The Dirty Dozen (1967)
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A penal military unit of twelve convicts is trained as commandos for a suicide mission during World War II.
The story
In March 1944, OSS officer Major John Reisman is ordered to undertake "Project Amnesty," a top-secret mission to turn twelve of the United States Army's worst convicts into highly skilled commandos. The goal is to eliminate Wehrmacht officers at a château near Rennes to disrupt the German chain of command before the D-Day landings. The convicts, ranging from murderers to thieves, are gathered at a military prison and subjected to intense training. After a period of insubordination leads them to be dubbed the "Dirty Dozen," the men must learn to function as a cohesive unit under the threat of death and the promise of a temporary amnesty for those who survive the mission.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In March 1944, Major John Reisman leads 'Project Amnesty,' training twelve convicts as commandos to destroy a German command center near Rennes. The convicts include a variety of criminals, including the mob-associated Franko and the volatile Maggott. During training, the men are forced to build their own camp and eventually face a test of their skills against a rival unit. They successfully infiltrate a headquarters disguised as medics, earning the right to proceed with their mission. The Dozen parachutes into France, where they infiltrate a château. During the operation, Maggott's erratic behavior leads to a premature firefight, and the unit eventually destroys the château with explosives. While the majority of the convicts are killed in the explosion or the ensuing firefight, Reisman, Bowren, and Wladislaw survive. Wladislaw is granted a pardon and allowed to continue his military service.
- First release year
- 1967
- Runtime (minutes)
- 150
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robert Aldrich
- Writers
- Nunnally Johnson · screenplay; Lukas Heller · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Lee Marvin · not specified; Ernest Borgnine · not specified; Charles Bronson · not specified; Jim Brown · not specified; John Cassavetes · not specified; Richard Jaeckel · not specified; George Kennedy · not specified; Trini Lopez · not specified; Ralph Meeker · not specified; Robert Ryan · not specified; Telly Savalas · Maggott; Clint Walker · not specified
- Genres
- war
- Themes
- redemption; sacrifice; military cooperation
- Tone and mood
- tense; action-oriented
- Premise and plot tags
- war; military; convicts
- Source material / true-story basis
- the 1965 bestseller by E. M. Nathanson
- Franchise connections
- The Dirty Dozen
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film was a box office success and received positive reviews from critics, though it was noted for its level of violence.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 82% · scale: percentage · review count: 55
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Sound Editing · win
- Production trivia
- The film was based on a story inspired by the 'Filthy Thirteen', a real-life unit of the 101st Airborne Division.; The film was initially shown in 70mm, which cut off 15% of the image.; The script included a rhyming chant for the actors to remember their roles.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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