Desert Victory (1943)

If, while watching such cable services as A&E and the History Channel, you happen to see filmclips of the WWII African campaign against Germany’s Erwin Rommel, chances are good that the footage was culled from Desert Victory. This Academy Award-winning British documentary traces the struggle between the opposing forces of generals Rommel and Montgomery, from the defeat at El Alemein to the ultimate British victory at Tripoli. The film made quite an impact upon its first release due to its heavy reliance on captured German newsreel footage. The man responsible for Desert Victory was David McDonald, who gave up a lucrative commercial career for the duration to concentrate on factual films.

1943, B&W, 60 minutes