Stanley Baker Takes Command in Yesterday's Enemy

Stanley Baker as Captain Langford.

Set during the Burma Campaign of World War II, Yesterday’s Enemy (1959) follows a small, exhausted remnant of a British Army brigade struggling to escape through the jungle after being cut off by advancing Japanese forces. Led by the hard-edged Captain Alan Langford (Stanley Baker), the group stumbles upon a village held by the Japanese and seizes control after a brief skirmish.

Langford takes possession of a Japanese's general's map, but cannot decipher its meaning. As the situation grows desperate, Langford makes a morally fraught decision: he orders the execution of two innocent villagers to coerce a suspected informer into revealing crucial intelligence. His actions spark outrage from his unit's chaplain and a war correspondent traveling with them.

Langford defends his decision by pointing out the hypocrisy of war: It's easier to accept bombs killing thousands of innocent people than it is to watch two people die by a firing squad. Langford then argues that his actions will save many more lives than the ones lost. Later in the film, Langford’s arc turns on a brutal irony: the very ruthlessness he once justified as “necessary” is eventually used against him. 

Adapted by Peter R. Newman from his own 1958 British TV play, Yesterday's Enemy is a compact, tense drama made on a modest budget by Hammer Films (yes, the same studio famous for its Gothic horror films!). To save money, director Val Guest shot the entire film indoors. Yes, the Burmese jungle look "stagey" (though the black & white photography compensates somewhat). However, the film's artificiality contributes to its claustrophobic setting with Langford and his men trapped in a small village for much of the running time.

Gordon Jackson as Sgt. MacKenzie.

Stanley Baker, as Langford, heads a strong cast consisting of: Gordon Jackson (Upstairs, Downstairs) as Langford's loyal sergeant, Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey) as the journalist, and Guy Rolfe as the chaplain. But this is Baker's show and he excels at playing a leader intent on looking strong and decisive in front of his men--even as he grapples with his inner demons. Baker, Jackson, and director Val Guest earned BAFTA nominations for their work on Yesterday's Enemy.

The previous year's Camp at Blood Island and Yesterday's Enemy were both moneymakers for Hammer. One would have thought more World War II films might have followed, but the only serious effort was The Secret of Blood Island in 1965. Part of the reasons may have had to do with the films' controversies. According Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography, a Japanese film official wanted The Camp at Blood Island banned in the U.S. for its negative portrayal of the Japanese Army. In contrast, Yesterday's Enemy incurred controversy (as did the earlier TV version) for its unflattering portrait of a British Army officer.