60s action film making in all its glory produces a timeless classic.

Rating: 9/10 (21 November 2014)

Before I talk about Dirty Dozen, I'll mention that the first time I knew anything about it was when I was 14, during a conversation in the Michael Moore film Canadian Bacon where they ran through the cast: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, John Cassavettes, Telly Savalas, Jim Brown and (ahem) Trini Lopez. What a blessing to live in a world where you can become aware of great movies by watching other films.
Lee Marvin stars as an out of favour Major who gets given the most bat sh-t crazy assignment in the history of war films: take 12 military prisoners looking at either the death penalty or an interminably long jail sentence, train them into a unit and take them on a suicide mission behind enemy lines. Before they get there though, they will need to learn obedience and discipline, navigate their way around a suspicious Colonel and compete in a war games exercise.
That this plot works owes much to a great script, ably performed by a superb cast. While Bronson and Marvin are the stars on duty, special mention must be given to John Cassavettes, who is absolutely superb as the abrasive, ill-fated Franko. Of those not already mentioned at the top we also have Robert Ryan, Clint Walker, Donald Sutherland, Richard Jaeckel and Ralph Meeker along for this most fun of rides.
The film tells a simple story in a straight line narrative, relying on the action and dialogue for its success. Much of the personality present in the characters come from the actors playing them, with the well paced script moving the story along too quickly for the expositional dialogue we see in many films today. This however does not cheapen either the characters or the story. The actors are too good to allow that. It has its brutal moments, but is pleasingly devoid of blood amidst the violence.
There was at one stage rumours of a remake, but why bother? With action, actors and storytelling as good as this, you don't need an update for accessibility to modern audiences.
I've said more than once that John Wayne films are a gift. The Dirty Dozen can sit proudly beside any of the Duke's films as one of the premier examples of cast driven action in American cinema.