The Devil’s Brigade ** (1968, William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Vince Edwards, Andrew Prine, Claude Akins) – Classic Movie Review 10,136

Director Andrew V McLaglen’s 1968 The Devil’s Brigade is an ordinary and overlong but acceptable World War Two wartime action drama in the wake of The Dirty Dozen, though based on real life as recounted in Robert H Aldeman and Colonel George Walton’s book.

It makes a more than usually decent cast, packed with old-time names, seem very so-so. William Holden looks tired an unengaged as real-life Lieutenant Colonel Robert T Frederick, the American Army Colonel who has to lick punks and layabouts into shape for World War Two service in Italy. Cliff Robertson is dull and conventional as Major Alan Crown, the head of a Canadian precision unit they have to fit in with.

Of course, very soon rivalry gives way to respect as they scrap with the Nazis in the hills of Italy.

Patric Knowles adds a telling cameo as Lord Louis Mountbatten, who has the idea of a combined American and Canadian special force, the First Special Service Force. Claude Akins and Jack Watson make the best of what’s going as Private Rocky Rockman and Corporal Peacock.

Also in the cast are Vince Edwards, Andrew Prine, Claude Akins, Carroll O’Connor, Richard Jaeckel, Jack Watson, Harry Carey Jr, Dana Andrews, Michael Rennie, Patric Knowles, Gretchen Wyler, Jeremy Slate, Bill Fletcher, Richard Dawson, Tom Troupe, Luke Askew, Jean-Paul Vignon, Tom Stern and James Craig.

The US Department of Defense provided 300 members of the Utah National Guard to play soldiers in the mass battle scenes filmed on Wasatch Mountain.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,136

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com