C R U S A D E R
FILM OIF WAR
The London newspapers are unanimous in declaring “Desert Victory,” the
feature-length film of Eighth Army’s advance to Tripoli as the greatest film
of the war.
Seton Margrave of the “Daily Mail”
says : “This is the most real, most
moving and most important film ever
made. It is impossible to take your
eyes from the screen for a single sec
ond.”
F u ll o f H igK Iigh ls
The “Daily Express” says “Desert V ic
tory" will make the blood of millions tingle.
Ernest Betts tells the story of the thirty odd
sergeant-photographers of the Army Film
and Photo Unit who were given a camera
instead of a rifle. Some of them were kill
ed, a number wounded or taken prisoner.
¦The result of their work, ' he says, “is
a drama so full of highlights that it is hard
to pick out a transcendent scene.
Most of the national newspapers, on the
day following the film's London premiere,
published a shot of three begrimed gunners
lighting cigarettes during a lull.
The “Daily M ail" captions this picture :
“These men are only three of the many
stars of this great film who not long ago
were bank clerks, shopkeepers and engin
eers, but are now the world’s finest fight
ing material.
F lo w n to C airo
Copies of the film are being flown to
Cairo, Palestine and other Middle East
countries and arrangements are being made
for the early release of the film in America.
Here “Crusader” presents some of the
men, who to paraphrase E. V . Emmett, the
popular Gaumont-British news commenta
tor. were responsible for presenting Eighth
Army to the world.
Illustrated London N ew s describes this battle picture, which p ro
vides a background for the heads of some of the desert rat cam era
men, as one of the finest of the war.
¦ » The Men Wlio • >
Made II
The men with the red and blue
flashes bearing the letters A.F.
F.U. were a familiar sight to des
ert rats from the start of the
battle that ended in the first
great victory of the war for an
Allied army. The pictures they
took of the battle were praised
highly by the British and Ameri
can newspapers and by the public
who were given an insight of the
magnitude of the task of Eighth
Army through the medium of the
newspapers and the screen. The
Army Film and Photo Unit was
formed just over a year ago. The
cameramen were in the thick of
the battle from the start. The
great reception accorded “Desert
Victory” is the culminating tri
bute to the work of these desert
rats with cameras.
C R U SA D ER , Eighth Army W eekly , is published each M onday. A ddress correspondence to A dvance H.Q.. E ighth A rm y.