La brigade du diable

There are not too many films which depicts the military of our Northern neighbor. Their contribution to World War II are manifest and undeniable. Why Hollywood forgets this is a very good question. The movie is taken from the files of the military concerning the First Special Forces also know as the Black Devils. They are also mentioned in another movie called 'Anzio.' This movie is called " The Devil's Brigade " and has so many notable stars it's a wonder they didn't illuminate the entire theater. William Holden plays Lt. Col. Robert T. Frederick (without a mustache), but does give credit to the fact the good Col. was totally without experienced when the brass hats put him command. The Force is unusual in that it consisted of Canada's elite soldiers and Major Crown a survivor of the battle of Dunkirk. (Cliff Robertson) The other half of the famed unit was given by the U.S. army who emptied all their military stockades and sent this group the dregs. Vince Edwards, Claude Akins, Jeremy Slate, Jack Watson, Richard Dawson, Tom Troupe, Luke Askew, Carroll O'Connor, Dana Andrews and of course Michael Rennie as Lt. Gen. Mark Clark rounds out the bill. The film contains both elements of a war movie. It has the questionable decision of combining these two elements, the very best and the very worse and the incredible military results which became the motto of these men. They do the impossible. The acting is exceptional and the end result is the creation of a military Classic. Well done! Recommend to all. ****

You may sometimes get the feeling that Hollywood thinks that World War II was won entirely by commando units. But The Devil's Brigade is one of the better "Special Forces" films. William Holden is chosen to meld a group of American misfits with an elite group of Canadian Army troops. The results are sometimes predictable, but nevertheless, interesting and humorous.The well-chosen cast makes the film what it is, with Jeremy Slate turning in a understated but splendid performance as the hand-to-hand combat instructor. The Devil's Brigade is good entertainment.

"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

REVIEW OF THE MGM REGION 1 DVD

With the huge success of "The Dirty Dozen", a popular theme began to appear in war movies: instead of focusing on good, clean-cut heroes, the main characters became misfits thrown into situations which made them heroes, whether they wanted to be or not. The story of the Devil's Brigade is a true one about misfits turned into wartime heroes.

William Holden plays Lt. Col. Frederick, who derives a plan for combining Canadian and American troops into an assault force which will attack the Germans in Norway. Holden is forced 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). The men instinctively hate each other, and spend their months of training bickering with one another, until a huge bar fight forces them join forces against unappreciative lumberjacks. From there, the men are no longer fighting each other… they are deployed to Italy, rather than Norway, where they must capture a strategic hilltop from which Nazi artillery pounds the Allied advance.

Veteran director McLaglen, who seems to always be able to throw together a satisfying film but never really made a classic, falls short once again – this time, he's trying to make a docudrama, but constantly falls back on established stereotypes and familiar situations rather than fresh, new material, almost as if he's afraid to try something new. That aside, this is one very entertaining movie, and its' success rests largely on the capability of a huge cast of character actors.

Of the three leads, Robertson is most convincing. He manages to make Crown an admirable hero, with guts and determination. He cares about his men but pushes them to their limits because he knows that when they face the Wehrmacht, they will be better off for it. He is calm and collected under pressure, whether it is pressure from superior officers, attitudes of the men under his command or in the tense heat of battle. Likewise, Edwards breathes vibrant life into Bricker. Bricker is a witty officer with a short temper towards misbehavior in his unit, and little respect for the dregs he commands. We know he's unhappy with his assignment from the moment we meet him; only gradually does his attitude change. Holden is actually the least believable of the three leads. He never seems to be acting with much passion or concern for his character, and never comes across as a real, living human being. His role as commander is strictly one-dimensional, and this is probably the lowest-grade role I've seen him in to date. This is where flaws in the script begin to take their toll, because most viewers have seen Holden act so much better, but that's because he's had much better material to work with.

The supporting cast is filled with familiar faces, several of which deserve mention because they are so good. One standout is Claude Akins as Rocky Rockman, easily the most rebellious of the Americans. He's physically rough, profane, and won't hesitate to pick a fight with anyone, anywhere. But during the aforementioned bar fight, he finds himself allied with Peacock (Jack Watson), a Canadian he holds in highest contempt. Peacock is a staunch, stiff NCO who makes discipline and respect his #1 priorities, and naturally, he and Rockman don't get along… until they have to fight alongside each other to gain respect from some angry lumberjacks, and realize that maybe they can get along as comrades in arms, and maybe even friends. The course of this relationship builds realistically throughout the course of the entire film, making one scene during the final battle incredibly moving.

McLaglen makes the final major encounters with the Germans, the highlights of the film. The first major encounter involves the brigade's probe of a German village, in which they manage to capture an entire German battalion without taking a single casualty. This scene is funny and well-executed, but never comes across as a very convincing – it's simply meant to be a humorous excursion, and proves that the men of the Devil's Brigade can operate better than any other American Army unit. The on-location filming looks great in this sequence, though – it was shot in a real village, not on a set, and the exteriors look fresh in every shot. McLaglen uses a lot of pans and zoom-outs to show the progress of his characters, too, making for some nicely composed sequences.

The final mountaintop battle is brilliantly executed from start to finish. Beginning with a perilous sequence of the brigade rappelling up steep cliffs, the sequence builds to a bloody, hand-to-hand encounter with German infantry. Most of the battle is shot from the grunts' perspective, and the camera occasionally rises above the action to show us what progress the men have made – but essentially, this isn't an epic battle with a bunch of extras battling it out. McLaglen is interested in telling a human drama from the start, and doesn't abandon his characters in favor of scope. Instead, he tells the story of the fight as the men see it, and does a very good job. When compared to films of today, the final battle isn't very graphic, but does feature plenty of blood spurts and there is some use of a hand-held camera, making this a bit more realistic than some other war films of the time period.

"The Devil's Brigade" is a touching human drama, but easily fades into the sea of familiar unit pictures. There is nothing to really set this apart from that sea, but director McLaglen and the actors work well together, making the story riveting and enjoyable. There are ample doses of humor and satisfying amounts of humor, action and character drama to make this a recommendable war film.

This is a rugged WWII actioner concerning an unexperienced Lt Colonel (William Holden) , as he's assigned by Lord Mountbatten (Patrick Knowles) to train a group of American misfit and Canadian soldiers . The Americans are an oddball/rag-tag/motley gang (a largely cast formed by Claude Akins , Luke Askew , Andrew Prine , Tom Stern, Richard Dawson..) , under command a Major (Vince Edwards) . While the Canadians who appear in a spectacular parade under Scottish bagpipes music , are disciplined and commanded by a Major (Clift Robertson) and a corporal (Jack Watson), along with a new sergeant (Jeremy Slate) has joined the ranks of the brigade for training in combat . The commando is denominated the Devil's Brigade (and actually existed) . The team is trained in Fort William , a barren place to take on the Nazis in Scandinavia . But the mission in Norway is suspended , as they are sent on yet another new mission by the staff command (Generals : Dana Andrews , Michel Rennie , Carrol O'Connor) . Later its cancellation they must participate in two suicidal missions , the first to wipe an Italian little town and after an assault over a strong position located on the Alps . The "Black Devils" was the nickname of the 1st Special Service Force, The Devil's Brigade (also called The Black Devil's and The Black Devils Brigade), a joint American-Canadian commando unit organized in 1942 . What they did to each other was nothing compared to what they did to the enemy!

This flag-waving film packs frantic thrills , perilous adventures , humor , relentless feats and buck-loads of explosive action and violence . The noisy action is uniformly well-made , especially deserving of mention the rip-roaring final scenes on the impregnable mountain . Serious and rough William Holden is good as leader of the motley pack together thwart the the Nazi schemes , as well as the notorious plethora secondary cast with special mention for Claude Akins and Jack Watson who finish developing a sincere friendship . Atmospheric and martial musical score by Alex North (Spartacus) and appropriate cinematography by William H Clothier (John Ford's usual cameraman) . This is a wartime typical vehicle and a stand-out into the warlike commando genre , which also belongs : 'Dirty dozen' (Robert Aldrich) , 'Where eagles dare' (Brian G. Hutton) and 'Kelly's heroes' (Hutton). The motion picture was well realized by Andrew V McLagen , son of actor Victor McLagen . He's a warfire expert , such as proved in several films (Return to Kwai , Wild Geese , Dirtdozen: the next mission , Sea wolves , Breakthrough). Rating : 7/10 . Worthwhile watching.