Like THEY WERE NOT DIVIDED, THE RED BERET is a 1950s war effort made by the team (Albert Broccoli, Terence Young, etc.) who would later go on to make the early James Bond films and thus kick-start a whole genre of cinema. This film stars Alan Ladd as an Canadian soldier who joins forces with a squad of British paratroopers to go on missions behind enemy lines in both France and North Africa.
It's a fairly typical war movie from the era, a little stodgy in places and ridiculous in others. The silly bar-room brawl is straight out of a western and seems to come from nowhere, it's so sudden. Ladd plays a perpetually grumpy fellow but Susan Stephen doesn't have any trouble falling for his less-than-ideal charms. The supporting cast of British talent is better: in his first film role, Harry Andrews is a scene-stealer as the RSM, and there are parts for Stanley Baker, Donald Houston, Anton Diffring, and Leo Genn.
THE RED BERET seems to be suffering from a low budget, because the action sequences aren't quite up to scratch and never convince too much, although there's a novel use for a bazooka which is worth something. The skydiving stuff is better and more thrilling, and Ladd's back story, when it eventually comes to light, is an acceptable one.
