I was talking with my boss one day. We were discussing movies that I thought were classics that he had never seen. I jokingly told him that it was impossible for him to be a man if he hadn’t seen any of these “man movies”. I gave him a handful to watch and told him he couldn’t qualify as a guy until he finished them. It was a joke. But it got me thinking, if there can be films known as “chick flicks” why couldn’t there BE “man movies”?
So I’ve decided that occasionally I’ll add something to the list of so called “man movies”. I’ll pick those I can recall and go back to watch them and write about them. “Man movies” are those films that guys watch and talk about and love but that women sit through because they like their guys…or because they think the men in the movies are hunks. What better movie to start with than the one mentioned in a chick flick, SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE. In that film when discussing what was a real tear jerking moment, Tom Hanks says that if you really want to see a tear jerking moment you have to see THE DIRTY DOZEN. If you’ve seen either film you know why. If not, I won’t spoil it for you.
THE DIRTY DOZEN takes place during WWII. Major Reisman (Lee Marvin) is an unconventional soldier. He’s more concerned with getting the job done than in military politics. This makes him just the man for the job that General Worden (Ernest Borgnine) has in store for him. A gathering of top Nazi army officials is going to take place at a secluded castle behind enemy lines. Worden wants Reisman to lead an elite group of men to the castle to take out these German officers. But who would want to go on such a suicide mission?
This is where the twist in the story kicks in. Reisman’s team will be hand picked from a group of soldiers currently on death row. Each soldier has been court martialed and is waiting to be executed. Their motivation to accomplish the goal set before them is a pardon from the death sentence. Reisman picks each man for various reasons and during an informal line up to see what sort of men they are he eventually must beat down the cockiest of the bunch, Victor Franko (John Cassavettes). Once the men know what sort of commander Reisman is, they fall into step right away.
Reisman takes his recruits to a secret training camp where they must first build their barracks and those of the guards. But he still sees something missing, that one burst of energy that unites these men as a team. Told that if one of them attempts to escape, they all go back to prison, it helps when Franko attempts to leave and the others capture him without revealing it to the guards. But still, something is missing.
The uniting of the team comes in the form of a protest when the prisoners refuse to shave or shower since they have cold water while their guards have hot. This results in them being a bit unclean or simply put since there are 12 of them, the dirty dozen.
Reisman puts them through a rigorous training learning how to fight with a knife or gun, pushes them to the limits physically and hones them into one of the best fighting units there is. It all comes in handy when Col. Breed (Robert Ryan), a career officer who hasn’t been made aware of the secret mission and who happens to hate Reisman, and his men enter the camp unannounced. Holding the men at gunpoint and insisting they tell him what is going on, the united team stays silent. And when Reisman turns up machine gun in hand and orders them to disarm their captors they do so gladly.
Col. Breed’s handling by the team doesn’t sit well and he complains to Gen. Worden. Reisman comes up with a solution. War games are scheduled to occur within days and Reisman proposes that his team can not only win the games but that they can take the flag from Breed’s. With contempt for the disheveled soldiers he saw, Breed scoffs at Reisman’s plan. But Worden sees the chance to Reisman and his men to prove themselves and accepts. Needless to say they do indeed win.
The team is set, their training complete and now Reisman fills them in on the details of their mission. After a night of celebration, they pack up and head to Germany and their fate. They continue to go over the plan en route. A few will sneak into the castle posing as officers. The rest will take up positions to help defend their escape. Now it’s up to the dirty dozen to fulfill their end of the bargain and hopefully come home alive.
The movie revolves around three set pieces: the training, the war games and the final mission. The pacing and direction is superb as director Robert Aldrich pieces together the tale in such a way that you’re never bored and never unsure of just what will happen next. It is a well made piece of craftsmanship from the photography to the acting.
The team is composed of various actors, some who were big on TV at the time and others just starting. Trini Lopez was known for his singing career but does his part on the team as does unknown Jim Brown who was a professional football player just getting into acting. Telly Savalas is seen prior to his big break on TV and Clint Walker was coming off of a successful western TV series. Also in the mix was the then little known Donald Sutherland who has one of the films funniest moments.
The movie was a huge hit when it was released and spawned several TV sequels, none of which equaled the original. This was a movie about macho men in the dirty business of war. They didn’t play by rules other than their own. They didn’t care how cleanly they did their job as long as they completed it. And in working towards their goal them had a chance to redeem themselves for past sins and a chance to make things right. There is more to this film than the naked eye can see. It is a classic in every sense and one that should be added to all DVD collections. And it should take a hallowed place among your “man movies”.
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