The Dirty Dozen (1967) User Reviews

"Feed the French, Kill the Germans"

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 7 April 2007]

John Wayne who apparently was offered the part of Major Reisman probably wisely turned it down. Wayne would never have done in the part of the maverick major in charge of training the way Lee Marvin was so perfect in the role. In fact Marvin's and the performance of others in the cast helped The Dirty Dozen get over two very big improbable situations I have always found in this film.

The first one being the way the conflict between Robert Ryan and Lee Marvin is handled. I can certainly see why a spit and polish West Point graduate like Ryan would not like Marvin, why Marvin would rub him the wrong way. But I cannot understand why when the Dozen are transferred to his command for parachute training they don't tell him what's going on. I would think he would have a need to know. Then again a whole big part of the film wouldn't have occurred if Ryan had been let in on Marvin's mission.

The second thing is that granted these guys might be considered expendable to say the least with several of the dozen scheduled for a firing squad, but the army would want to make sure the mission had some chance of succeeding. There's no way, absolutely no bloody way, that a psychotic like Telly Savalas would have been allowed on the mission. And why Lee Marvin didn't scrub him when psychiatrist Ralph Meeker offered to is beyond me as well.

Those glaring holes in the story have always prevented me from giving The Dirty Dozen the top rating that most have given it. But it hasn't prevented me from enjoying the film.

The basic idea of the film appeals to me. An unorthodox major taking a group of nonconformists to say the least and making them a crack fighting outfit. Regular army training did not do it for this crew the first time around.

Charles Bronson is one of the dozen and this film certainly put him well on the way to top billing. A dozen years later in fact he'd have it over Lee Marvin in Death Hunt. Jim Brown also having just finished his football career began his movie career with a winning performance as another of the dozen. John Cassavetes was singled out for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Also Donald Sutherland got his first real notice as yet another of the dozen.

A year later William Holden and Cliff Robertson did The Devil's Brigade which bore a lot of resemblance to The Dirty Dozen. It got slammed by critics for ripping off from The Dirty Dozen. The only problem was that Holden's film was based on a real outfit and The Dirty Dozen is pure fiction. Only in movieland.

Marvin's mission is to infiltrate and kill a lot of the German high command as they gather at a French château in the weeks before D-Day. How he does is something you have to watch The Dirty Dozen before. But I think you'll like seeing what happens.

Splendidly Produced; a Tough and Tough-Minded Film

[silverscreen888 · 8/10 · 19 June 2005]

Many viewers of film, myself include, rate this as one of the most exciting "mission"'' stories of all time. Adapted from an intelligent but Freudian source novel, the plot theme is a subtle one for a movie; it's about convicted men in WWII being given odds for life in the form of a suicide mission that may wipe their slates clean-- or perhaps not... its main theme is self-assertion, set against its opposite, enforced repression. The key to every action men undertake in this very tough and and tough-minded Nunnnally Johnason and Lukas Heller script is: "Is that person dealing with the reality of the world of and his/her own responsibility to act?" From convict Telly Savalas' character, mystical murderer of women who claims a divine calling to punish their sexuality, to Charles Bronson and Jim Brown who reacted to persecutions and are innocent by reason of self-defense, to their leader, the mission's architect, Major Reisman, who wants his plan to go forward his way despite resistance from brass, every man of the outfit is tried against the same standard. Jimenez is climbing a rope and says he can't make the tower; Franco refuses to shave because the officers have hot water and he does not, Posey can't control his temper, control-freak Col. Breed hates any man who does not go by the book; etc. As a production, Robert Aldrich's direction is probably his masterpiece; the acting is far above average, especially Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker, Robert Webber, energetic John Cassevetes and Al Mancini; the inspired casting of powerful top-sergeant-level Ernest Borgnine as an obviously far-beyond-his element general works brilliantly. The art direction, special effects, sets, and music (by Frank de Vol) all complement a taut script filled with memorable terse dialogue. Entire sequences such as the selection interviews for the mission team, the building of the camp, a visit to Breed's hq, Breed's invasion of the camp, the training regimen, the "graduation party", Reisman's verbal defense of his men, the war games' challenge, preparing for the mission, the early invasion steps, Maggot's adlib, the attack by Reisman's team, the escape and the hospital climax and denouement--all these sections are made memorable to many admirers of this beautifully made and unusual story. As officers attached to the mission, George Kennedy, Richard Jaene-too-subtle secondary theme of the film is: the wrongness of arbitrary power in anyone's hands, including Nazis, US army officers or their brutal agents (such as Breed's men who beat up Charles Bronson for information). The film is about individuals who when they harm no one else and are effective human beings, men who can always get the job done, always control themselves. who need to be free to operate. Such men the film says are "heroes"--men with an unusual ability to create results on Earth; the sort of men films ought to be made about in a nation that talks individualism and claims to value capability. This is a great adventure, of enduring artistry, occasional brutality and intelligently-developed dialogue. It has logical actions, and spectacular physical performances and This is a strong and well-thought-out adventure film, one of the richest of its genre, to be watched many times.

A violent war film, and a great action-adventure entertainment...

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 8/10 · 16 January 2000]

Robert Aldrich seemed torn between American heroism or to indulge in a celebration of violence with an intriguing angle on combat in World War II adventure...

A dozen dangerous criminals (thieves, murderers, rapists, psychopaths) - serving life sentences - offered a chance of pardon if they take part in a hazardous commando mission... They are trained to kill on a different level under the leadership of an insubordinate major, very short on discipline, and dropped in parachute near Rennes in Brittany to destroy a large fortified château used as a rest center and a conference place for general staff officers...

The initial tension between Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin) and the convicts quickly collapses while Aldrich's ability was building considerable tough action scenes...

Aldrich didn't neglect the character development of his superb cast offering some insights into the personalities of this unusual recruits... His believes that self-interest is the motive of all human conduct... Aldrich filled the sense of outrage of his characters, a sense so brave and different in "Attack," in 1957.

The claims about capital punishment and the anti-militarism spirit were quickly discarded in favor of the terrific and cruel action scenes: the bloody climax which has a considerable number of German officers with the benefit of female companionship, all trapped in a bomb shelter...

Marvin and Oscar Nominee John Cassavetes stand out among the cast...

Lee Marvin creates the most interesting and influential violent hero: the sardonic major!

The game of death is played at its best in a powerful man's picture...

"The Dirty Dozen" formula was held later in André De Toth's "Play Dirty" in which a group of ex-criminals led by Captain Michael Caine, destroy a German oil depot in the North African campaign in World War II.

Smell the testosterone! The Dirty Dozen is the quintessential "guys on a mission" movie!

[Infofreak · 8 June 2003]

Quentin Tarantino looks like he just might follow through with his threat to make the ultimate "guys on a mission movie" if he gets his 'Inglorious Bastards' on to the big screen, but he'll be pushed to equal 'The Dirty Dozen', the quintessential movie in the genre. 35 years on and it's still one of the best WW2 adventure movies, and a strong contender for the ultimate guys movie. It shouldn't be taken too seriously - I don't think anyone is going to argue it's a realistic depiction of war - but it's still one of the most entertaining movies around, and it's impressive collection of tough guys and character actors is really hard to beat. Director Aldrich had previously made the classic noir 'Kiss Me Deadly' (starring Ralph Meeker who reappears here in a supporting role) and the wonderfully creepy 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane', but this is arguably going to be THE movie he's remembered for. Screen legend Lee Marvin ('Point Blank', 'The Killers') with the assistance of his Sgt (Richard Jaeckel), must train a motley collection of criminal and misfits (including John Cassavetes, Jim Brown, Telly Savalas, Charles Bronson, Clint Walker and Donald Sutherland), for a suicide mission behind enemy lines. Marvin is just great, extremely cool and charismatic, but also a fine actor, something which is often overlooked. The ensemble cast (which also includes George Kennedy, and two future stars of 'The Wild Bunch', Ernest Borgnine and Robert Ryan) are uniformly excellent, but Cassavetes is particularly outstanding, Sutherland is memorable as a half wit, and Savalas is unforgettable as the religious psychopath Maggott. 'The Dirty Dozen' is first class entertainment and highly recommended. It put 90% of today's "action movies" to shame!

Excellent WWII Action Piece and Representation of 60s Pop Culture

[SgtSlaughter · 10/10 · 28 March 2005]

Acclaimed director Robert Aldrich (also famous to war film buffs for his rule-breaking drama, "Attack") twists the familiar 'unit picture' into a famous story of unexpected heroism in the midst of World War II. Instead of making his heroes clean-cut, American draftees, we're looking at the dirtiest convicts the Armed Forces has got to offer.

OSS Major Reisman (Lee Marvin, "Hell in the Pacific") is an insubordinate Army officer who's facing a court-martial, when he's given one last chance for a reprieve: select twelve Army prisoners from a maximum-security detention center, train them for a top-secret mission behind the German lines, and then lead them into battle. If they succeed in the mission, they'll be released. For Reisman, it's a tough call, but it's his only chance to save his career.

The men he was to work with are a mixed batch, and director Aldrich packs a lot of character development into a two-and-a-half-hour movie. The most important of the "Dirty Dozen" is Franko, a small-time Chicago hoodlum who's facing the gallows for robbery and subsequent murder of a British civilian. It's clear from the start that Franko is a loner who thinks he's big stuff, but Reisman manages to prove that he's really all talk. More than once, he considers and even attempts escape from the remote training camp that the Dozen are forced to build – but maybe, just maybe, beneath that rebellious attitude, there's a chance for redemption.

Then there are some more sympathetic types: Wladislaw (Charles Bronson, "Battle of the Bulge") was once a front-line infantryman who shot his platoon's medic when the medic got scared under fire and started running – Bronson says "He took off with all the medical supplies… only way to stop him was to shoot him." Jefferson (Jim Brown, "Ice Station Zebra") has been convicted for murder – his defense is he was defending himself from vicious, racist MPs who were abusing him. Wladislaw and Jefferson find themselves allied in order to get Franko on their side, because they have faith in Reisman and aren't willing to let Franko's rebellion become infectious.

Also in fine support is Clint Walker ("None But the Brave") as the big Navajo, Posey, who punched a man too hard for shoving him. He really didn't mean to kill him; he just doesn't like being pushed. Posey comes off as a cuddly teddy bear who'd never intentionally hurt a soul, and it's clear from the start that he's one of the good guys. Finally, Telly Savalas ("Kelly's Heroes") lends a hand as the psychotic, racist, religious fanatic Maggot, who believes his job is to punish the other 11 men for their "wickedness". His motives are never really clear; all we really know is that Maggot is somewhat unhinged and potentially dangerous.

Even though Reisman and his squad don't get along, they're forced to become allied against a common enemy – the American General Staff, who want to do nothing short of shut the operation down. Aldrich again breaks the rules, making the conventionally "good guys" into the enemy. The Germans are barely mentioned throughout the first two acts, and only become involved for the explosive finale. The heart of this movie is anti-establishment behavior, right in the vein of the protest culture of the 60s: the good guys are the unshaven criminals, and the bad guys are the clean-cut, well-dressed Generals who come across as stupid and vain. As Colonel Everett Dasher Breed, Robert Ryan ("Flying Leathernecks") makes an excellent bully, a villain that the Dozen eventually unite to take action against.

Once the men have been trained and are finally cooperating and acting as a unit, it's time to set them loose on the Nazis. And still, the story doesn't become stereotypical. The mission is simple: the men will parachute into occupied France, penetrate a château being used as a rest center for high-level German officers, and kill as many of said officers as possible in a short amount of time. This operation involves stabbing defenseless women, machine-gunning prisoners, and finally, locking several dozen German officers and their mistresses in an underground bomb shelter, pouring gasoline down on them through air vents, loading said air vents with hand grenades, and then blowing up the whole place.

Characters and story aside, the film benefits from some superb editing by Michael Luciano. Director Aldrich and cinematographer Edward Scaife work hand in hand to compose every shot. The cramped, dank prison cells in the first act are utterly convincing, and the layout of the huge, magnificent German-occupied château looks, quite appropriately, like a cross between a marvelous mansion and an impregnable fortress. The battle scenes are well-choreographed, too. Never does a moment go by where we do not know where one encounter is happening in relation to what the rest of the squad is dealing with in and around the Château. Frank de Vol's sweeping score is used sparingly, and adds to both the humor and suspense of the picture. One scene, in which Donald Sutherland's character "inspects" a platoon of the 82nd Airborne, is set to a live orchestra's performance perfectly.

War is a really a dirty business – this isn't a movie about men playing by the rules. It's about breaking every rule in the book to get a job done, and if a few innocent bystanders get in the way, they're simply collateral damage. On a higher level, Aldrich's film reflects culture attitudes of the late 60s. Moviegoers wanted a film which encouraged breaking the rules, which showed the higher levels of the American military as deeply flawed, and made the dregs of society into the heroes of the piece. It's a cynical representation of the time it was made in, but holds up flawlessly 40 years later, in a culture which has probably been shaped by the attitudes the film reflects in every frame.

10/10

One of the most quintessential macho movies of all time.

[hitchcockthelegend · 10/10 · 11 December 2010]

The Dirty Dozen is directed by Robert Aldrich and adapted for the screen by Nunnally Johnson & Lukas Heller from the novel by E. M. Nathanson. It stars Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Telly Savalas, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes, Donald Sutherland, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Ryan and Jim Brown.

1944, just prior to D-Day.

Major Reisman (Marvin) is a none conformist kind of guy and he riles the higher brass no end, so it comes as no surprise to him that he is the man assigned the unenviable task of assembling a suicide squad of army criminals for a mission to destroy a château in France. This particular château has no military value as such, but as it is used by many of the Nazi big chiefs, destroying it whilst they relax inside will upset the German plans immensely. But can this rag tag band of murderers, rapists and thieves shape up into something resembling a fighting force? Their reward, should they survive the mission, is amnesty, but Reisman for sure has his hands full on both sides of the war.

"One: down to the road block, we've just begun.. Two: the guards are through.. Three: the Major's men are on a spree.. Four: Major and Wladislaw go through the door.. Five: Pinkley stays out in the drive.. Six: the Major gives the rope a fix.. Seven: Wladislaw throws the hook to heaven.. Eight: Jiménez has got a date.. Nine: the other guys go up the line.. Ten: Sawyer and Gilpin are in the pen.. Eleven: Posey guards points five and seven.. Twelve: Wladislaw and the Major go down to delve.. Thirteen: Franko goes up without being seen.. Fourteen: Zero-hour, Jiménez cuts the cable, Franko cuts the phone.. Fifteen: Franko goes in where the others have been.. Sixteen: We all come out like it's Halloween..."

The Dirty Dozen has become one of those films that is a perennial holiday favourite like The Great Escape, Zulu and The Magnificent Seven. Which while it most definitely deserves such big exposure, it's a little surprising it's part of the holiday viewing schedules given its cynicism and amoral core, something which is one of the many great & intriguing things about Aldrich's testosterone laced movie. Met with mixed reviews on release, with the negative side of the fence bemoaning its nasty violence and preposterous plot, The Dirty Dozen none the less performed great at the box office where it was the fifth highest grosser of the year and the number one money maker in terms of profit to budget. Coming as it did during the middle of the Vietnam War, it was evident that the paying public quite easily bought into the thematics of it all. Over 50 years since it first lured people into the picture houses, Aldrich's movie shows no sign of aged frayed edges, or better still, and more remarkable, the enjoyability factors it holds has not diminished.

What makes it a great film, then? First off is the all-star macho cast assembled by Aldrich and his team, big hitters like Marvin (stepping in when John Wayne balked at the script), Borgnine, Kennedy, Ryan and Bronson were already names to the public, but these are also supplemented by soon to be "stars" like Cassavetes, Sutherland and Savalas (also stepping into a role vacated by another, this time Jack Palance who didn't like the racial aggression of the character) & stoic performers like Jaeckel & Robert Webber. Into the mix is curio value with the casting of singer Trini Lopez and Gridiron star Jim Brown. Throw Clint Walker into the pot as well and you have got a considerable amount of beef in the stew! Secondly the film led the way for a slew of movies that featured bad guys as heroes, so with that Aldrich's film holds up well as being a hugely influential piece. Then thirdly is that not only is it intermittently funny as the violence explodes on the screen, but that it's also chocked full of action and adventure. All that and for those so inclined you can find questionable morals under scrutiny and see the "war is hell" banner firmly flown during the nastiness of the missions' culmination.

Split into three parts - meet the guys - see them train - and then the mission, pic has been criticised for its lack of realism, but is that really needed in what is essentially a male fantasy piece setting out to entertain? Besides which, lets applaud it for acknowledging that brutality and atrocities were committed on both sides of the fence, rest assured, The Dirty Dozen still had enough edginess about it back in the 60s! It's also true enough to say that the characters, are in the main, stereotypes, and that the unravelling story is a touch clichéd, but these are men that men want to be (okay maybe not Savalas' religious maniac rapist!) and men that women can cast a flirtatious eye over - there's plenty of character here to hang your hats and undergarments on as they appeal to the inner rebel hidden away in many a viewer. The messages in here are not sledge hammered into the story (Aldrich always said he wasn't making a message movie, just a film about camaraderie and unlikely heroes), and the construction of the action is top notch from one of America's most under appreciated directors. It's nicely shot in 70mm MetroColor/MetroScope by Edward Scaife (Night of the Demon/Khartoum) and features a suitably boisterous music score from Frank De Vol (Cat Ballou/The Flight of the Phoenix).

It's a far from flawless picture, of that there is no doubt, but it's loved by millions and continues to gain an audience yearly by those who are willing to view it on its own entertaining terms. As a boy I wanted to be Lee Marvin because of this film, as a middle aged man now, I still want to be Lee Marvin in this film. That's yet another reason why The Dirty Dozen is so great. 10/10

A well structured and interesting story, although poorly edited in the final act

[PyrolyticCarbon · 7/10 · 20 February 2005]

It's difficult when you approach an old movie to see it for the first time and you have to try and drop all the baggage associated with it from reviews and analysis over the years. The Dirty Dozen is such a movie. I just watched it for the first time last night on TV, clipped though it was for those smaller brained people among us who don't like to see dark bits at the top and bottom of their screens.

It's interesting that there are three real character acts to this movie. There's the dark opening and character introduction, the fun act where the characters meld together into a team, and the closing act where the mission, and the war, become a stark and deadly reality. That last act is dark too, although there a couple of accidental laughs in there for the worst character expression at a death ever, and one particularly bad death scene.

What does strike you about the opening is how really dark it all is. We're talking about murders who are looking at to be retrained. Indeed one is a rapist with a serious God complex who is bordering on utterly insane. They are about to be hanged for their crimes, but have one last chance. Poor Major John Reisman has no say in the matter, he has his band and has to make them work.

It's well filmed for the first two character acts, and the acting is very good. John Cassavetes and Telly Savalas are wonderful in their roles. In fact it's a surprise to see Savalas in such a role and shining so brightly. Donald Sutherland also shows he has some excellent character acting in him. The rest are far from bad, but you can see a lot of typecasting for them.

The movement from the dark opening to the more jovial training act is interesting to watch, as this is exactly how many of the characters are seeing it, as a bit of fun. What they aren't expecting is the third character act, that of the actual war itself, and for some this proves too much.

The difficulty I had with the final act is only in the filming. There are premature cuts, awkward angles and jumping storytelling. So much is missed by the camera, and it doesn't feel like it's there to let your imagination run, it seems like someone has cut the film deliberately, and quite badly. There are quite a few scene transitions that just don't work at all.

However, where it doesn't fail is bringing the characters to their ultimate journey, that of redemption and a renewed desire to fight for their Major, and their fellow men. They become soldiers, and indeed heroes.

It's a good war film to watch, very well structured and reflective of the characters journeys. It's just that final act for me which spoiled my enjoyment, and purely in the filming of it.

The Best Ensemble Rugged He-Man Cast Ever !!!!!!

[louiss · 10/10 · 7 January 1999]

Time and Turner saturating the airways about once a month have taken some toll on the impact of this great action adventure film which has the best ensemble rugged he-man cast every to take on the Nazi's on film. Tame by today's standards it was landmark in 1967 for unlike any previous war film the objective was not to take an island or a hill or a fortress but to kill enemy officers. Released during a time when we still considered war to have some morale standards at least when conducted by American's what better way to justify murdering our enemy than using the dregs of the American Army in a top secret covert mission. Our heroes a mixture of murderers thieves and rapists were actually more villainous than their Nazi adversaries The dozen's casting was highlighted by the brilliant Cassavetes as the punk gangster Franco and Savalas as the sadistic psychotic bigot Maggott. Bronson, Brown & Walker are the brawn of the group and the film provides all of them the opportunity to display their physical attributes. Sutherland represents the only other major character of the dozen as the unit idiot. Lee Marvin was in his prime and I consider this his best and most definitive role as the leader of the dozen. Borgnine and Ryan also standout as adversarial superiors to Marvin. This was a man's film from beginning to end and although not as colorful or explicit as the excellent book it was based on it was every bit as good a film as was the book and the exciting climax was a big improvement on the non climactic book.

Above Average, But Pretty Dirty, Too.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 18 April 2006]

Twelve Leavenworth- or gallows-bound Army misfits are gathered together and trained for a suicide mission. The film gives us the tale of these assorted loonies becoming a solidary male group under the tutelage of their tough but practical major (Marvin) and his Sergeant (Jaekel) who accompany them as they are parachuted behind German lines to carry out their mission.

Except for the last half hour, the movie is a kind of "training camp" movie familiar to audiences during World War II. Everybody wisecracks and insults everyone else. There are fist fights and pratfalls. When a stern and distant colonel (Ryan) penetrates the secret camp he is humiliated and run off by the filthy trainees. Later, Ryan is further humiliated when the dirty dozen play on the opposite side during a combat exercise and manage to capture him and his headquarters by pretending to be on his side. (I can't count the number of times this had been done in earlier movies. Even Laurel and Hardy did it.) The laughs and grabass disappear in the final thirty minutes when the group's mission becomes clear. They are to invade an estate in which German officers take some rest and relaxation with their families and girl friends. And the film now begins to make us squirm a bit.

Members of the group penetrate the castle and hide in various niches while others prepare to trap the German officers inside. The slimiest and most clearly nuts of the dirty dozen (Savalas), who is referred to by a staff officer as "a malignant dwarf", silently knifes a victim in one of the bedrooms. The victim seems to have been playing a game with his girl friend who enters the room and begins inquiring where her partner is. Savalas is behind a curtain, caressing his knife like Jack the Ripper, and stifling maniacal giggles. The young woman finally grows impatient and says angrily, "This is no longer a joke." Indeed it isn't. Savalas grabs her from behind, covering her mouth, holding his knife against her delicate neck and taunting her for being a filthy slut who deserves God's punishment.

The whole tone of the movie changes with this scene because we realize that these guys we've been rooting for all along can be pretty thoroughly murderous thugs.

After Savalas finishes her off, bells ring, alarms clang, shots ring out, and all the guests -- men and women alike -- retreat to a bunker in the cellar. The dirty dozen lock them inside, then pour gasoline on them through the ceiling vents while the girls scream and the Germans shout while trying to stuff the vents closed. They don't succeed. They are all blown to bits and most of the dirty dozen are killed in the action.

I don't know if the director intended it or not, but he's pulled us into a state of sympathy with these raggedy undisciplined warriors and then turned around on us and shown us that their mission consists of the deliberate murder of a hundred or more people, many of them innocent, all of them helpless. It does not leave the viewer with any feeling of triumph. Guilt is more like it. The greater message is that war itself is nothing more than organized homicide, not at all like a football game.

The acting really MAKES this movie. Lee Marvin has never been better. And his support is great -- stalwarts like Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, John Cassavetes, Jim Brown, Ralph Meeker, Charles Bronson, Donald Southerland. We don't get to know all of the men equally intimately. Some of the dirty dozen apparently have no lines of dialog at all. And sometimes the humor is silly. But all of that is papered over by the performances, by the efficient direction, and by wardrobe and cinematography, both departments outstanding.

It's long but never dull. It's both an entertainment and a lesson. See it if you get the chance.

Great war movie

[DanielLowery96 · 8/10 · 22 April 2019]

The movie tells the story of an "undisciplinate" major that, after various controversial transfers and actions, gets tasked with the challenging task of transforming 12 prisoners, all of them facing hard sentences and even death penalties, into a vicious assault team. Their mission? Invade a Nazi stronghold and kill as many high-ranking german officers as possible, in hope of having their sentences revoked.

This movie is superbly casted, featuring stars like Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Donald Sutherland and George Kennedy. Some members of The Dirty Dozen are portrayed by some lesser-known actors, but nonetheless their performances are spot-on.

Even though the squad is assembled by soldiers that have done some horrible crimes, you cannot root against them on their mission. And also it is good to see so many different and peculiar personalities progressively morph into a tight-knit crew. All this presented to us through funny scenes, great acting and direction, and style. Not to mention the last 30 minutes, one of the most gripping movie sequence of events that I have ever watched - pure catharsis.

However, I will admit that I found the movie to be a little too long. I reckon that some scenes could have been shorter, and some completely removed from the movie. But nonetheless, with a little bit of patience, it is possible to get through the tepid scenes and enjoy the movie thoroughly. A must watch.

8/10

Box-office hit about a misfit team led by Lee Marvin who carry out a suicide mission behind enemy lines

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 18 June 2011]

A group of conscripted convicts formed by twelve condemned , already destined for death row, are drafted to go on a near-suicide mission and attempt to eliminate a Nazi staff . ¨Dirty Dozen¨ is an entertaining film with Lee Marvin as tough officer along with the ordinary team of renegade soldiers of World War II . Marvin training a group of rebel and misfit soldiers for a dangerous assault on a palace-château. In the hands of hardboiled director Robert Aldrich and a tough-as-leather cast headed by Lee Marvin , as a troublesome U.S. Army Major , that's all the plot that's needed to make one rip-roaring wartime flick. Marvin's mission is two-fold and in violent and cynical style : first turn his prisoners into a fighting unit and then turn them loose on a German fortress located in Britain . His crime-minded characters include John Cassavetes as rebel inmate , Clint Walker as a chronic malcontent, Telly Savalas as a ready-to-blow psycho, Donald Sutherland as a lame-brained convict and many others . The first half of the film allows the colorful cast of character actors to have their fun as they get their tails whipped into shape and develop shaky relationship with their leader. The final part is all action, as the culprit commandos wreck havoc and then run for their lives. Despite the fact that few of the "heroes" survive the bloodbath, the message here isn't that war is hell. Rather, it seems to be: war can be a hell of a good time... if you've got nothing to lose . The relentless assignment is set against strong training, risked adventures and hazardous feats . The dangerous mission includes a numerous group formed by a motley and diverse squadron played by all-star cast .This is a rugged WWII actioner concerning about an experienced officer , Major Reisman , he's assigned by Military staff (Ernest Borgnine who acted in the original and all the sequels, Robert Webber , George Kennedy) to train a dropout group of murderers , criminals and rapists who get a chance to redeem themselves . They are a bunch of dispensable characters with no past and no future . Lee Marvin reprieves a bunch of ¨Death Row¨ inmates , forges them into a two-fisted fighting unit and leads them on a deadly assignment into Nazi territory , but there is a religious crazy in the team .The prisoners are oddballs , rag-tag and undisciplined gang (a large cast formed by John Cassavetes, Clint Walker , Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas , Jim Brown , Charles Bronson, Trini Lopez), under command a sergeant (Richard Jaeckel). The team is hardly trained by the Major Reisman . In this film Marvin and his motley band , the Dirty Dozen, are suppose to destroy a fortress where resides various Nazi officers . Then they are parachuted and arrive in French Bretain and attacking the palace . At the end they must participate in the suicidal mission behind the enemy lines , to wipe the German group by means of a violent assault over a strongly protected castle.

Lee Marvin as Major Reisman assumes the character of the leader of the Dirty Dozen in this wartime classic movie directed by Robert Aldrich and based on the characters created by T.M. Nathanson , being scripted by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller. This moving film packs frantic thrills, perilous adventures , relentless feats , and buck-loads of explosive action and violence. The noisy action is uniformly well-made, especially deserving of mention the rip-roaring final scenes on the fortress , including some spectacular shootouts and bombing . Apart from the values of team spirit , cudgeled by Lee Marvin into his rebel group , the film is full of feats , suspense , and thrills . Rough Marvin is good as leader of the motley pack together thwart the Nazi schemes, as well as the largely secondary cast with special mention to Telly Savalas and Donald Sutherland . Atmospheric and martial musical score by Frank De Vol and appropriate cinematography filmed by Edward Scaife in several locations from Gaddesden, Hertfordshire , England and MGM British studios, Borehamwood . This is is a wartime typical vehicle and into the ¨warlike commando genre¨ , which also belong : Where eagles dare(Brian G. Hutton) and Kelly's heroes(Hutton ), Tobruk (Arthur Hiller), Devil's Brigade (Andrew V McLagen) and many others .

This exciting , original and Box-Office hit ,¨Dirty dozen¨ was followed by various sequels , a trio of inferior Telefilms (1985 , 87 , 88) as ¨Dirty Dozen II: The next mission ¨ by Andrew V McLagen with Lee Marvin and Richard Jaeckel, Borgnine , Larry Wilcox and Wolf Kahler , ¨Dirty Dozen III : Deadly mission¨ by Lee H Katzin and ¨Dirty Dozen : Fatal mission¨ also by Lee H Katzin and starred by Telly Savalas replacing Lee Marvin; both of them shot at the same time with similar actors and director ; furthermore a TV series.

The Dirty Dozen is the quintessential WWII Underdog war film

[robfollower · 9/10 · 26 February 2019]

I say this first . One of most entertaining WWII films ever made . Iconic performance's all a round . Great underdog war Flick .

During World War II, a rebellious U. S. Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers.

The Dirty Dozen into one of MGM's biggest moneymakers of the 1960s--It was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1967 and MGM's highest-grossing film of the year. Lee Marvin plays Major Reisman, assigned to coordinate a suicide mission on a French chateau held by top Nazi officers. Since no "normal" GI can be expected to volunteer for this mission, Reisman is compelled to draw his personnel from a group of military prisoners serving life sentences. This "dirty dozen" includes a sex pervert (Telly Savalas), a psycho (John Cassavetes), a killer (Donald Sutherland), and the equally malevolent Charles Bronson, Trini Lopez, Jim Brown, and Clint Walker. On the dim promise of receiving pardons if they survive, the criminals undergo a brutal training program, then are marched behind enemy lines dressed as Nazi soldiers, the better to overtake the chateau and kill everyone in it--including the innocent wives and mistresses of the German officers.

The cast here is brilliant and each brings something to the screen that makes this such a great film. As an action film, The Dirty Dozen ranks as a classic of the genre.

The novel was inspired by the supposedly true story of some World War II criminal soldiers who got the nickname the Dirty Dozen (or Filthy Thirteen, depending on the source) for their refusal to bathe and who were said to have been sent off on a similar mission. ... So he and his editor decided to fictionalize the story.

Box office It eventually earned rentals of $24.2 million in the United States and Canada from a gross of $45.3 million. It was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1967 and MGM's highest-grossing film of the year. It was also a hit in France, with admissions of 4,672,628.

A good old fashioned war film with no hidden agenda.

[Sonatine97 · 7/10 · 9 July 2000]

A generally entertaining war film with no real political axe to grind or patriotic flagwaving getting in the way. Its very dangerous trying to humourise war in the movies, because that would be offensive to all those that had served & died in real life. Kelly's Heroes and 1941 probably went a little too far, pretending that war is really fun & cool when you've got people like Clint Eastwood in charge. But then you have other war films that are black in its humour but manage to keep into focus the cruelty & horrors of war at the same time - M*A*S*H and Catch 22 are the best examples. With Dirty Dozen we have something of a go-between; the humour amongst the characters is light & welcoming but never falls into farce or bad-taste; and Aldrich quickly pulls us back into the fold with some tight scripted scenes of drama & mass murder (throwing petrol & grenades into that German bunker to name but one. I often wonder about that scene, and whether it was some kind of metaphor for the gas chambers & concentration camps in Belsen) But unlike MASH & Catch 22, Aldrich resists the temptation to openly politicise the effects of war, after all this film was made in '67 near the height of the Vietnam war/protests. Instead he takes a straight line course of action and lets us be moved & entertained by the convicted GIs doing their duty. Marvin is excellent as the hardnosed but disobediant Major. He plays the anti-hero far better than Eastwood in Kelly's Heroes. Marvin just looks the type who'd give the top brass as well the Germans a real hard time. But special mention must go to Cassavettes as Viktor Franko, the trouble-maker's trouble-maker. His character is so refreshing & wild amongst a relatively mild cast of supporting extras, with the exception of Savalas. Franko is the Joker of the pack but you soon feel an attachment for him in spite of his crimes. Sutherland & Bronson, don't really add much. The former plays a slightly naive man who hasn't really grown up and Bronson just smirks & mumbles a lot. The only other character worthy of a mention is the truly terrifying Savalas, who is a Christian through & through, yet hates all women as much as the Germans; and has a most spine chilling laugh! Difficult to believe this man later became Kojak! The film is a tad overlong; the first & last 40 minutes hold the interest but the middle section (the War Games scene), is far too long and generally detracts. All the same, DD is a very good movie, especially for those who don't want to be politically moralised too. ***/*****

cruel, overlong and overrated

[Aronnax · 4/10 · 20 May 2001]

Warning: spoilers ahead. Despite great performances all around (save for Telly Savalas' giggling psycho), this is one overrated and overlong 'classic' action movie. I have a hard time when Hollywood tries to turn murderers and rapists -- all sentenced to death or life in prison -- into a bunch of lovable, misunderstood goofballs. I could buy it if one or two of them had been wrongfully accused, but eleven of them? Or rather six of them, since the other half of the 'dozen' aren't even developed into characters. I could also buy it if they redeem themselves or come to some personal revelation through their mission, but the finale of this film was so sadistic that it ruined everything that had been set up. Are we supposed to cheer when these so far unredeemed 'heroes' pour gasoline on a bunch of trapped Nazi officers' WIVES?? Why did the writers put women in this scene at all? Where's the redemption in psychos acting psychotic? This finale just puts them on the same level as the Nazis, but unfortunately this film isn't going for any kind of moral message. The screaming, trapped women getting doused in gasoline by a bunch of unredeemed murderers and rapists completely ruined what had been an OK action film.

Now That Is What I Would Call 12 Angry Men.

[tfrizzell · 30 October 2003]

Heart-pounding and adrenaline-rushing action giant that still packs a punch that will knock you out. A dozen criminals (Oscar-nominee John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, Jim Brown, Charles Bronson and Donald Sutherland being the major standouts) are trained for a suicide mission into Nazi territory in 1944 and act as assassins. If you want to catch a thief, you hire a thief and that is the same principle used throughout this impressive motion picture. Lee Marvin does some of his best work as the leader of the rag-tag bunch of miscreants. Serves its purpose to near perfection. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Excellent Performances

[view_and_review · 9/10 · 2 March 2019]

I can see how The Dirty Dozen could be considered a prelude to Police Academy. Well, I guess I should say that I consider it a prelude to Police Academy. I saw many parallels with Major Reisman (Lee Marvin) trying to train his band of misfits similar to Police Academy. But The Dirty Dozen isn't simply a crude gag-a-minute comedy. It is a nice blend of a bit of comedy, some drama, and some wartime action.

The story is very smartly put together. Taking place during World War II Major Reisman is told to train a group of twelve military prisoners to go on very much a suicide mission. I know, I know... Suicide Squad right? Well, this was 50 years before that and with far more endearing characters. The prisoners have the choice (which is not much of a choice) to go on this mission and be pardoned or refuse and accept their sentence. Being that all of them are facing sentences from as little as 20 years up to hanging, the choice became easy.

The characters were fantastic: Donald Sutherland as the Christopher Lloyd-like goofy Vernon Pinkley, Jim Brown as the few-worded Robert Jefferson, Telly Savalas as the fire and brimstone Southern religious nut, and John Cassavetes as the loud, unruly, and obnoxious Victor Franco were the real standouts. I loved the mixture of characters and Major Reisman's relationship to them all. They were all condemned and in a way he was condemned with them. That didn't mean they had to live condemned and that didn't mean they didn't have anything to contribute. But as I said, this movie was made awesome by the performances. Every character contributed and made the film great.

Psychos, Thieves, Rapists, Thugs Give A Warm Welcome To "The Dirty Dozen"

[Det_McNulty · 8/10 · 17 August 2006]

Back in 1967 The Dirty Dozen was a very controversial film because it went against everything the army stood for and so was nearly not able to be made. Luckily it did and still today it stands as one of the greatest action/war movies ever made and it still rings with its anti-war message. If you want to know what kind of a film The Dirty Dozen is I'd say it's a cross between Full Metal Jacket and Animal House, strange right? The thing about The Dirty Dozen is it is very different to most other war films and with the added comedy you've got something very unique. Most importantly The Dirty Dozen proves that to be a good solider you have to break a few rules.

From the cold opening monologue to the explosive finale you've got yourself a film that sets a standard for how to make an action movie years and years since. The Dirty Dozen is famous for its wonderful ensemble cast that provides humour as well as study. All of the 12 men trained by Lee Marvin the cold head of command are ex-convicts and all of them are some of the most twisted people known to man. The film studies the violence on and behind the war zone. The Dirty Dozen entertains as well as an insight; this is great in my opinion. Some people say The Dirty Dozen can't be taken seriously, I sure think it can. Even though the film is a comedy it still is a serious film in many places. The film has managed to place itself in 60s pop culture for being so iconic. The film's acting from the entire cast remains on top throughout the entire film. If you think about The Dirty Dozen is a disturbing film, the segment with the gasoline and grenades being poured down the shafts is done in such a odd fashion that you'll find it hard to grasp it.

The film's style is one that remains as cool as it was back in 1967. The editing is very cleanly cut and The Dirty Dozen's pace runs with a rhythm still keeping its substance. Many of the camera shots and the final, body count filled massacre has a certain feel of excellence to it. You can really feel the time spent on creating set pieces, acting ability, direction etc. The Dirty Dozen's atmosphere from all this is a menacing dark one, the fact it's menacing is because of the added humour and the dark because of the whole crazy idea. The film does run smoothly and feels very tight because there are no subplots and the fact that everything is so precise. The Dirty Dozen is a movie that has been spawned with carbon copy films and TV sequels.

The script is one of great originality because it mixes sardonic humour with great speeches and one-liners. You'll be sure to have a favourite character by the end of the film. Many of the cast and characters have gone down in history providing a great step up for the cast's careers. Charles Bronson. And Donald Sutherland are probably some of the most recognisable to the viewer today. The Dirty Dozen remains a sharp, raw and stark film through its two and a half hour running time. So you can either watch The Dirty Dozen in two ways, one to study the army through a wide open image or secondly as a highly entertaining action movie. The most important question The Dirty Dozen make the viewer ask is none other than "Is this what the army is really like?" I'd say it is and by making a film that shows that the best war men are criminals Robert Aldrich has created an anti war statement.

Like a 1960's DC Comics World War II adventure

[johno-21 · 7/10 · 10 April 2006]

I saw first saw this during it's initial theatrical release and have seen it many times since. A group of prisoners are led by a renegade Major with disciplinary problems of his own to penetrate enemy lines in preparation for D-Day and disrupt the German chain of command by killing a gathering of top Nazi brass at a château. If the prisoners succeed and survive they will have their sentences commuted. If the Major pulls it off he'll save his career. This is adapted from the 1965 best selling novel by E.M. Nathanson and based on a story told to Nathanson by sexplotation film director Russ Meyer. Meyer was a cameraman in the signal corps during World War II mostly assigned to General Patton. In the real dirty dozen story, they were parachute dropped into occupied France on an assassination mission. They never completed their assignment however. Being typical undependable criminals once they hit the ground they hightailed it for Spain for the rest of the war. The real dirty dozen scenario is much more plausible than this far-fetched tale made into a film by director Robert Aldrich. Proliffic writer/director/producer Nunnally Johnson wrote the screenplay. Aldrich had made some good films in the 50's including Kiss Me Deadly and had a string of good films in the 60's leading up The Dirty Dozen including Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte and Flight of the Pheonix. He dealt with prisoners again in the Longest Yard and would revisit the violence of the Dozen with Ulzani's Raid. A great cast here with film veterans Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Ralph Meeker and Charles Bronson and actors who would become well known including Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, George Kennedy, John Cassavetes in his only Academy Award nominated performance (he lost out to Kennedy who won for his performance in Cool Hand Luke)and Jim Brown, who retired from the NFL while filming this for an acting career. Also in the cast are Richard Jaekel, Robert Webber and Trini Lopez. Nominated for four Academy Awards the MGM Sound Department took home it's only win for Best Sound Effects. It's a good action film with a great cast but it's too much like a comic book action story than an actual war drama story. The entire plot is so implausible and unnecessary that if there is a message in this film about war, double standards, senselessness, hypocrisy etc.. it gets lost in the mayhem. If you remember World War II themed comic books from the 60's like Sgt. Rock, Our Fighting Forces or GI Combat, this movie more resembles them than a typical war picture. There are some good lines and dialog and this is well made film but not my favorite war picture. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10.

The Twelve Convicted Heroes

[claudio_carvalho · 10/10 · 20 July 2016]

During the World War II, Major Reisman (Lee Marvin) is a tough and efficient military with problems with his superiors. He is assigned by General Worden (Ernest Borgnine) for an almost impossible top secret suicide mission: to kill as much senior German officers as possible in a retreat on the eve of the D-Day. He must train twelve undisciplined convicted soldiers, most of them sentenced to death, to accomplish the mission. He joins the twelve men under the positive leadership of Joseph Wladislaw (Charles Bronson) and the negative leadership of the insubordinate Victor Franko (John Cassavetes) and tries to form a team with the support of Sergeant Bowren (Richard Jaeckel). He makes General Worden to promise to release them all if they are well succeeded. Meanwhile his enemy Colonel Everett Dasher Breed (Robert Ryan) tries to make his life more difficult but Reisman and his twelve men need to prove that they are efficient. Will they succeed in their mission?

"The Dirty Dozen" is one of the best movies about war, with the perfect combination of action and comedy. Despite the 2h 30 min running time, this film is never boring; indeed it is highly entertaining. Director Robert Aldrich makes another masterpiece and the performances of the magnificent cast are top-notch. The conclusion is quite moralist and predictable with most of the soldiers dying but it is part of the American culture in the 60's, since it would be unjustified killers convicted to death by hanging be proclaimed national heroes and stay alive. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Os Doze Condenados" ("The Twelve Convicted")

Note: On 05 Sep 2020, I saw this film again.

Unpleasant After-taste

[Tthomaskyte · 6/10 · 25 May 2012]

When this film first came out in the 1960s it was massively popular. There were queues all round Leicester Square in London. I queued for it twice and failed to get in and never saw it until years later on TV. When launched it was talked about as if it was a war-time version of the Magnificent Seven. It was nothing of the kind. The whole object of the mission was to kill Nazi officers and their wives and girlfriends by trapping them in a cellar, pouring down gallon after gallon of petrol on top of them and igniting it by throwing down hand grenades. There were some heroic deaths enacted by the stars, but the theme of the film seemed to be one of celebrating the burning of the Germans. Maybe things were different when the film came out, the bombing of London was still a fairly recent memory, but watching it many years later I found it left a nasty after-taste. I read that Lee Marvin who played the lead role, disliked it intensely and refused to appear in any of the sequels as he it felt the original glorified war. I think he was right.

You can almost smell the testosterone when watching this great war flick

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 29 June 2007]

I have seen a lot of films over the year--meaning, I guess, I need to get a life! However, despite all the hours I have spent on films, I rarely watch a film twice and practically never see a film more than that. It is a tribute to the greatness of this film that I have probably seen it four times over the years and each time I marvel at the film with its wonderful ensemble cast and excitement that just oozes off the screen! There are very, very few war films that are better than this and I almost found myself giving this movie a score of 10. However, since I RARELY give films a "10", I am hesitant to do so here but I mean no disrespect against this nearly perfect film. If you asked me what three features made this film great in particular, I would say the excellent direction, the long but always engaging script and most importantly, Lee Marvin--in his greatest role of his career.

Marvin is placed in charge of a group of 12 demented sociopaths who are given the choice to either join him in a suicide mission or have their full sentences enforced (and in many cases, this means the death penalty). While a few of the 12 are naturally just faces in the film, there are so many wonderful standout performances that give the film so much color and depth. Telly Savalas was given perhaps the most exciting and depraved role in the film and he milked it for all its worth. Charles Bronson and Clint Walker both played strong but decent men who seemed to transcend their circumstances. Jim Brown had a great role that seemed to justify his early retirement from football. Donald Sutherland was a freak--and a very lovable and cool freak at that. But the best role of the 12 was that given to John Cassavetes as the malignant jerk, "Franko".

Apart from these 12 twisted men, Marvin was given TONS of support from some terrific character actors--Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy, Richard Jaekel, Ralph Meeker, Robert Ryan and Robert Webber. With all these wonderful actors gathered together, it's natural that you'd have an excellent film. What was amazing is that with all this talent, Marvin STILL managed to upstage them all with his tough as nails role as the group's commander! As for the plot, it's so very long and complicated I'd rather not get into it, since it's already listed on IMDb. However, when I say long, this is NOT a complaint. I love long movies provided the script is tight and merits the extreme length and complexity. THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and GONE WITH THE WIND both fall in this category, while THE English PATIENT seems like one of the longest movies ever because it is so dull and needed to be desperately shortened.

The bottom line is that this is an exciting film from start to finish thanks to every aspect of the film working perfectly together. I also appreciated some parts of the script that were risks--injecting humor into such a gritty film as well as the horrific way the film ended. Both aspects of the film worked but could have easily fallen flat with the audience.

A great film and a must-see for any serious fan of cinema.

By the way, many years later, a follow-up to THE DIRTY DOZEN was made for TV. It was totally unnecessary and is very skipable. As the old expression goes, "you can never go back".

Perfect Build-up -- less then stellar results 7/10

[The_Wood · 7/10 · 17 March 2002]

I think it is a safe bet to say that if The Dirty Dozen would have been filmed in this day and age -- it would have been much better. You have one of the best premises ever, a cast that is to die for, but some how the film makers managed to make it only average.

The acting in the film is great -- John Cassavetes in particular shines. The problem with the film -- it's too silly. The Dirty Dozen should be the grittiest, meanest movie out there; and at times it is. But it also has some laughably cheesy scenes, and the action is very flawed and confusing. This movie has aged for the worst.

I'll probably get lynched for saying this -- but this is one movie i'd like to see them remake.

A compelling plot with interesting characters played by good actors

[cricketbat · 8/10 · 21 September 2018]

I can see why The Dirty Dozen is a classic - it's memorable. This film has a compelling plot with interesting characters played by good actors. This movie is also unapologetically violent, showcasing the horrors of war, yet it doesn't feel dark. It has its shortcomings, but The Dirty Dozen deserves its place on the shelf of iconic war movies.

Reality intrudes on entertainment.

[jckruize · 7/10 · 8 October 2002]

It's hard to figure what director Robert Aldrich and his writers meant to say about war with this famous 60's box office hit. Working from a script by veteran screenwriters Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller, (based on a novel by E.M Nathanson), Aldrich wastes no time on extraneous detail or historical context; he's clearly interested in keeping this 2-and-a-half hour epic moving along, as it contains a lot of characters, tough dialogue, and well-staged action.

At the same time, little effort is expended in disguising the story's schizoid nature. Its first half is a fairly standard, though rousing, WWII adventure with a skilled cast expertly portraying the typical band of misfits -- in this case, American military prisoners -- who bond under fierce training and are molded into an efficient fighting force.

Then in the second half, the results of this training are unblinkingly depicted with the assault on an R&R stronghold for the German high command in which the mission is simply to kill as many of the enemy as possible. That this happens to include a large number of civilian noncombatants, many of them women, seems of scant concern. The slaughter is mainly accomplished with gasoline dumped down ventilator shafts on those trapped in the cellars below, then ignited.

It makes for exciting spectacle, but might also leave something of a bad taste in your mouth.

Entertaining but an awful war movie

[alsumrall2001 · 4/10 · 21 June 2012]

As war movies go, it's pretty pitiful. However, the casting was excellent and as a result the movie makes good entertainment but don't expect to be educated in any fashion about WWII. It's a classic example of a poorly produced and written movie literally being carried by good acting. This movie is more of a farce than a serious film. But then again the audience that loves this movie doesn't have high expectations or intelligence and of course it is always good to the see the particular cast. But if it turns up on TV I won't turn it off as it is so much fun to watch the excellent combination of A and B list actors. Lemon Tree o so pretty, lemon flower smells so sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat--Trini Lopez's hit song pretty much sums up this movie. Even Trini, non-actor, was good in this flick.