''Battle of the Commandos'' (also known as ''Legion of the Damned'') is a European Macaroni-

War film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

directed in 1969 by

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unr ...

. The movie was a co-production between Italy (where it was released as ''La legione dei dannati''), West Germany (where is known with the title ''Die zum Teufel gehen'') and Spain (where is known as ''La brigada de los condenados'').

Cast

Jack Palance Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...

: Col. Charley MacPherson *

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in ''Des Teufels Gener ...

: Maj. Gen. von Reilow * Thomas Hunter: Capt. Kevin Burke *

Robert Hundar Claudio Undari (12 January 1935 – 12 May 2008), known professionally as Robert Hundar, was an Italian film actor and stage actor, best known for his roles of "Bad Guy" in Spaghetti Western and "Poliziottesco" movies. He starred in about 40 movi ...

: Pvt. Raymond Stone *

Wolfgang Preiss Wolfgang Preiss (27 February 1910 – 27 November 2002) was a German theatre, film and television actor. The son of a teacher, Preiss studied philosophy, German, and drama in the early 1930s. He also took private acting classes with Hans Schlen ...

: Col. Ackerman *

Helmuth Schneider Helmuth Schneider (18 December 1920 – 17 March 1972) was a German actor. Schneider portrayed the role of Uncle Dimitri in ''The White Horses''. He died in a traffic accident in Rio de Janeiro in 1972. Selected filmography *1944: '' Dr ...

: Pvt. Sam Schrier *

Guido Lollobrigida Guido Lollobrigida (1927–2013) was an Italian actor and race car driver, usually credited in movies as Lee Barton or Lee Burton. He was a cousin of actress Gina Lollobrigida. Life and career Born in Rome, after graduating as a technical engin ...

: Pvt. Tom Carlyle *

Aldo Sambrell Alfredo Sánchez Brell (23 February 1931 – 10 July 2010), known as Aldo Sambrell, was a Spanish actor, director, and producer who appeared in over 150 films between 1961 and 1996. Biography Sambrell was born in Vallecas, Madrid, on 23 Februa ...

: Sgt. Karim Habinda *

Diana Lorys Diana Lorys (born ''Ana María Cazorla Vega''; 20 October 1940) is a Spanish actress. She appeared in more than fifty films since 1960. Filmography References External links * 1940 births Living people Spanish film actresses Actr ...

: Janine *

Franco Fantasia Franco Fantasia (5 March 1924 – 10 November 2002) was an Italian film actor, stuntman and fencing master. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1951 to 2002. He was the brother of actor Andrea Fantasia. Illness and Death September ...

: Schiwers, the French Maquis leader *

Gérard Herter Gérard Herter, also known as Gerhard Haerter, Gerard Haerther, Gerald Herter, Gerard Herter, and Gerhard Herter (born 12 April 1920 in Stuttgart, died 6 February 2007 in Munich) was a German actor of the 1950s and 1960s who played many villains ...

: Lt. Hapke *

Mirko Ellis Mirko Ellis (4 September 1923 – 11 September 2014) was a Swiss-Italian film, stage and television actor. Born Mirko Korcinsky in Locarno to a family of Lithuanian origin, Ellis moved, after his studies, to Italy, where he made his film debut i ...

: Capt. Adler *

Bruno Corazzari Bruno Corazzari (born 30 December 1940) is an Italian film, television and stage actor. Life and career Born in Castellarano, Reggio Emilia, Corazzari started his career in the second half of the sixties, playing minor roles in a number of Spag ...

: Pvt. Frank Madigan

Release

''Battle of the Commandos'' was released in Spain on August 12, 1969 as ''La brigada de los condenados''. It was released in West Germany on April 17, 1970 as ''Die zum Teufel gehen''.

References

External links

* 1969 films West German films Spanish war drama films Films directed by Umberto Lenzi Macaroni Combat films 1969 war films Operation Overlord films Films with screenplays by Dario Argento Films scored by Marcello Giombini 1960s Italian films Italian war drama films German war drama films World War II films based on actual events {{war-film-stub