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The Devil's Brigade (1968)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
15 May 1968 (USA) moreTagline:
What they did to each other was nothing compared to what they did to the enemy!Plot:
A American colonel who has never been in combat is tasked with creating a special forces unit from Canadian troops and a ragtag group of American misfits. full summary | add synopsisUser Comments:
The Fighting Devils moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only) more
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
130 minCountry:
USAColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Certification:
UK:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved | West Germany:16 (nf) | Singapore:PGFun Stuff
Trivia:
The Devil's Brigrade actually existed (although the unit was actually known as "The Black Devils"). During World War II, the brigade suffered casualty rates of 39%. Following the end of WWII, the brigade was disbanded. Veterans of the Devil's Brigade have been meeting each year, since 1945, in Montana, at the former training facility depicted in the movie. moreGoofs:
Factual errors: When Maj. Crown approaches the group of surrendering soldiers and an officer near the end of the film, the soldiers have their hands raised high into the air, but the officer stands with his hands behind his back - with no one challenging him to raise his hands, too. This is a breach of normal procedure, and common sense, and leads to fatal results here when the officer uses a gun he had hidden behind his back. moreQuotes:
Lt. Col. Robert T. Frederick: They say you find what something is worth when you pay for it. moreFAQ
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When The Devil's Brigade first came out it got panned by a lot of critics in that it was too similar to The Dirty Dozen. Never mind that it was based on some real figures, the consensus was that The Devil's Brigade was a poor imitation of The Dirty Dozen. Personally I think it was a better film.
I'm sure that the characters and incidents were given a lot of poetic license, but that was to make it entertaining. And entertaining it is. But it's also inspiring, especially in the last battle sequence, taking that hill by going up the hard way.
When Bill Holden was cast as real life Lieutenant Colonel Robert Frederick, Mrs. Frederick was interviewed and said while she admired Mr. Holden's talent, she thought her husband was more the Gregory Peck type. Nevertheless Holden does a fine job as a man who shoots down Lord Louis Mountbatten's idea of a combined American/Canadian special force and then gets command of it. He's also a staff officer who had not seen combat and he was trying to prove something to himself.
As good as Holden is, the best performance in this film has to be that of Cliff Robertson as Canadian Major Alan Crown. Robertson's an Ulster Irishman in the film and his acting and accent are impeccable. He's got something to prove as well, he and many of his Canadians left Europe at Dunkirk. Robertson himself was off his Oscar winning performance in Charly and The Devil's Brigade was a good follow up for him.
The Canadians selected for this unit are the pick of the lot, while the Americans emptied their stockades of all the refuse. Holden encourages competition among them and a really terrific sequence involving a bar brawl with some obnoxious lumberjacks welds a camaraderie among former feudees.
Standing out in the cast are Claude Akins as a particularly rambunctious American recruit and Jack Watson as the Canadian sergeant. They bond particularly close, some might even infer some homosexuality here, but Watson's death scene and Akins's reactions are particularly poignant.
The Devil's Brigade also came out during the Viet-nam War and war films were not well received at that time, at least until Patton came out. Seen now though, The Devil's Brigade is a fine tribute to the Canadians and Americans who made up the First Special Service Force.