Synopsis

A US Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers in World War II.

Directed by Robert Aldrich and one of MGM’s highest grossing films of the year 1967, The Dirty Dozen contains an all star cast and has been heralded as an all time classic war film, despite the violent themes that occur throughout the film.

Based on the novel of the same name by E.M. Nathanson, The Dirty Dozen was based on a rumour that circulated around after the war, however no proof was ever found that there was any truth to the story.

The story revolves around Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin), an OSS officer who is assigned an unusual mission before the D-Day invasion, to take twelve soldiers that have been convicted of offences warranting either long prison sentences or the death penalty across into occupied France in an attempt to execute German officers staying at a château near Rennes, in Brittany.

Reisman’s superiors Major General Worden (Ernest Borgnine) and Colonel Everett Dasher Breed (Robert Ryan) see this mission as a suicide run with a very small chance of success, however with the incentive of earning their freedom and the expendable nature of these particular soldiers, the plan appears to be a worthwhile long shot. Believing that the chaos that would be caused by the death of the senior Wehrmacht officers on the eve of the invasion would greatly improve the odds of success, Reisman is given the task of training these men and then unleashing them upon the Nazi’s and any innocents caught in their path.

The Dozen include:
Victor Franko (John Cassavetes)
Vernon Pinkley (Donald Sutherland)
Archer Maggott (Telly Savalas)
Joseph Wladislaw (Charles Bronson)
Milo Vladek (Tom Busby)
Robert Jefferson (Jim Brown)
Glenn Gilpin (Ben Carruthers)
Samson Posey (Clint Walker)
Seth Sawyer (Colin Maitland)
Roscoe Lever (Stuart Cooper)
Tassos Bravos (Al Mancini)
Pedro Jiminez (Trini López)

The film is divided into three parts, the first being the identification of the Dozen and their recruitment for this suicidal mission. The second part shows the men’s training and how each of the Dozen treats the opportunity for freedom presented to them. Finally the film progresses to the mission where the Dozen, led by Major Reisman, are unleashed on the Nazi officers after parachuting behind enemy lines.