troops and new boys alike. All of them stick it out until they are finally ordered to retreat with their mission deemed successful. Mead decides to stay behind and cover their escape with artillery fire, leading to the death of Sergeant-Major Gill and Private Middleditch. When Mead finally succumbs to German fire, only the injured Gerrard is left. With the Germans in the farm and his surviving men well on their way to safety, the now mortally wounded Major radios for the artillery to totally destroy the farm, killing both Gerrard and the Germans' last chance of advancing further on this front.

Cast

* Leo Genn as Major Alan Gerrard * Kieron Moore as Captain Dickie Mead, Royal Artillery *

as Lieutenant Vernon * Robert Brown as Company Sergeant Major Gill *

Michael Ripper Michael George Ripper (27 January 1913 – 28 June 2000) was an English character actor. He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown; he was seldom credited. Along with Michael Gough ...

as Private Middleditch * John Paul as Lieutenant Colonel Derry *

Shay Gorman Shay may refer to: People Shay is an Irish Gaelic name, a variant of the name Shea. It is derived from Seamus, which is anglicized from Ó Séaghdha. Shay is also a Hebrew unisex name, meaning gift, deriving as a variation of Shai. Mononym * Shay ...

as Sergeant Gates * Tom Bowman as Sergeant Nicholls * Jack Stewart as Private Wentworth * Ian Whittaker as Private Wilson *

Bernard Horsfall Bernard Arthur Gordon Horsfall (20 November 1930 – 28 January 2013) was an English actor of stage and screen. Early life Horsfall was born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, and educated at Rugby School. He trained as an actor at the Webbe ...

as Private Livingstone * John Watson as Corporal Bean * Arthur Lovegrove as Private Jarvis * Percy Herbert as Private Clark *

Paddy Joyce Patrick Francis Joyce (31 May 1923 — 27 July 2000) was an actor in film and television. Biography Joyce was born in Trieste, Italy. His father was Frantisek Schaurek, a Czech banker who had stolen money from the Živnostenská Bank in Trieste ...

as Corporal Ames, Capt. Meads signaller * Michael Balfour as Private Thomas *

Raymond Francis Raymond Francis (6 October 1911- 24 October 1987) was a British actor best known for his role as Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart in the Associated-Rediffusion detective series ''Murder Bag'', ''Crime Sheet'' and ''No Hiding Place''. ...

as General * Garard Green as German Company Commander

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steel Bayonet, The 1957 films 1957 war films British war films Films directed by Michael Carreras North African campaign films Films set in 1943 Hammer Film Productions films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films