This is a watchable British war film, where everyone is appropriately sweaty and greasy, but there are several details that make the film highly unrealistic. The Japanese commander is obviously Chinese. I found that annoying. The entire film had the look of being done in all studio shots; no realism at all. Baker is fine; as is the entire supporting cast. The Asian actors give it their best shot, but only the Japanese assistant is believable. I did like the depiction that the British were no more clever, ethical, or braver than the Japanese; the British always did a much better job of that than Americans ever did (with the exception of Letters From Iwo JIma). All in all, the plot was rather mundane; but did the best it could.

YESTERDAY'S ENEMY is a gruff, nihilistic WW2 picture from Hammer Films, directed by the ubiquitous Val Guest and actually one of his best movies. It's a low budget, set-bound production set in the sweaty jungles, where a small squad of British soldiers face off against unknown numbers of Japanese troops. Much of the action is limited to a small ethnic village where the hard-edged Stanley Baker and his men hole up to take stock of their situation. Hammer shot a variety of war pictures throughout the 1950s but this is one of their most interesting: it has no sentimentality whatsoever, instead painting a picture of hard men pushed to increasingly harder and desperate actions. Don't expect action or exciting music or thrills and spills: this is as dark as it gets, with no forgiveness, just death and destruction. An excellent ensemble cast prove up to the material, and what follows is a thoroughly satisfying anti-war picture.

War for all those that do not glorify it is true hell. This movie is a document to the above statement; it feels like you are watching a play in a jungle the acting is superb the story tackles moral questions that nowadays dont seem to concern anybodyth about the hypocrisy and the utter futility of war, the fact that the action scenes are very old fashioned makes no difference to the superior quality of this production a must see for all those that want a first hand view into this hypocrisy and futility

This film was made right in the middle of a period when cinematic interest in the Far East war was at its height.The big film of 1958 was The Bridge On The River Kwai.Also that year Guest directed for Hammer The Camp On Blood Island.In 1960 the film of the successful play The Long and The Short And The Tall was released.I recall that there was a storm of protest from veterans of the Burma campaign,as they claimed that civilians were not killed and mistreated.Baker gives a powerful performance as an officer under pressure.He was on his way up to stardom.The same year he would star in another Guest film,Hell Is a City,this time starring as an unconventional detective. One does have the suspicion that this film was made rather on the coattails of Kwai and The Long and the Short and The Tall.Elements from the plot of that film are in this film.Furthermore in both films the platoon ends up being killed by the Japanese.Although now released on video this film is pretty much unknown.Despite a clearly limited budget this film is effective at evoking the jungle and the tough decisions that Baker has to make and not least the ironical situation he finds himself in.