THE DIRTY DOZEN

US, 1967, 145 minutes, Colour.
Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Trini Lopez, Ralph Meeker, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker, Robert Webber.
Directed by Robert Aldrich.

The Dirty Dozen was very popular in its day and has since become a classic war film. In fact, it was in the vein of many of the big blockbusters of 1964 to 1968. Twenty years after World War Two, after the tributes and re-enactments of the films of the 1940s and 1950s, what seemed to remain was big blockbuster excitement, wide screen and long adventures. Films in this vein include Operation Crossbow, Von Ryan’s Express, The Battle of the Bulge.

The Dirty Dozen, however, was a downbeat variation on the theme. Lee Marvin portrays a major who is commissioned to take twelve hardened criminals from prison, train them to go behind enemy lines, go to a recreation centre for German officers and kill as many officers to break the chain of command. In many ways it was a suicidal mission, not only in itself but in getting the collaboration of these men and their ability to work together to achieve their goal.

The Dirty Dozen include many character actors, some of whom were to emerge as major stars. This is particularly true of Charles Bronson who was one of the Magnificent Seven but had played supporting roles. After The Dirty Dozen he became a top star for almost twenty years. Jim Brown, former footballer, was also to emerge briefly as a star. George Kennedy won an Oscar the same year for his supporting role in Cool Hand Luke. Telly Savalas was to become Kojak and Donald Sutherland was at the beginning of a very long and successful career. Writer-director John Cassavetes, who acted in films in order to finance his own projects, got an Oscar nomination for his performance here.

The film was written by Nunnally Johnson, a strong writer of American films who began his career writing in the 1930s. Some of his successes include Jesse James and The Grapes of Wrath. During the 1950s he was to write a number of films at 20th Century- Fox including such diverse stories as The Desert Fox and How to Marry a Millionaire. During the 1950s he was able to direct eight films, from 1954 to 1959 including The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and The Three Faces of Eve.

This film was directed by Robert Aldrich who had emerged in the 1950s as a director of strong action films as well as intense dramas including Apache and The Big Knife. He moved to some spectacular films in the 1960s including Sodom and Gomorrah. For a while he specialised in horror with Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte. After The Dirty Dozen he was to make a number of significant films in the 1970s including working with Lee Marvin on Emperor of the North.

1. The main impact of this film in terms of enjoyment, action, spectacle, war film?

2. Why was the film momentous in its time? Themes and treatment? Violence? The reaction to the film in the mid-sixties? Its influence in later violent films, wars and westerns?

3. The value of the presentation of violence? Audience aggression and identification? How healthy, what ill-effects? Was the violence valid in this film, or exploited?

4. The contribution of colour, musical background, detailed action spectacle?

5. Audience identification with the plot: the war situation, war conditions, power, the individual, criminals and their redemption, the alternatives to prison, the crime for survival? How interesting were the details of the plot?

6. Lee Marvin as Riesman? Style, the focus of the film, audience identification with his watching the execution? Identification with his choosing the men and training them? His background of rugged individualism, efficiency? Commanded to do the job? Exercising shrewdness? The communication by the General, the scepticism of the other Colonels? The impetus to succeed?

7. His attitude to orders, law, morality? Audience response to these areas? War conditions and good order? The validity of the use of criminals (an alternative to execution?)

8. The impact of Riesman’s interview with each of the Dozen? The introduction to each character? The character differentiations? The background of their crimes, guilt, responsibility, madness?

9. Riesman’s control, brutality, psychological? His using of Franco to be the whipping boy, his brutality on Franco? A valid way of training the men?

10. The portrayal of the training? The reprisal, the night with the women, the fights, Colonel Breed's attack, Pinkley as the General, the inspection? The violence blended with the humour, the sense of achievement?

11. How did Riesman bind the group into a community? Grouping them together in support against him?

12. The detailed presentation of the test on Breed's headquarters? Audience participation with the Dozen? Exhilaration on their success? The approval of the military authorities?

13. Comment on the characters of Franco and his insubordination, the little violent man; Vadislaw and his seeming innocence, his backing up Riesman; Maggot and his insanity; Posy and his innocence but being provoked to violence, Pinkley and his stupidity and impersonations, Jefferson - the black - and his skill; the differentiation of the other?

14. The sergeant and his backing up Riesman? As a character along with the Dozen? His participation in the plan?

15. How interesting was the plan, the detailed training and memorizing? Audience response to the nature of all the killing?

16. The execution of the plan and its excitement? Riesman and entering into the castle? The scaling of the walls, the shooting, the women, the Germans, Maggot's going berserk, the group locked in?

17. How inevitable were the deaths of so many of the men? The way that each died - a commentary on their characters? The deaths of the Germans? The group rushing for safety in the shelter, the irony of their death chamber? Was this just in war? A necessary attack, the deaths of so many civilians? Audience response or repugnance to this? Both?

18. What had been achieved by the end of the mission? The mission itself, the life and death of the soldiers (they had something to show for military achievement)?

19. The value of the hospital postscript and our seeing Reisman and Vadislaw as the survivors? The judgement of the military authorities in their visiting the hospital?

20. What were the main strengths of the film? Its qualities as a war film and exploration of war themes? Is it easy to ace why people would be against the film and its portrayal of values?