Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Lee Van Cleef | ... | MSgt. Sullivan | |
Jack Kelly | ... | Capt. Valli | |
![]() |
Giampiero Albertini | ... | Aldo |
Marino Masé | ... | Italian Lt. Tomassini | |
Götz George | ... | Oberleutnant Rudi | |
Pier Paolo Capponi | ... | Corbi | |
![]() |
Ivano Staccioli | ... | Rodolfo - Radio Man |
Marilù Tolo | ... | Adriana | |
Joachim Fuchsberger | ... | Oberleutnant Heitzel Agen - Professor (as Akim Berg) | |
Heinz Reincke | ... | Offizier Hans | |
Helmut Schmid | ... | Sgt. Miller | |
![]() |
Otto Stern | ... | Sgt. Braumann |
![]() |
Pier Luigi Anchisi | ... | Riccio |
![]() |
Gianni Brezza | ... | Marco |
Duilio Del Prete | ... | Bruno |
Sgt. Sullivan puts together a group of Italian-Americans into disguise as Italian soldiers in order to infiltrate a North African camp held by the Italians. After the soldiers have knifed the Italians in their beds, they find a hooker living at the camp. Sullivan's commandos are to hold this camp and its weaponry until an American battalion arrives, all the while these Italian-Americans pretend to be Italian soldiers, often hosting the enemy. Lt. Valli is a young, "green," by-the-book officer who constantly argues with Sgt. Sullivan, who tells his superior that he has no idea what he is doing. One man on the base, probably a touch from Argento, is an entomologist who is needlessly killed. Things go terribly wrong after that. Written by Scott Hutchins <scottandrewh@home.com>
I too picked up Commandos in the budget bin. The movie itself was decent...acting a bit over the top from some of the players, the plot very predictable, and the ending a bit smarmy, intent on teaching us a nice lesson about the horrors of war.
The worst part of the film were the technical details. The US Army dropping paratrooper commandos behind enemy lines prior to Operation Torch (factual error... US Airborne troops were no where near ready for a raid prior to Torch). The obvious use of the 1944 M3 Grease Gun as the weapon of choice for the commandos, a weapon which didn't even see North Africa, let alone North Africa in 1942, the year before it made it to Army usage.
One can forgive the use of US Chaffee and Walker Bulldog tanks repainted in German Afrika Tan (after all, Patton did too), but too many errors upon errors crept into the movie to make it truly enjoyable. For 99 cents and a Saturday afternoon, it will serve. As a great movie, it falls far short.