The most terrifying scenes ever taken under fire!
A featureless land fit only for war, as the narrator, J. L. Hodson stated in the early scenes: "If war was to be fought then let it begin here". In endless miles of rock-strewn scrub desert, where civilians hardly existed. Desert Victory tells the story of the Allied campaign to drive Germany and Italy from North Africa is analysed, with the major portion of the film examining the battles at El Alamein, including some re-enactment. Won "Best Documentary Feature" at the 16th Academy Awards in 1944.
Desert Victory (1943) is a war and documentary film directed by David MacDonald, released on April 12, 1943 with a runtime of 1h. It stars Harold Alexander, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler and Bernard L. Montgomery. Viewers rate it 6.3 out of 10 across 11 ratings.
Harold Alexander
as Self (archive footage)
Winston Churchill
as Self (archive footage)
Adolf Hitler
as Self (archive footage)
Bernard L. Montgomery
as Self (archive footage)
Erwin Rommel
as Self (archive footage)
Claude Auchinleck
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Alan Brooke
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Alan Cunningham
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Joseph Goebbels
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Henry Harwood
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
J.L. Hodson
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Arthur Tedder
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Directed by David MacDonald, written by J.L. Hodson, produced by David MacDonald.
Average viewer score of 6.3/10 from 11 ratings.
This wartime documentary has one advantage over many of it’s contemporaries. It’s a largely self-contained story of the planning and execution of a battle from the Second World War that was actually won. It’s also a much more internationalist depiction of the activities by soldiers of many different nations that fought against Rommel’s hitherto unbeaten Afrika Korps across Mesapotamia and towards El Alamein, a mere…
Reviewed on July 7, 2025
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Desert Victory (1943) is available to stream on FlixFling, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video and FlixFling. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of Desert Victory (1943) includes Harold Alexander, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Bernard L. Montgomery and Erwin Rommel. The film was directed by David MacDonald. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Desert Victory was released on April 12, 1943 and runs for 1h.
Desert Victory (1943) holds an average rating of 6.3 out of 10 from 11 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy war and documentary films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
