Das dreckige Dutzend (1967)

Das dreckige Dutzend: Directed by Robert Aldrich. With Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown. 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.

“Many viewers of film, myself include, rate this as one of the most exciting u0026quot;missionu0026quot;u0026#39;u0026#39; stories of all time. Adapted from an intelligent but Freudian source novel, the plot theme is a subtle one for a movie; itu0026#39;s about convicted men in WWII being given odds for life in the form of a suicide mission that may wipe their slates clean– or perhaps not… its main theme is self-assertion, set against its opposite, enforced repression. The key to every action men undertake in this very tough and and tough-minded Nunnnally Johnason and Lukas Heller script is: u0026quot;Is that person dealing with the reality of the world of and his/her own responsibility to act?u0026quot; From convict Telly Savalasu0026#39; character, mystical murderer of women who claims a divine calling to punish their sexuality, to Charles Bronson and Jim Brown who reacted to persecutions and are innocent by reason of self-defense, to their leader, the missionu0026#39;s architect, Major Reisman, who wants his plan to go forward his way despite resistance from brass, every man of the outfit is tried against the same standard. Jimenez is climbing a rope and says he canu0026#39;t make the tower; Franco refuses to shave because the officers have hot water and he does not, Posey canu0026#39;t control his temper, control-freak Col. Breed hates any man who does not go by the book; etc. As a production, Robert Aldrichu0026#39;s direction is probably his masterpiece; the acting is far above average, especially Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker, Robert Webber, energetic John Cassevetes and Al Mancini; the inspired casting of powerful top-sergeant-level Ernest Borgnine as an obviously far-beyond-his element general works brilliantly. The art direction, special effects, sets, and music (by Frank de Vol) all complement a taut script filled with memorable terse dialogue. Entire sequences such as the selection interviews for the mission team, the building of the camp, a visit to Breedu0026#39;s hq, Breedu0026#39;s invasion of the camp, the training regimen, the u0026quot;graduation partyu0026quot;, Reismanu0026#39;s verbal defense of his men, the war gamesu0026#39; challenge, preparing for the mission, the early invasion steps, Maggotu0026#39;s adlib, the attack by Reismanu0026#39;s team, the escape and the hospital climax and denouement–all these sections are made memorable to many admirers of this beautifully made and unusual story. As officers attached to the mission, George Kennedy, Richard Jaene-too-subtle secondary theme of the film is: the wrongness of arbitrary power in anyoneu0026#39;s hands, including Nazis, US army officers or their brutal agents (such as Breedu0026#39;s men who beat up Charles Bronson for information). The film is about individuals who when they harm no one else and are effective human beings, men who can always get the job done, always control themselves. who need to be free to operate. Such men the film says are u0026quot;heroesu0026quot;–men with an unusual ability to create results on Earth; the sort of men films ought to be made about in a nation that talks individualism and claims to value capability. This is a great adventure, of enduring artistry, occasional brutality and intelligently-developed dialogue. It has logical actions, and spectacular physical performances and This is a strong and well-thought-out adventure film, one of the richest of its genre, to be watched many times.”