Five for Hell (1969)

U.S. Lieutenant Glenn Hoffmann and a team of commandos go behind enemy lines to steal Nazi documents from a safe inside a well-guarded German HQ villa in Italy.

Director:

Gianfranco Parolini (as Frank Kramer)

Writers:

Sergio Garrone (story), Renato Izzo (screenplay)

Stars:

Gianni Garko, Margaret Lee, Klaus Kinski

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gianni Garko	...	Lt. Glenn Hoffmann (as John Garko)
Margaret Lee	...	Helga Richter
Klaus Kinski	...	SS Col. Hans Mueller
Aldo Canti	...	Nick Amadori (as Nick Jordan)
Sal Borgese	...	Al Siracusa
Luciano Rossi	...	Johnny 'Chicken' White
Samson Burke	...	Sgt. Sam McCarthy (as Sam Burke)
Irio Fantini	...	Gen. Friederich Gerbordstadt

Storyline

John Garko is a fun-loving leader of a bunch of oddball G.I.s whose mission is to steal the German's secret attack plans from a villa behind enemy lines, where they run into a brutal Nazi commander.

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Plot Keywords:

man murders a woman | behind enemy lines | german | commando | betrayal | 

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Taglines:

Five men behind enemy lines in the most impossible mission of World War II ...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | War

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian German

Release Date:

18 January 1969 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Five for Hell

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ambrosiana Cinematografica, Società Ambrosiana Cinematografica (SAC), Filmstar

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

At the end of the film when the last German soldier is shooting at Lt. Hoffmen, he fires several continuous shots with a Mauser bolt-action rifle, without moving the bolt after each shot. It would be impossible to fire a bolt-action rifle without moving the bolt after each shot to eject the spent casings.

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Alternate Versions

The European release has the actors portraying American characters speaking Italian. The actors portraying German characters spoke German with Italian subtitles, or have had their voices dubbed-in by German-speaking actors, also with Italian subtitles. The American release has the actors portraying American characters speaking English, whose voices have been dubbed in by English-speaking actors. The actors portraying Germans have had their voices dubbed in English in most cases. Occassionally, in the German sequences, the Italian subtitles remain in place of dubbed voices. The American release has most of the opening and closing titles translated to English.

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Connections

Referenced in Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s (2012)

User Reviews

Germany's secret plan foiled by a trampoline!!!

While Germany worked furiously on secret weapons like the V-2 rocket and jet engines, America matched them with the invention of a portable trampoline and lead filled baseball. See machine gun nests knocked out by a gymnast that flies higher than the Luftwaffe! Exclaim as a GI takes out Nazis with sniper-like precision with a baseball! Gasp as Klaus Kinski acts like he always does in most any film... sleazy! This Italian made Dirty Dozen clone has its up and downs. For the most part it flows through as any low budget Italian WWII film. Expect inadvertent humor at times that are supposed to be serious and many flubs. Note that the movie is based around a collapsible trampoline and weighted baseball and the commandos that use them. Dancing commandos at that! Watch for the Fred Astaire like moves of the trampoline wielding commando that dances to the movies theme on the radio. Note that few woman can escape the fate that awaits theme in a scene with Klaus Kinski in any film. Almost as an apology to the general awfulness of this film the climax is actually well filmed and runs well as good WWII actions scenes. One of the more amusing Italian b-grade war films.