An All-Star Cast

Rating: 8/10 (17 May 2015)

Lee Marvin stars as "Major Reisman" who has displeased his superiors so much that he is put in charge of a secret mission to parachute behind enemy lines to kill German officers vacationing at a château in France. If that wasn't bad enough, all of his soldiers are hardened criminals of the worst sort who are coerced by the chance that they may be given a parole. Now as implausible as this movie really is I must admit that it offers plenty of entertainment value due in large part to an all-star cast which includes Charles Bronson (as "Joseph Wladislaw"), Clint Walker ("Samson Posey"), Jim Brown ("Robert Jefferson"), Donald Sutherland ("Vernon Pinkley"), Ernest Borgnine ("General Worden"), George Kennedy ("Major Max Armbruster") along with the aforementioned Lee Marvin. Yet with all of these mentioned I thought Telly Savalas deserved special recognition for his performance as the psychotic pervert "Archer Maggott" which really stood out. In any case, this was a big movie back in the 60's and those who might be interested in this type of film should definitely check it out. I rate it as definitely above average.