The Dirty Dozen (1967)

During World War II, a rebellious U.S. Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers.

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screenplay), Lukas Heller (screenplay)

Stars:

Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

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

commando mission | redemption | criminal | fight in a restroom | secret mission | 

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Taglines:

D-Day Began When The Dirty Dozen Were Done!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German French Spanish Latin

Release Date:

22 October 1967 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Dirty Dozen

Filming Locations:

Bradenham Manor, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$5,400,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$45,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

Mono 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the novel, the black character's name is Napoleon White. It was changed to Robert Jefferson for the movie at some point, although in the original trailer, he's called Napoleon Jefferson.

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Goofs

General Dentons single star is pinned on the end of the epaulet, it should be in the middle.

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Quotes

Capt. Stuart Kinder: [while the dozen are cavorting with the prostitutes in the guards' barracks] I wonder if any of them even know it's Mother's Day.
Major John Reisman: [glances at Kinder and pauses briefly] is it?

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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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Alternate Versions

In Germany, in the German-language dubbed version, audiences saw only Jim Brown throwing hand grenades into the airshafts at the chateau. The scenes showing grenades being dumped into, and gasoline being poured into, the airshafts were cut.

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Connections

Referenced in Inglourious Basterds (2009)

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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

"Feed the French, Kill the Germans"

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.