The Dirty Dozen is an exciting Second World War pre-D-Day drama about 12 condemned soldier-prisoners rehabilitated to serve with distinction. Lee Marvin leads a strong, nearly all-male cast in an excellent performance.
The film is based on E.M. Nathanson's novel, which disclaimed any truth to the basic plot. The US Army apparently claims no records exist on the subject, but the book and screenplay have a ring of authenticity.
Marvin delivers a top performance as a sardonic authoritarian major, tasked with selecting 12 hardened prisoners for a guerrilla mission with faint hope of amnesty. Seeds of official conflict are sewn into the plot, as Marvin and Robert Ryan do not get along but later must.
John Cassavetes is first-rate as the tough Chicago hood who meets his match in Marvin. Charles Bronson stands out as a Polish-American who, once affixing his loyalty, does not shift under physical brutality.
