The Devil's Brigade

The Devil's Brigade follows Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Frederick, who is given command of the 1st Special Service Force at the start of the Second World War. The unit is an uneasy mix of Canadian commandos and American soldiers who have been trouble elsewhere, and the men arrive with little respect for one another or for military discipline. Major Alan Crown leads the Canadian contingent while Major Cliff Bricker takes charge of the Americans, and the two groups clash before training and shared hardship begin to turn them into a single fighting outfit. Their test comes when they are sent against a fortified German position in the mountains, a mission that demands far more of the unit than anyone expected.

The film was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, the fourth of the sixteen features he directed, made between The Way West and Bandolero! William Roberts wrote the screenplay and David L. Wolper produced. William Holden plays Frederick, with Cliff Robertson as Crown, Vince Edwards as Bricker, and Andrew Prine, Jeremy Slate and Claude Akins among the large credited cast of forty-three.

Released in May 1968 and running 130 minutes, the film is rated 6.7 out of 10 on IMDb from around 6,900 votes and 6.3 out of 10 on TMDB from 93 votes. The two scores suggest a solid, if modest, reception from audiences rather than an enthusiastic one.