During World War II, a special fighting unit is formed that combines a crack Canadian Army unit and a conglomeration of US Army misfits who had previously served time in military jails.
After an initial period of conflict between the two groups, their enmity turns to respect and friendship, and the unit is sent to Italy to attempt a dangerous mission that is considered impossible to carry out.
William Holden plays Lt. Col. Frederick, who derives the plan for combining Canadian and American troops into an assault force to attack the Germans in Norway. Frederick has to deal with two contingents of troops: a proud, professional Canadian unit under the command of career soldier Major Crown (Cliff Robertson) and an American unit comprised of misfits and criminals, led by crass Major Bricker (Vince Edwards).
They are deployed, instead, to Italy, where they must capture a strategic hilltop from which Nazi artillery pounds the Allied advance.
The “Devil’s Brigade” actually existed during WWII. Its formal military designation was the First Special Service Force (FSSF) – alternatively known as the “Black Devils”. The joint American-Canadian unit was comprised of three regiments of two battalions and specialised in cold-weather, mountain-warfare missions. The FSSF served in the Italian campaign, before finishing its service in Southern France in 1944.
The FSSF is considered to be the predecessor to the US Army Special Forces (the “Green Berets”).
Lt. Col. Robert T. Frederick
William Holden Maj. Alan Crown
Cliff Robertson Maj. Cliff Bricker
Vince Edwards Pvt. Theodore Ransom
Andrew Prine Sgt. Pat O’Neill
Jeremy Slate Pvt. Rocky Rockman
Claude Akins Cpl. Peacock
Jack Watson Pvt. Omar Greco
Richard Jaeckel Pvt. Bronc Guthrie
Bill Fletcher Pvt. Hugh MacDonald
Richard Dawson Pvt. Al Manella
Tom Troupe Pvt. Hubert Hixon
Luke Askew Pvt. Henri Laurent
Jean-Paul Vignon Capt. Cardwell
Tom Stern Capt. Rose
Harry Carey Jr.
Director
Andrew V. McLaglen
Video
Related Posts
Castle, The (1968) Maximilian Schell plays an anonymous stranger called "K" who arrives at a strange village and claims he is the new…
Dirty Dozen, The (1967) One of the smash hits of its year, this action-packed archetypal bloke-flick is violent and amoral and a magnificent adventure that stirs…
Green Berets, The (1968) One of the first Vietnam War action pictures presented anachronistic World War II-style heroics of the American Special Forces, featuring…
Dogs of War, The (1980) Jamie Shannon (Christopher Walken) is a veteran sickened by his role as a mercenary, but when the amorous reunion with…
Das Boot (1981) Director Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 World War II drama Das Boot ("The Boat") was nominated for six Academy Awards - a virtual…
Danger Within (1959) Danger Within is set in an Italian Prisoner of War camp housing British, French and other Allied captives during the…
Charge Of The Light Brigade, The (1968) Tony Richardson's disapproving rendition of the infamously disastrous Crimean War cavalry charge in 1854 disappointed many upon its 1968 release,…
White Comanche (1968) This ultra-cheap spaghetti western filmed in Spain is a movie for the William Shatner fan who has everything: Here that…
