The Dirty Dozen (1967)

A US Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers in World War II.

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screenplay), Lukas Heller (screenplay),

Stars:

Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Marvin	...	Major Reisman
Ernest Borgnine	...	General Worden
Charles Bronson	...	Joseph Wladislaw
Jim Brown	...	Robert Jefferson
John Cassavetes	...	Victor Franko
Richard Jaeckel	...	Sergeant Bowren
George Kennedy	...	Major Max Armbruster
Trini López	...	Pedro Jiminez (as Trini Lopez)
Ralph Meeker	...	Captain Stuart Kinder
Robert Ryan	...	Col. Everett Dasher Breed
Telly Savalas	...	Archer Maggott
Donald Sutherland	...	Vernon Pinkley
Clint Walker	...	Samson Posey
Robert Webber	...	General Denton
Tom Busby	...	Milo Vladek

Storyline

A Major with an attitude problem and a history of getting things done is told to interview military prisoners with death sentences or long terms for a dangerous mission; To parachute behind enemy lines and cause havoc for the German Generals at a rest house on the eve of D-Day.

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Plot Keywords:

major | mission | general | u.s. army | suicide mission | 

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Taglines:

Train them! Excite them! Arm them!...Then turn them loose on the Nazis!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German French Spanish Latin

Release Date:

15 June 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dirty Dozen

Filming Locations:

Aldbury, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 8,990,000 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), MKH, Seven Arts Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Production on the film ran for so long that Jim Brown was in danger of missing training camp for the up-coming 1967-68 football season. As training camp and the NFL season approached, the NFL threatened to fine and suspend Brown if he did not leave filming and report to camp immediately. Not one to take threats, Brown simply held a press conference to announce his retirement from football. At the time of his retirement, Brown was considered to be one of the best in the game and even today is considered to be one of the NFL's all-time greats.

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Goofs

The 25-pounder howitzers used during the war games do not appear to recoil. They should in fact recoil the full length of the barrel.

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Quotes

Major John Reisman: [briefing the dozen] And kill any officer in sight.
Victor R. Franko: Ours or theirs?

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits don't occur until 10 minutes into the film. While it is common nowadays for films to have a pre-credits sequence, it was considered innovative in 1967.

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Connections

Referenced in Dink's Dirty Dozen (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Rosen aus dem Süden (Roses from the South), Op. 388"
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauß
Arranged by Frank De Vol

User Reviews

A good old fashioned war film with no hidden agenda.

A generally entertaining war film with no real political axe to grind or patriotic flagwaving getting in the way. Its very dangerous trying to humourise war in the movies, because that would be offensive to all those that had served & died in real life. Kelly's Heroes and 1941 probably went a little too far, pretending that war is really fun & cool when you've got people like Clint Eastwood in charge. But then you have other war films that are black in its humour but manage to keep into focus the cruelty & horrors of war at the same time - M*A*S*H and Catch 22 are the best examples. With Dirty Dozen we have something of a go-between; the humour amongst the characters is light & welcoming but never falls into farce or bad-taste; and Aldrich quickly pulls us back into the fold with some tight scripted scenes of drama & mass murder (throwing petrol & grenades into that German bunker to name but one. I often wonder about that scene, and whether it was some kind of metaphor for the gas chambers & concentration camps in Belsen) But unlike MASH & Catch 22, Aldrich resists the temptation to openly politicise the effects of war, after all this film was made in '67 near the height of the Vietnam war/protests. Instead he takes a straight line course of action and lets us be moved & entertained by the convicted GIs doing their duty. Marvin is excellent as the hardnosed but disobediant Major. He plays the anti-hero far better than Eastwood in Kelly's Heroes. Marvin just looks the type who'd give the top brass as well the Germans a real hard time. But special mention must go to Cassavettes as Viktor Franko, the trouble-maker's trouble-maker. His character is so refreshing & wild amongst a relatively mild cast of supporting extras, with the exception of Savalas. Franko is the Joker of the pack but you soon feel an attachment for him in spite of his crimes. Sutherland & Bronson, don't really add much. The former plays a slightly naive man who hasn't really grown up and Bronson just smirks & mumbles a lot. The only other character worthy of a mention is the truly terrifying Savalas, who is a Christian through & through, yet hates all women as much as the Germans; and has a most spine chilling laugh! Difficult to believe this man later became Kojak! The film is a tad overlong; the first & last 40 minutes hold the interest but the middle section (the War Games scene), is far too long and generally detracts. All the same, DD is a very good movie, especially for those who don't want to be politically moralised too. ***/*****