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RELEASED:
1967
DIRECTOR(s):
Robert Aldrich
PERSONAL RATING:
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In March 1944, OSS officer
Major John Reisman is ordered by the commander of ADSEC in Britain, Major
General Sam Worden, to undertake "Project Amnesty", a top secret mission
to turn some of the U.S. Army's worst convicts into highly-skilled
commandos to eliminate Wehrmacht officers at a château near Rennes,
disrupting the German chain of command in northern France ahead of D-Day.
Any convicts who survive the mission will receive a pardon.
Reisman meets the twelve convicts at a military prison operated by the
Military Police Corps. Five are condemned to death while the others face
lengthy sentences including hard labour. Reisman quickly establishes his
authority, but the group remains disgruntled. Overseen by MPs led by
Sergeant Bowren, the convicts gradually learn to operate together when
they are forced to build their own training camp. However, an act of
insubordination by convict Franko results in the men's shaving and wash
kits being withheld as punishment, leading the group to be nicknamed the
"Dirty Dozen." During their training, the convicts are psychoanalyzed by
Captain Kinder, who warns Reisman that any of them will likely kill him if
given the chance, and that Maggott, a psychopathic rapist and murderer, is
by far the most dangerous.
With their commando training almost complete, the Dirty Dozen are sent for
parachute training at a facility commanded by Reisman's nemesis, Colonel
Everett Dasher Breed of the 101st Airborne Division. However, Breed is
curiously not briefed about Project Amnesty. Rather than making inquiries
to higher command, Breed makes several attempts to discover Reisman's
mission, including infiltration of the Dirty Dozen's camp. Reisman, with
the eager assistance of the convicts, angrily kicks Breed and his men out
of the camp. Later, Breed's testimony combined with Reisman rewarding the
Dirty Dozen with prostitutes at the end of their training, prompts the
ADSEC staff to consider terminating the project and sending the men back
to serve their original sentences. Reisman defends the convicts' training
and agrees to have them compete against Breed's men in war games to test
their mettle. Breed finds this ridiculously humorous, but to his surprise,
the Dirty Dozen successfully capture his headquarters and Worden allows
Reisman to resume his mission.
Upon parachuting into northern France, one of the prisoners, Jiminez,
breaks his neck during the jump. With a man down, the mission proceeds
with German-speaking convict Wladislaw and Reisman infiltrating the
chateau disguised as German officers. However, all surprise is lost when
Maggott breaks cover before he is killed by fellow convict, Jefferson. The
sound of Jefferson's gunfire makes the Wehrmacht officers and their
companions retreat to a locked underground bomb shelter, but the unit
pours gasoline and Jefferson throws grenades into the shelter through
ventilation shafts, killing the officers and their civilian guests.
After a firefight, only Reisman, Bowren, and Wladislaw escape alive.
Worden pardons Wladislaw, the sole surviving member of the Dirty Dozen,
and communicates to the other convicts' next of kin that "they lost their
lives in the line of duty". |
