The Dirty Dozen

Acclaimed director Robert Aldrich (also famous to war film buffs for his rule-breaking drama, "Attack") twists the familiar 'unit picture' into a famous story of unexpected heroism in the midst of World War II. Instead of making his heroes clean-cut, American draftees, we're looking at the dirtiest convicts the Armed Forces has got to offer.

OSS Major Reisman (Lee Marvin, "Hell in the Pacific") is an insubordinate Army officer who's facing a court-martial, when he's given one last chance for a reprieve: select twelve Army prisoners from a maximum-security detention center, train them for a top-secret mission behind the German lines, and then lead them into battle. If they succeed in the mission, they'll be released. For Reisman, it's a tough call, but it's his only chance to save his career.

The men he was to work with are a mixed batch, and director Aldrich packs a lot of character development into a two-and-a-half-hour movie. The most important of the "Dirty Dozen" is Franko, a small-time Chicago hoodlum who's facing the gallows for robbery and subsequent murder of a British civilian. It's clear from the start that Franko is a loner who thinks he's big stuff, but Reisman manages to prove that he's really all talk. More than once, he considers and even attempts escape from the remote training camp that the Dozen are forced to build – but maybe, just maybe, beneath that rebellious attitude, there's a chance for redemption.

Then there are some more sympathetic types: Wladislaw (Charles Bronson, "Battle of the Bulge") was once a front-line infantryman who shot his platoon's medic when the medic got scared under fire and started running – Bronson says "He took off with all the medical supplies… only way to stop him was to shoot him." Jefferson (Jim Brown, "Ice Station Zebra") has been convicted for murder – his defense is he was defending himself from vicious, racist MPs who were abusing him. Wladislaw and Jefferson find themselves allied in order to get Franko on their side, because they have faith in Reisman and aren't willing to let Franko's rebellion become infectious.

Also in fine support is Clint Walker ("None But the Brave") as the big Navajo, Posey, who punched a man too hard for shoving him. He really didn't mean to kill him; he just doesn't like being pushed. Posey comes off as a cuddly teddy bear who'd never intentionally hurt a soul, and it's clear from the start that he's one of the good guys. Finally, Telly Savalas ("Kelly's Heroes") lends a hand as the psychotic, racist, religious fanatic Maggot, who believes his job is to punish the other 11 men for their "wickedness". His motives are never really clear; all we really know is that Maggot is somewhat unhinged and potentially dangerous.

Even though Reisman and his squad don't get along, they're forced to become allied against a common enemy – the American General Staff, who want to do nothing short of shut the operation down. Aldrich again breaks the rules, making the conventionally "good guys" into the enemy. The Germans are barely mentioned throughout the first two acts, and only become involved for the explosive finale. The heart of this movie is anti-establishment behavior, right in the vein of the protest culture of the 60s: the good guys are the unshaven criminals, and the bad guys are the clean-cut, well-dressed Generals who come across as stupid and vain. As Colonel Everett Dasher Breed, Robert Ryan ("Flying Leathernecks") makes an excellent bully, a villain that the Dozen eventually unite to take action against.

Once the men have been trained and are finally cooperating and acting as a unit, it's time to set them loose on the Nazis. And still, the story doesn't become stereotypical. The mission is simple: the men will parachute into occupied France, penetrate a château being used as a rest center for high-level German officers, and kill as many of said officers as possible in a short amount of time. This operation involves stabbing defenseless women, machine-gunning prisoners, and finally, locking several dozen German officers and their mistresses in an underground bomb shelter, pouring gasoline down on them through air vents, loading said air vents with hand grenades, and then blowing up the whole place.

Characters and story aside, the film benefits from some superb editing by Michael Luciano. Director Aldrich and cinematographer Edward Scaife work hand in hand to compose every shot. The cramped, dank prison cells in the first act are utterly convincing, and the layout of the huge, magnificent German-occupied château looks, quite appropriately, like a cross between a marvelous mansion and an impregnable fortress. The battle scenes are well-choreographed, too. Never does a moment go by where we do not know where one encounter is happening in relation to what the rest of the squad is dealing with in and around the Château. Frank de Vol's sweeping score is used sparingly, and adds to both the humor and suspense of the picture. One scene, in which Donald Sutherland's character "inspects" a platoon of the 82nd Airborne, is set to a live orchestra's performance perfectly.

War is a really a dirty business – this isn't a movie about men playing by the rules. It's about breaking every rule in the book to get a job done, and if a few innocent bystanders get in the way, they're simply collateral damage. On a higher level, Aldrich's film reflects culture attitudes of the late 60s. Moviegoers wanted a film which encouraged breaking the rules, which showed the higher levels of the American military as deeply flawed, and made the dregs of society into the heroes of the piece. It's a cynical representation of the time it was made in, but holds up flawlessly 40 years later, in a culture which has probably been shaped by the attitudes the film reflects in every frame.

10/10

Many viewers of film, myself include, rate this as one of the most exciting "mission"'' stories of all time. Adapted from an intelligent but Freudian source novel, the plot theme is a subtle one for a movie; it's about convicted men in WWII being given odds for life in the form of a suicide mission that may wipe their slates clean-- or perhaps not... its main theme is self-assertion, set against its opposite, enforced repression. The key to every action men undertake in this very tough and and tough-minded Nunnnally Johnason and Lukas Heller script is: "Is that person dealing with the reality of the world of and his/her own responsibility to act?" From convict Telly Savalas' character, mystical murderer of women who claims a divine calling to punish their sexuality, to Charles Bronson and Jim Brown who reacted to persecutions and are innocent by reason of self-defense, to their leader, the mission's architect, Major Reisman, who wants his plan to go forward his way despite resistance from brass, every man of the outfit is tried against the same standard. Jimenez is climbing a rope and says he can't make the tower; Franco refuses to shave because the officers have hot water and he does not, Posey can't control his temper, control-freak Col. Breed hates any man who does not go by the book; etc. As a production, Robert Aldrich's direction is probably his masterpiece; the acting is far above average, especially Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker, Robert Webber, energetic John Cassevetes and Al Mancini; the inspired casting of powerful top-sergeant-level Ernest Borgnine as an obviously far-beyond-his element general works brilliantly. The art direction, special effects, sets, and music (by Frank de Vol) all complement a taut script filled with memorable terse dialogue. Entire sequences such as the selection interviews for the mission team, the building of the camp, a visit to Breed's hq, Breed's invasion of the camp, the training regimen, the "graduation party", Reisman's verbal defense of his men, the war games' challenge, preparing for the mission, the early invasion steps, Maggot's adlib, the attack by Reisman's team, the escape and the hospital climax and denouement--all these sections are made memorable to many admirers of this beautifully made and unusual story. As officers attached to the mission, George Kennedy, Richard Jaene-too-subtle secondary theme of the film is: the wrongness of arbitrary power in anyone's hands, including Nazis, US army officers or their brutal agents (such as Breed's men who beat up Charles Bronson for information). The film is about individuals who when they harm no one else and are effective human beings, men who can always get the job done, always control themselves. who need to be free to operate. Such men the film says are "heroes"--men with an unusual ability to create results on Earth; the sort of men films ought to be made about in a nation that talks individualism and claims to value capability. This is a great adventure, of enduring artistry, occasional brutality and intelligently-developed dialogue. It has logical actions, and spectacular physical performances and This is a strong and well-thought-out adventure film, one of the richest of its genre, to be watched many times.

During World War II, Major Reisman is called to a high level meeting to discuss his next mission – to train a group of soldiers and prepare them for a mission behind enemy lines. However the `soldiers' that Reisman has been assigned are all sentenced to death or life in prison for their crimes. The mission is a suicide mission on a French chateau where German top brass will be, the aim being to kill as many as possible. But before the mission, the group must pass a training to be considered for pardoning.

Well known by all men everywhere, this is less a serious war movie and more an enjoyable ensemble romp through a training camp, with the final third being the mission itself. This is the film's strength – the training sections are very enjoyable and good fun to watch. The mission is punchy and dramatic and works very well as the conclusion to the film rather than the whole film itself (which other `mission' films have to do). The training is slick and enjoyable, not only it is occasionally quite funny but it is also consistently amusing and exciting at turns.

The film's main selling point (increasingly so) is the all star cast, all of whom do really good work. Marvin is tough in the lead and he is well supported by Borgnine, Kennedy, Ryan and Jaeckel playing the other officers. Of the prisoners Cassavetes steals the show with his cocky Franko although he is not short of famous support. Sutherland (although not well known at the time) is good comic relief, Savalas is a little too heavy for the film but adds menace, Bronson is good value, Brown is strong and is well known due to a weepy Billy Crystal! The rest of the dozen give good performances, but I'll be honest and say that the famous faces stuck in my mind more.

Overall this is not a wonderful film and, as a war movie it isn't the best `mission' movie you could find (simply cause the mission is quite short and straightforward. However it is a fun movie that never drags despite the slightly longer than normal running time for this type of movie. The training section and the mission itself combine to form an enjoyable film that is driven by a great cast playing good characters.

John Wayne who apparently was offered the part of Major Reisman probably wisely turned it down. Wayne would never have done in the part of the maverick major in charge of training the way Lee Marvin was so perfect in the role. In fact Marvin's and the performance of others in the cast helped The Dirty Dozen get over two very big improbable situations I have always found in this film.

The first one being the way the conflict between Robert Ryan and Lee Marvin is handled. I can certainly see why a spit and polish West Point graduate like Ryan would not like Marvin, why Marvin would rub him the wrong way. But I cannot understand why when the Dozen are transferred to his command for parachute training they don't tell him what's going on. I would think he would have a need to know. Then again a whole big part of the film wouldn't have occurred if Ryan had been let in on Marvin's mission.

The second thing is that granted these guys might be considered expendable to say the least with several of the dozen scheduled for a firing squad, but the army would want to make sure the mission had some chance of succeeding. There's no way, absolutely no bloody way, that a psychotic like Telly Savalas would have been allowed on the mission. And why Lee Marvin didn't scrub him when psychiatrist Ralph Meeker offered to is beyond me as well.

Those glaring holes in the story have always prevented me from giving The Dirty Dozen the top rating that most have given it. But it hasn't prevented me from enjoying the film.

The basic idea of the film appeals to me. An unorthodox major taking a group of nonconformists to say the least and making them a crack fighting outfit. Regular army training did not do it for this crew the first time around.

Charles Bronson is one of the dozen and this film certainly put him well on the way to top billing. A dozen years later in fact he'd have it over Lee Marvin in Death Hunt. Jim Brown also having just finished his football career began his movie career with a winning performance as another of the dozen. John Cassavetes was singled out for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Also Donald Sutherland got his first real notice as yet another of the dozen.

A year later William Holden and Cliff Robertson did The Devil's Brigade which bore a lot of resemblance to The Dirty Dozen. It got slammed by critics for ripping off from The Dirty Dozen. The only problem was that Holden's film was based on a real outfit and The Dirty Dozen is pure fiction. Only in movieland.

Marvin's mission is to infiltrate and kill a lot of the German high command as they gather at a French château in the weeks before D-Day. How he does is something you have to watch The Dirty Dozen before. But I think you'll like seeing what happens.

Quentin Tarantino looks like he just might follow through with his threat to make the ultimate "guys on a mission movie" if he gets his 'Inglorious Bastards' on to the big screen, but he'll be pushed to equal 'The Dirty Dozen', the quintessential movie in the genre. 35 years on and it's still one of the best WW2 adventure movies, and a strong contender for the ultimate guys movie. It shouldn't be taken too seriously - I don't think anyone is going to argue it's a realistic depiction of war - but it's still one of the most entertaining movies around, and it's impressive collection of tough guys and character actors is really hard to beat. Director Aldrich had previously made the classic noir 'Kiss Me Deadly' (starring Ralph Meeker who reappears here in a supporting role) and the wonderfully creepy 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane', but this is arguably going to be THE movie he's remembered for. Screen legend Lee Marvin ('Point Blank', 'The Killers') with the assistance of his Sgt (Richard Jaeckel), must train a motley collection of criminal and misfits (including John Cassavetes, Jim Brown, Telly Savalas, Charles Bronson, Clint Walker and Donald Sutherland), for a suicide mission behind enemy lines. Marvin is just great, extremely cool and charismatic, but also a fine actor, something which is often overlooked. The ensemble cast (which also includes George Kennedy, and two future stars of 'The Wild Bunch', Ernest Borgnine and Robert Ryan) are uniformly excellent, but Cassavetes is particularly outstanding, Sutherland is memorable as a half wit, and Savalas is unforgettable as the religious psychopath Maggott. 'The Dirty Dozen' is first class entertainment and highly recommended. It put 90% of today's "action movies" to shame!