The Devil's Brigade (1968)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Memorable, crazy movie

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

THE DEVIL'S BRIGADE is another men-on-a-mission war film to follow in the wake of THE DIRTY DOZEN. This is along very much the same lines, albeit with a much bigger cast, and once again it concerns an officer training up a platoon of men for a suicide mission. This time around, the orders are to capture a bunch of Germans and later take a mountain occupied by German forces in Italy.It's obvious from the outset that this is a highly entertaining picture just from the level of talent involved. The familiar faces are endless and the pacing never flags despite the lengthy running time. The first half of the movie is taken up with training but it doesn't feel slow, thanks to the conflict arising from the Canadian troops and the dregs of the American jails forced to join forces with them. Later, when the action hits it does so impressively, mixing quietly taut peril and suspense sequences with all out battle warfare.William Holden headlines the cast as the ultra-tough lieutenant colonel while Cliff Robertson and Vince Edwards play the two opposing majors under him. Elsewhere we get good character parts from the actors playing the privates such as Claude Akins, Richard Jaeckel, and Richard Dawson, and a scene-stealing turn from Jack Watson as the tough Scotsman Corporal Peacock. THE DEVIL'S BRIGADE is an entertaining war flick in that inimitable 1960s style.

"The Devil's Brigade" was released in 1968, 11 months after the hugely successful "The Dirty Dozen". Both films have similar plots and were based on real-life WWII units -- "The Dirty Dozen" was loosely based on the Filthy Thirteen and "The Devil's Brigade" more tightly based on the 1st Special Service Force, AKA The Black Devils.Their plots are similar in that they each involve a group of military delinquents being trained for a big mission and then the execution of that mission. They differ in that the 1st Special Service Force was comprised of both American and Canadian soldiers, rather than just Americans.Although "The Devil's Brigade" is based more on fact it's still a very Hollywood-ized depiction of events. For instance, actual members of the unit objected to the way the film limits the groups warm relations with the locals of Helena, Montana, (the city nearest their training base) to a major brouhaha in a saloon.The first half of the film takes place mostly at the dilapidated base near Helena, but was shot at a base in Lehi, Utah, which is a decent substitute since it's only 350 miles due south of Helena.Generally speaking, "The Devil's Brigade" is not as good as "The Dirty Dozen", but that's only because the latter film is so great, plus it came first. Yet it has some aspects that are just as good in their own way and sometimes better. For instance, the final mission in "The Dirty Dozen" involves the unit's raid on an opulent German château, which -- while good -- is hardly a typical WWII combat scenario; the final mission shown in "The Devil's Brigade", by contrast, involves the brigade's taking of a German stronghold atop a rocky mountain in Northern Italy, an excellent battle sequence.Although it's next to impossible to beat Lee Marvin as the commander of the unit in "The Dirty Dozen", William Holden is very strong in the counterpart role in "The Devil's Brigade". However, he was too long-in-the-tooth for the part as the real commander of The Black Devils was much younger, but that's not a big deal.Despite the above criticisms of the saloon brawl, it is a highlight, as is the scene in the mess hall where a hand-to-hand combat trainer is introduced. It's an extremely well-staged sequence.Claude Akins is great as the ape-like Pvt. Rockman, but his hysterics at the death of his Canadian comrade in battle is overly melodramatic. As if he wasn't prepared for the likely death of a fellow soldier in battle.FINAL SAY: If you're in the mood for a late 60s war flick in the mode of "The Dirty Dozen", "The Devil's Brigade" is a quality option.The film runs 130 minutes and was shot in Utah & Italy.GRADE: B

Released in 1968 - This expensive production set during WW2 may have featured a big-name cast headlined by William Holden, Cliff Robertson and Vince Edwards, but it lacked any real depth to its story and its characters were only regarded in the most superficial manner.It appeared to me that a good part of the time the actors seemed noticeably bored and distracted in their parts. And I could never say that a memorable performance was put in by any of its principle players.Often looked upon as a blatant rip-off of The Dirty Dozen (which was released one year earlier), The Devil's Brigade's story of uncommon heroism and valor was apparently based on fact. But, who can really say for sure? For the sake of dramatic effect, this film does leave one wondering to what extent fact was conveniently replaced by fiction.With its story taking place in rural Italy, Lt. Col. Robert Frederick is given the daunting task of melding a renegade group of American and Canadian recruits into a crack team of commando warriors. Once trained and ready for action these soldiers are assigned to attack and capture a strategic Nazi stronghold situated on a perilous mountain range.At an over-long running time of 130 minutes, The Devil's Brigade loses steam far too quickly and it contains one elaborately-staged brawl too many between the Canadians and the Americans.

The Historical facts:The following is from the book Canadians at War 1939-1945.The First Special Service Force - or the force , as it was called - an elite unit of both Canadians and Americans was formed in 1942. It had some 700 Canadians and 1700 Americans of all ranks distributed throughout three regiments. It was a tough outfit, trained to drop by parachute and fight in mountains or on skis.The force had its first taste of mountain fighting in Italy in December 1943, when it helped take a group of German-held hills barring the Allied advance on Rome. Two Battalions scaled the sheer face of a 3000 foot peak and drove the enemy form their caves and pillboxes around the summit. Within four days, all the neighboring ridges were also cleared. The Force had done superbly in its first action but it had suffered 400 casualties. Canadian losses totaled 27 killed and 64 wounded.Later the same month, the Force was sent to fight alongside U.S. troops on the approaches to Cassino. And, in February 1944, the unit was committed to the Anzio beachhead, which the Allies had established in an attempt to outflank German forces south of Rome.Churchill called the Force's Leader. U.S. Maj. Gen. Robert Frederick, "the greatest fighting general of all time." The Force itself won the nickname "The Devil's Brigade," a term apparently inspired by the blackened faces members wore on patrols and in battle. A German officer's diary recorded: "The black devils are around us every time we come into the line, and we never hear them come."The Force ended its fighting days in August 1944 in the largely unopposed invasion of southern France and was disbanded later that year. The Americans were formed into an infantry regiment; the Canadians went back to their own army, some of them to the 1st Parachute Batallion.