''The Devil's Brigade'' is a 1968 American

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

filmed in

Panavision Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1953 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses dur ...

, based on the 1966 book of the same name co-written by American novelist and historian Robert H. Adleman and Col. George Walton, a member of the brigade. The film recounts the formation, training, and first mission of the

1st Special Service Force The 1st Special Service Force was an elite American–Canadian commando unit in World War II, under the command of the United States Fifth Army. The unit was organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana ...

, a joint

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

unit, known as the Devil's Brigade. The film dramatizes the Brigade's first mission in the Italian Campaign, the task of capturing what is considered an impregnable German mountain stronghold,

Monte la Difensa The Battle of Monte La Difensa took place between 3 December and 9 December 1943 during ''Operation Raincoat'', part of the Battle for the Bernhardt Line during the Italian campaign in World War II. Background Monte La Difensa (also known as ...

Plot

In the summer of 1942, American Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Frederick, a

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

staff officer with no prior combat or command experience, is summoned to Britain where he is selected by Admiral Lord

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

to raise a commando force composed of both American and Canadian personnel for operations in German-occupied Norway. Back in the U.S., Frederick arrives at the derelict Fort William Henry Harrison in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

where he receives his American troops — all of whom are jailbirds, ne'er-do-wells, and misfits. When the hand-picked elite Canadian contingent arrives there is immediate friction with the Americans and chaos ensues. By the time Frederick manages to overcome the national differences and mold the First Special Service Force into a highly trained commando unit, he is informed that the Allied High Command have had a change of heart and offered the Norwegian missions to British troops. Left without a role, the brigade is ordered to be disbanded and its soldiers reassigned. Frederick remains undeterred and manages to persuade Lieutenant General Mark Clark to give his men a chance to prove themselves with a new mission in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Clark's skeptical deputy commander, Major General Maxwell Hunter, orders the 1st Special Service Force to reconnoiter a

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

garrison in an Italian town, but Frederick goes one better and captures the entire town. In the process, they earn the nickname "Die Teufelsbrigade" — The Devil's Brigade. Convinced now of the ability of Frederick's men, Lieutenant General Clark promotes Frederick to full Colonel and gives them a task no other Allied troops have managed to accomplish — to capture

. Facing severe obstacles, the Devil's Brigade attacks the undefended eastern side of the mountain by scaling a cliff the Germans believed could not be climbed. Reaching the top as a unit, they take the stronghold despite considerable losses, allowing the Allies to continue their advance north into Italy.

Cast

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

as Lt. Col./Col. Robert T. Frederick *

Cliff Robertson Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 19 ...

as Maj. Alan Crown *

Vince Edwards Vince Edwards (born Vincent Edward Zoine; July 9, 1928 – March 11, 1996) was an American actor and director. He was best known for his TV role as doctor Ben Casey and as Major Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film '' The Devil's Brigade''. Ear ...

as Maj. Cliff Bricker *

Andrew Prine Andrew Lewis Prine (February 14, 1936 – October 31, 2022) was an American film, stage, and television actor. Early life and career Prine was born in Jennings, Florida. After graduation from Miami Jackson High School in Miami, Prine attend ...

as Pvt. Theodore Ransom *

Jeremy Slate Jeremy Slate (born Robert Bullard Perham; February 17, 1926 – November 19, 2006) was an American film and television actor, and songwriter. He is best known for Larry Lahr in '' The Aquanauts'' (1960–1961), Chuck Wilson in ''One Life to L ...

as Sgt. Patrick O'Neill *

Claude Akins Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor with a long career on stage, screen, and television. He was best known as Sheriff Lobo on the 1979–1981 television series '' B.J. and the Bear'', and ...

as Pvt./Cpl. Rockwell W. "Rocky" Rockman * Jack Watson as Cpl./Sgt. Peacock *

Richard Jaeckel Richard Hanley Jaeckel (October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American actor of film and television. Jaeckel became a well-known character actor in his career, which spanned six decades. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominatio ...

as Pvt./Cpl. Omar Greco * Bill Fletcher as Pvt. Billy 'Bronc' Guthrie * Richard Dawson as Pvt./Cpl. Hugh MacDonald *

Tom Troupe Tom Troupe (born July 15, 1923) is an American actor and writer. Biography Troupe was born in North Kansas City, Missouri, and studied with Uta Hagen at the Herbert Berghof Studio in Manhattan during the early 1950s. He made his Broadway debut in ...

as Pvt. Al Manella * Luke Askew as Pvt. Hubert Hixon * Jean-Paul Vignon as Pvt. Henri Laurent * Tom Stern as Capt. Cardwell, Garrison CO of Fort William Henry Harrison *

Harry Carey Jr. Henry George Carey Jr. (May 16, 1921 – December 27, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films, including several John Ford Westerns, as well as numerous television series. Early life Carey was born on a ranch near ...

as Capt. Rose *

Michael Rennie Michael Rennie (born Eric Alexander Rennie; 25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was a British film, television and stage actor, who had leading roles in a number of Hollywood films, including his portrayal of the space visitor Klaatu in the s ...

as Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark, Commander of the U.S. Fifth Army *

Carroll O'Connor John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) was an American actor, producer, and director whose television career spanned over four decades. He became a lifelong member of the Actors Studio in 1971. O'Connor found widespread fame a ...

as Maj. Gen. Maxwell Hunter *

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...

as Brig. Gen. Walter Naylor *

Gretchen Wyler Gretchen Wyler (born Gretchen Patricia Wienecke; February 16, 1932 – May 27, 2007) was an American actress and dancer. She was also an animal rights advocate and founder of the Genesis Awards for animal protection. Biography Early life ...

as the Lady of Joy * Patric Knowles as Adm Lord Mountbatten *

Wilhelm Von Homburg Norbert Grupe (born August 25, 1940 – March 10, 2004), better known outside Germany by his stage name Wilhelm von Homburg, was a German boxer, actor, and professional wrestler known for his villainous supporting roles in various high-profile fi ...

as Fritz *

Maggie Thrett Maggie Thrett (born Diane Pine; November 18, 1946 – December 18, 2022) was an American actress and singer. Biography At age 15, she made her off-Broadway debut in 1962 in ''Out Brief Candle''. By the age of 18, she was regularly performing as ...

as Millie * James Craig as Maj. Gen. Knapp *

Richard Simmons Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons (born July 12, 1948) is an American fitness personality and public figure, known for his eccentric, flamboyant, and energetic personality. He has promoted weight-loss programs, most prominently through his ''Swe ...

as Gen. Bixby *

Norman Alden Norman Alden (born Norman Adelberg, September 13, 1924 – July 27, 2012) was an American character actor who performed in television programs and motion pictures. He first appeared on television on ''The 20th Century Fox Hour'' in 1957. He ...

as the M.P. Lieutenant

Production

Development

The producer David L. Wolper was a noted documentary filmmaker interested in getting into feature films. He purchased the

film rights A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

to Adleman and Walton's book in October 1965. (He had already bought the rights to the book ''The Remagen Bridge''.) Wolper said he was attracted to the material because he did not want to be typed as a serious documentary filmmaker. "It's based on truth but it's a 'movie movie' a fun and games type thing," he said. United Artists agreed to finance. Wolper hired William Roberts to do a script. The producer later wrote in his memoirs that "this was my first feature but I was not in the slightest bit intimidated." In October 1966 William Holden agreed to star. The following month Andrew McLaglen agreed to direct.

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

and Dan Blocker were offered roles in the film. The U.S. Department of Defense and the

Canadian Department of National Defence The Department of National Defence (DND; french: Ministère de la Défense nationale) is the department of the Government of Canada which supports the Canadian Armed Forces in its role of defending Canadian national interests domestically and int ...

both agreed to assist the film production.

Shooting

Filming started 15 April 1967. The motion picture was filmed with the

19th Special Forces Group The 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (19th SFG) (A) is one of two National Guard groups of the United States Army Special Forces. 19th Group—as it is sometimes called—is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventi ...

at Camp Williams, Utah, 20 miles south of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, with battle locations on

Lone Peak Lone Peak, a mountain peak southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States is the center of the Lone Peak Wilderness, established in 1978. With an elevation of , it is one of the taller peaks in the Wasatch Range along the Wasatch Front and ten ...

near

Draper, Utah Draper is a city in Salt Lake and Utah counties in the U.S. state of Utah, about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. As of the 2020 census, the population is 51,017, up from 7,143 in 1990. Draper is part of two metropolitan areas; ...

, and on location in Sant'Elia Fiumerapido, Italy. Parts of the film were also shot in Park City,

Lehi Lehi (; he, לח"י – לוחמי חרות ישראל ''Lohamei Herut Israel – Lehi'', "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel – Lehi"), often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemie ...

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

Solitude Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think, or rest without distu ...

and Granite Mountain in Utah. David L. Wolper realized it would be as cheap to shoot in an Italian village as building an Italian set in America. However, the birthday scene which is set in Italy was filmed at the National Guard Armory in Salt Lake City, with

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

students as extras. The U.S. National Guard Bureau provided 300 members of the

Utah National Guard The Utah National Guard consists of the: * Utah Army National Guard **19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) **65th Field Artillery Brigade **85th WMD CST **97th Troop Command **115th Engineer Group (CBT) **204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade **211t ...

to portray soldiers in the mass battle scenes filmed. Wolper had the Brigade wear attractive but fictional red berets that appeared as well as on the film's posters and on the

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prop ...

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

cover of Adelman and Walton's book. The cast of ''The Devil's Brigade'' included NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

Paul Hornung Paul Vernon Hornung (December 23, 1935 – November 13, 2020), nicknamed "the Golden Boy", was an American professional football player who was a Hall of Fame running back for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 195 ...

and

World Middleweight Champion Championship recognition 1884–1910 Champions were recognized by public acclamation. A champion in that era was a fighter who had a notable win over another fighter and kept winning afterward. Retirements or disputed results could lead to a cha ...

boxer Gene Fullmer in minor roles. They can be seen in the barroom brawl sequence, Hornung as a belligerent lumberjack and Fullmer as the bartender. Wolper later wrote that Holden was very cooperative during the shoot in Utah, only drinking wine, but in Italy his drinking got out of control. Wolper had to call on the assistance of a woman in Paris who had dealt with Holden before and helped him finish the film on schedule. Filming concluded on July 3, 1967, in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Post production

McLaglen said when he showed the finished cut to United Artists they "loved" the film.

But the producer had a big projection room in his house, and he showed the movie for a solid week to a hundred people, and I think a hundred people had ideas of what we should do with the movie... And without me having any input – I didn’t have the last say – they cut the movie and, in the end, it was not nearly as good as it could have been. I had a great ending, and a lot of good stuff in there, and he didn’t know what he was doing. I still worry about that.

Soundtrack

Alex North Alex North (born Isadore Soifer, December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American composer best known for his many film scores, including ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (one of the first jazz-based film scores), '' Viva Zapata!'', '' S ...

composed the score of the film, re-purposing the theme from his rejected score to the pilot episode of '' The Rat Patrol''. At the time of release only a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

of the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' ...

Leroy Holmes Alvin LeRoy Holmes (September 22, 1913 – July 27, 1986) was an American songwriter, composer, arranger, orchestra conductor and record producer. Biography Holmes graduated from Hollywood High School, studied music at Northwestern Universi ...

was released by

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

. The album was illustrated with the original Sandy Kossin artwork of the film and featured instrumental (with whistling) and a male chorus singing lyrics to North's title theme. The album also contained cover versions of other North themes from the film as well as 1940s popular music that appeared in the film. In 2007

Film Score Monthly ''Film Score Monthly'' is an online magazine (and former print magazine) founded by editor-in-chief and executive producer Lukas Kendall in June 1990 in music, 1990 as ''The Soundtrack Correspondence List''. It is dedicated to the art of Film sco ...

and Intrada released a limited CD edition of North's original score with Kossin's artwork including alternate versions of the title theme, North's own arrangements of four 1940s jazz popular tunes, two traditional

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

s, and the pipe band version of '' Scotland the Brave'' featuring in the film.

Release

The film had its world premiere on May 14, 1968, at the Michigan Theater, Detroit and at the Vanity Theater in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

in Canada. It opened at an additional 5 theaters in Detroit the following day.

Reception

Box office

The film was the fourth-most-popular movie in general release in Britain in 1968, after ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, w ...

'', '' Barbarella'' and '' Carry on Doctor''. Wolper later wrote "''The Devil's Brigade'' turned out to be a terrific film. It was a wonderful story, the acting was excellent, and the preview audiences and critics loved it. Unfortunately it came out just a few months after the release of ''

The Dirty Dozen ''The Dirty Dozen'' is a 1967 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Ralph M ...

'', which was the same kind of story. It was a big hit and it killed us. We got lost in the wind."Wolper p 164

Accuracy

To the veterans of the Force, the film was historically inaccurate. In a TV documentary ''Suicide Missions: The Black Devils'', Force member Bill Story stated: "''The Devil's Brigade'' was and is a very entertaining war movie. But as a piece of accurate history it's sheer nonsense. There was never an aspect of ''The Dirty Dozen''. This was absolutely not true."

References

Notes

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devil's Brigade 1968 films 1960s action war films American action war films 1960s English-language films Films about the United States Army Canadian Armed Forces in films Italian Campaign of World War II films Films set in Montana Films set in Italy Films set in 1942 Films set in 1943 Films about Canada–United States relations Films directed by Andrew McLaglen Films scored by Alex North Films shot in Utah United Artists films Cultural depictions of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma Films shot in Lazio Films set in London American World War II films Films shot in London Films with screenplays by William Roberts (screenwriter) Films based on non-fiction books World War II films based on actual events Films produced by David L. Wolper 1960s American films