Play Dirty

Brigadier Blore orders a dangerous last-chance mission to destroy an Afrika Korps fuel depot. Colonel Masters commands the raiding unit and insists on including a regular officer, selecting Captain Douglas for his technical knowledge. Leech, a convicted criminal, is designated for operational command.

Douglas, Leech, and a mixed raiding party set off into the desert in armed jeeps disguised as an Italian Army patrol. They are joined by Sadok, Kostas Manou, Boudesh, Kafkarides, and local guides Hassan and Assin. The mission begins under tense camaraderie as the group advances toward the fuel depot.

The team faces hostile tribesmen, sandstorms, and a booby-trapped oasis that test their resolve and survival skills. Equipment and nerves are strained as the convoy presses on toward its objective. The harsh environment compounds the men’s distrust and fatigue.

Unknown to them, Blore has sent a regular army raiding party two days behind with wheeled trucks, but the unit is wiped out in a German ambush. The loss goes unnoticed by Masters and his men. The mission's momentum is jeopardized by the hidden threat.

Douglas's team captures a German ambulance and a nurse who is forced to tend to an Arab injured while robbing a corpse. Three of the raiders attempt to rape the nurse, but she defends herself and survives the encounter. The incident exposes the recklessness and brutality of the mission.

When the group finally reaches the objective, they discover the depot is fake. Leech confesses that Masters is paying him £2000 for their safe return, and that he was kept alive for that purpose. The deception hits the team as they reassess their mission.

Reluctant to continue the mission, Leech leads the group toward a German-occupied port city, hoping to steal a boat and escape. Douglas recognizes the new objective and weighs an alternative plan with his men. The team begins moving toward the port under the looming threat of discovery.

Douglas discovers the real fuel depot is at the port and convinces Leech that destroying it would ruin the Germans' supply and aid their escape plan. Leech agrees reluctantly, setting a path toward sabotage rather than straightforward evasion.

At headquarters, Blore shows aerial photographs proving the depot remained intact, confirming the mission's failure. Masters, having lost contact with his team, leaks details of the operation to the Germans to preserve the depot for capture.

Leech's group infiltrates the port at night wearing German uniforms, but they are uncovered after an officer on a loudspeaker calls them by name, exposing Masters' betrayal. The element of surprise collapses as the plan unravels under scrutiny.

Leech and Douglas manage to slip away as the explosives detonate, while the rest of the team is killed one by one. The injured man in the ambulance uses his last strength to murder the German nurse bound beside him, a brutal reminder of the mission's chaos.

The Eighth Army arrives at the port the next morning. Douglas and Leech, in German uniforms, attempt to surrender but are shot by a trigger-happy British soldier who shoots them before noticing the white flag, and the British troops move on.