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Like THEY WERE NOT DIVIDED, THE RED BERET is a 1950s war effort made by the team (Albert Broccoli, Terence Young, etc.) who would later go on to make the early James Bond films and thus kick-start a whole genre of cinema. This film stars Alan Ladd as an Canadian soldier who joins forces with a squad of British paratroopers to go on missions behind enemy lines in both France and North Africa.

It's a fairly typical war movie from the era, a little stodgy in places and ridiculous in others. The silly bar-room brawl is straight out of a western and seems to come from nowhere, it's so sudden. Ladd plays a perpetually grumpy fellow but Susan Stephen doesn't have any trouble falling for his less-than-ideal charms. The supporting cast of British talent is better: in his first film role, Harry Andrews is a scene-stealer as the RSM, and there are parts for Stanley Baker, Donald Houston, Anton Diffring, and Leo Genn.

THE RED BERET seems to be suffering from a low budget, because the action sequences aren't quite up to scratch and never convince too much, although there's a novel use for a bazooka which is worth something. The skydiving stuff is better and more thrilling, and Ladd's back story, when it eventually comes to light, is an acceptable one.

At the time this film was made (1953) many of the men who took part in ww2 wearing the RED BERET were still around and expecting to see a movie depicting what they had accomplished, and the opening text pays tribute to them somewhat, the film then goes on to a disappointing plot about an American leading man Alan Ladd,whose sole purpose seems to be to sell the movie in the U.S. The action depicting the raid on the Bruneval radar installation is o.k. but the later action which I think is supposed to be the fight in Tunisia gives a very seedy type of appearance,amateur,and certainly unconvincing acting and generally cheap looking sets, possibly a gravel-pit somewhere,(I guess most of the budget was spent on the leading star's salary) although the training scenes were very accurate. It was shot at R.A.F. Abingdon,near Oxford, the Parachute Training School at that time, the Guardroom at the rear gate can be recognized, where they are issued with their Red Berets.Considering all the hard fighting that this regiment actually did in fact do in so many places this had the potential to be a great movie. What was required was a good plot,a good script and less of a romantic storyline and some tight direction, sadly this did not happen and no serious attempt at a movie was made about the heroic actions of the Airborne Forces until "A Bridge Too Far". Other movies like The Cruel Sea, Twelve O'Clock High, Bridge on the River Kwai, King Rat and Das Boot etc.depict the sacrifices made by these men accurately I think, the men who wore the Red Beret must have left this screening very disappointed,I certainly did. Worth having a copy in your collection as I have, if only to think of what might have been.

Not too bad for a typical Alan Ladd movie of its time (released in 1953). Not a must-see but it is entertaining. Having seen this movie a number of times, I was recently surprised to see what appears to be a lot of blue screen shots overlaid on backgrounds. Much of the static dialog seems to be shot on a sound stage and then superimposed on whatever was supposed to be going on in the scene.

Of particular interest is the difference in equipment and training between British and American paratroopers. As with most Alan Ladd movies he's portrayed as the arch-typical quiet loner who, when pushed, reacts with sufficient violence as to be given plenty of space. In reality, Ladd was too small to be much of a menace to most (unless he's pulling a trigger). To give you an idea of how diverse his career was at this time, this movie was released in the same year as his hits "Botany Bay" and "Shane".

The character of Maj Snow is based upon John Frost - the same character played by Anthony Hopkins in A Bridge Too Far. John Frost's paras were those involved in the Bruneval Raid and the drop into North Africa depicted in The Red Beret and were the ones attempting to hold the bridge at Arnhem, depicted in A Bridge Too Far. The film is normally shown in its American version under the title "Paratrooper" This was likely done because in the 1950's few Americans would have understood the significance of a "Red Beret" despite the emphasis given to its presentation during the film. The brief battle scenes depicting the assault on the radar station at Bruneval were also considered authentic enough, at the time, to be used as training films for urban combat.

From the onset, this movie starts with a serious deficit. Like too many Alan Ladd movies, it inexplicably has Ladd playing an angry man--too angry. He sulks and barks incessantly--like he's suffering from a bad case of PMS. While this sometimes works, here it just makes no sense. Even when you later learn about the supposed source of his anger, it still makes no sense. Having Ladd play a NON-CRAZY guy would have made this a better and more realistic film.

Angry Alan has joined the Canadian Army and has volunteered for paratrooper duty. He's such a good soldier that they want to make him an officer but he refuses each time it is offered. Through the course of his training, he somehow gets a girlfriend--though what she see's in grouchy-boy, I don't know. The audience knows that despite his attitude, somehow Alan will make good by the end of the picture.

In some ways this is a very good production and in others it's a disappointment. The paratroop scenes are very good and appear pretty realistic. Genuine American and British planes were used and the fights look nice as do the jumps. However, at other times it comes off poorly--because the little details were wrong. A few examples include post-WWII markings on an airplane (a minor problem but it should have been fixed) and a scene where the sky color changes back and forth in a sloppy manner. So, in a jump early in the film it's dusk and then looks about half an hour earlier and then half an hour later. Again, not a huge problem but seeing the change so quickly was baffling. The final odd thing is a common cliché--but a dumb one. Again and again you see guys pulling the pins from grenades WITH THEIR TEETH! This is a great way to lose teeth--and no one really ever did this--yet you see it in films repeatedly.

As a result of some decent action, wooden characters (especially Ladd) and a few flubs, I think this is in the category of 'time-passer' and nothing more. Even if Albert Broccoli, Terrence Young and a lot of other future James Bond film crew worked on this, it's only average at best.