Pepperoni/Paella WWII film co-produced by Italy/Spain upon a commando assigned a risked mission behind enemy lines , starred by Michael Rennie as a veteran , stiff-upper-lip sergeant called Blynn who leads a group of convicts in France . The assignment : search out and destroy a radio station in Normandy before the D-Day invasion , it threatens the imminent allied landings . It is a suicide mission , that's why the brave army sergeant takes convicts on his next objective . The misfit squadron on a dangerous aim : to explode a radio station before it's used against the Allied forces about to land in Normandy , and that could have changed the course of WWII . These are the followings : the two-fisted Rob (Juan Luis Galiardo) , the sex-crazed Alan (Guido Lollobrigida as Lee Burton) , a very young Cliff (Bob Sullivan) , the violent Aldo Sambrell , José Manuel Martín and Alvaro De Luna . Along the way they meet some partisans (José Bódalo , Mónica Randall , Verónica Luján) . As the bunch of guys on the run racing against the clock to complete their assignment . The commando force is ambushed by the nasty Nazis and traitors and Blynn becomes obsessed with taking on their assignment ; he's got a mission and will stop at nothing to accomplish it , even though it means the death of just about everyone under his command . At the end the brave command assaults the fortress but the German commander and his underlings defend -in blood and fire- the impregnable station . Many of them are killed , but Blynn insists on attempting to complete the commandos' mission.
Set during World War where starring Michael Rennie is assigned by the US command a lethal order : they have decided to blow up a radio station , as the sergeant names six ex-con soldiers who will accompany him to the deadly mission . Thrilling and stirring screenplay by Manuel Sebares and Roberto Gianviti based on a story by Mortimer . It is a combination of the classic US war movies , including the usual themes : impossible mission , rivalry among members , and familiar anti-heroes taken from ¨Dirty Dozen¨ . Michael Rennie assumes the character of commando leader in this ordinary wartime movie regularly directed by Leon Klimovsky . This moving film packs frantic thrills , perilous adventures , relentless feats , and buck-loads of explosive action and violence . This is a Tortilla/Maccaroni Western with machine gun and tanks instead of horses and six-shooters . The frenetic action is mechanically made , and especially deserving of mention the rip-roaring final scenes in which the motley group carry out the spectacular attack , including some noisy shootouts and bombing . The first half of the film allows the colorful cast of character actors to have their fun and confrontation with their leader . The final part is all action , as the brave commando wreak havoc , blowing up the radio station and then run for their lives . The film results to be a typical warfare flick , usual of the sixties . The roles are never really fleshed out , but for a short-budget warlike movie , they have got more dimensionality than we have come to expect . It stars the British Michael Rennie who gives passable acting , brought to Hollywood in 1950 and signed to a contract by studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, Rennie was cast in arguably his most popular role as Klaatu in the classic film ¨ The day earth stood still¨ , and others as ¨Demetrius and the gladiators¨ , ¨Les Miserables¨ and ¨The rob¨ . At the end his career he performed some Italian/Spanish films , such as : "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" , "Naked You Die" , ¨La Battaglia Di El Alamein¨ . Rennie is supported by an acceptable cast plenty of familiar faces . As the largely secondary cast formed by a lot of Spanish/Italian secondaries , all of them ordinary from Spaghetti/Paella Western , such as Spanish actors : Alvaro De Luna , Aldo Sambrell , Monica Randall ; as Italian players : Raf Baldassarre and Guido Lollobrigida , Gina Lollobrigida's brother . This one belongs to Klimovsky's trilogy about WWII , including tarnishing Hollywood stars , such as ¨Hell's brigade¨ with Jack Palance , ¨Bridge of No Returns" with Tab Hunter and ¨Command attack¨ with Michael Rennie . All of them supported by the Spanish Army that lent tanks , weapons , soldiers and extras to make these films . Atmospheric as well as strange musical score by Bruno Nicolai , usual collaborator to Ennio Morricone . Mediocre cinematography in Eastmancolor filmed by cameraman Godofredo Pacheco , a perfect remastering is extremely necessary . Being filmed on location in Casa De Campo , Madrid , Navacerrada mountains , Colmenar Viejo , La Pedriza , Madrid , where in the 60s and 70s were filmed lots of Westerns . This is a wartime typical vehicle and into the ¨warlike commando sub-genre¨ , in USA style which also belong the American classics as : ¨Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich) ¨ , ¨Navarone guns¨ (J.Lee Thompson) , ¨Where eagles dare (Brian G. Hutton)¨ , ¨Kelly's heroes (Hutton)¨ , ¨Tobruk (Arthur Hiller)¨ , ¨Devil's Brigade (Andrew V McLagen)¨ and many others .
This¨Giugno '44 Sbarcheremo in Normandia" or "Commando Attack" or ¨Junio 44: Desembarcaremos En Normandía!!!¨ was middlingly directed by Leon Klimovsky . This Argentina born but nationalized Spanish filmmaker was a craftsman who directed all kind genres , as Terror for Paul Naschy (Marshall of hell , Rebellion of dead one , Orgy of vampires , Werewolf shadow , Dr Jekill vs. the werewolf) , Warlike (A bullet for Rommel, Bridge over Elba) and Western (Badland drifter , Some dollars for Django , Torrejon city , Death knows no time, Two thousand dollars for Coyote). Rating: 4 , inferior WWII movie but entertaining.
