The Dirty Dozen (1967)

 

Ah yes, the story that a bunch of misfits have to get together and perform what is in essence a suicide mission for the greater good. Sound familiar? Well then I guess you have this film to thank for that trope, as 'The Dirty Dozen' pretty much wrote the rulebook for such stories. 

You wouldn't have something like 'Suicide Squad' without this one, and that is perfectly fine. 

This is also one of those very manly men-projects, so be warned: the ladies don't factor into this one, not one iota. 

It's the final days of the Second World War and D-Day is imminent, but because the higher-ups want to bet on several horses at the same time, there is a secret mission afoot. Major Reisman is selected to lead this mission, because he doesn't sit well with his superiors. The idea is simple enough: select some soldiers who are on death row, train them in a few weeks and then head out for a mission behind enemy lines, trying to kill as many German officers as possible in a heavily fortified mansion in the hopes of disrupting the chain of command. 

A total suicide mission, of course. 

Reisman balks at the idea, especially as he knows he won't be given proper time to truly train these criminals, but through his gruff and hardcore approach, of course he manages to distill something akin to a team from a band of twelve soldiers, some of whom are actually just victims of bad luck, bad timing or blatant racism. 

Granted, the character Telly Savalas plays is a psychotic rapist, but every team needs at least one completely unhinged character that will fudge things up in the long run, right? 

We get to follow this ragtag group as they bond and become a tight unit and the cherry on top is capturing officers during an exercise, because of course most of the army brass is appalled at the idea that these hoodlums would become anything akin to decent soldiers. The final act is the actual mission, which is surprisingly tense. Not a lot of guys make it out of there, in fact.

This is one that is mostly about the characters, and you have some stand out in extreme ways. Of all the twelve (well, fourteen if you count Lee Marvin and Richard Jaeckel), there are only a few you will vividly remember. Savalas' psycho is one of them and he plays the creepy dude with gusto. Maybe even a bit much, one could say. Donald Sutherland is a bumbling but mentally slightly underdeveloped kid and Clint Walker as the towering Posey endears. He is just a huge guy who sometimes loses his temper. Next to that, there's John Cassavetes' loudmouth, who is at first pretty irritating, but you'll warm up to him eventually. And last but not least Charles Bronson as someone who is righteous and good, but who did the right thing at the wrong time. That's Bronson for you. 

With quite the ensemble cast, it's engaging to see them get up to shenanigans at first and then actually see them bond. It helps that we as an audience spend quite a bit of time with them, so the deaths hit home just that bit harder. 

In the end, 'The Dirty Dozen' is a fun wartime adventure. Is it essential viewing? Maybe not, but you could do a lot worse when it comes to ensemble pieces.