# Devil's Brigade (Movie review)



## Mike Bobbitt (6 Feb 2003)

*Devil's Brigade*
Movie Review
Written by Danjanou

*Plot Details: This review reveals major details about the movie's plot.* 

When I was a kid, like most other growing boys, I watched a lot of war movies. I probably had some inclination I was bound for a military career at the time, but more than likely I did it because everyone else was too. We'd discuss the late show or the Saturday matinee's latest offering at recess, and/or recreate it in the local park. 

One that I really enjoyed and eagerly awaited whenever it decided to grace our pre cable TV, was The Devils Brigade. It wasn't that it was any better or worse than its contemporaries. It did though have something special for us kids growing up north of the 49th parallel. Unlike the rest of Hollywood's creations, this one had Canadians in it. 

Over the years if it came on TV, I'd still try and catch it, provided there was nothing better on. Just recently I acquired a copy of it on video and decided to see if it still measured up to my expectations. Would the middle-aged ex soldier still be as thrilled as the ten-year-old boy with his plastic helmet and tommy gun? Surprisingly I was. 

The Devils Brigade was made in 1968. Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, it tells the story of the First Special Service Force. This unique unit was raised for special commando operation in Norway and was made up of both Canadian and American volunteers. The original mission was canceled, but the unit saw action in the Aleutian Islands, Italy and Southern France. 

Incidentally the descendents of this unit still exist on both sides of the border. In Canada they are the Special Service Force, the elite rapid reaction brigade raised in the 1970's for service with NATO. In the States they're a little more well known. The're the US Army's Special Forces, the Green Berets. 

The movie follows what I often think of as the standard Hollywood war movie plot. First a unit is recruited, either for a special mission, or as a matter of course. It always consists of several of those stock war movie characters. You know the type, the "naive kid," the "grizzled cynical veteran," the "troublemaker," et cetera et cetera. 

Then there are the obligatory training sequences. With this is the bonding of future comrades in arms. For some reason this usually takes the form of them all going out and getting hammered in some bar, often with a bar room brawl following. 

This last bit is probably more realistic than it may seem. I remember a lot of my own bonding in the Army being done in such circumstances. Even the occasional, furniture breaking, fight too. Of course we may have just been emulating what we saw as kids. Finally we get the mission, or first trial by combat, with certain characters heroically killed off. 

There is nothing wrong with this formula. Hollywood has been using it for decades usually with success. The Green Berets, The Dirty Dozen, Full Metal Jacket, even Starship Troopers and The Dogs of War are all examples of this standard formula. 

The cast overall is good. William Holden turns in an above average if predictable performance as Colonel Robert T. Fredericks, the actual Force Commander. The other characters are all fictionalized composites and to be honest are a little bit too much of a clichïÂ¿Â½ to be realistic. 

Cliff Robertson plays Major Alan Crown the senior Canadian officer. He's the cynical weary veteran to the gung ho but unbloodied Yanks. I never could understand why they made him an Irish Canadian in the film. 

Perhaps Robertson couldn't master that difficult Canadian accent eh. Come to think of it all the Canadians in the movie aside from the token French Canadian are either Scots, Irish, or English, go figure. 

Vince Edward plays Robertson's American counterpoint and is the stereotypical opposite. Where Robertson is a by the book spit and polish type, Edward's character is the undisciplined con man. Another stock character, who is used in the training sequences to steal all the stores and equipment the troops need, but which of course is never issued. 

Come to think of it almost all the Canadians and Americans are portrayed as interchangeable stereotypes rather than as individuals. All the Canadians are by the book gung ho battle hardened volunteers, while all the Americans are uncouth reluctant screw ups released from the stockade. 

While it was true a lot of the Canadians in the real Special Service Force would have been in the military longer than the Americans, and included a fair number of veterans., The force was raised in 1942, and Canada had been in the war since September 1939 as opposed to December 1941 for the States. The overall portrayal here, especially of the Americans is more the work of the screen writer than reality. 

Naturally if all the good guys are clichïÂ¿Â½s, then the bad guys come off much worse. All the Germans soldiers in this one are reduced to either evil Nazis who fire on white flags and/or bumbling morons, quickly outwitted by the Brigade. Even the propaganda movies made during the Second World War didn't portray them this badly. 

The cast also includes stock actors Claude Akins, Richard Jaeckel, Jack Watson, and a post Hogan's Heroes, pre game show, Richard Dawson as American and Canadian members of the unit respectively. Dana Andrews, Michael Rennie, and Carol O'Connor all make small cameo appearances. 

Both Canadian and American military advisors were used to ensure an accurate portrayal of the "Force" in the movie. For the most part they succeed. The training sequences are fair, if again a little clichïÂ¿Â½. Every Canadian is an expert skier, don't you know, just as none of the Americans are. Snow of course ceasing to exist below the border. 

Of course all these scenes are written to show the intense rivalry between the two groups, almost bordering on hatred. This is essential if we're to have the great bonding sequence prior to the unit going into action. In true Hollywood tradition, this is achieved in one of the better soldier bar room brawl scenes ever filmed. 

The final battle sequence, the fight to capture the impregnable Mount La Difensa in Italy is well done, very dramatic and fairly realistic. It provides some of the best examples of the overall good cinematography throughout the movie. There is an excellent mix here of distant aerial shots intermixed with close ups of the combat. The overall effect is very satisfying even to this most jaded of war movie aficionados. 

The same can't be said for the first battle scene where the unit captures an impregnable town without a shot being fired. Ok maybe on or two shots, and without a single loss. Hey these guys were good, probably one of the best units raised during the Second World War. Nobody though was that good. 

Reality aside it is amusing to watch the scenes of the German commander going about his morning ablutions, bathing, eating breakfast and being groomed by his servant. All of this is interspersed by shots of his entire command being captured one by one by the tough Canadian and American Commandos. The climax when he finally steps out onto his balcony to see his entire command lined up with their hands in the air is really quite funny, if totally unrealistic. 

There are a few other glaring errors either historical or technical. They don't really detract from the overall film but are worth noting. The Devils Brigade first saw action in the Allied invasion of the Aleutian Islands, but this is conveniently ignored in the movie. They are sent directly from Montana where they trained to Italy. 

In all the training camp sequences you see the British Union Jack flying alongside the Stars and Stripes. Sorry folks Canada had its own national flag even then, the Red Ensign. The only rational I can come up with for this error is that the Union Jack would be more recognizable to a predominately American audience than the Canadian Flag. By the time the movie was released it had been replaced by the present Maple Leaf. 

Further evidence of this recognition idea is the comment by Robertson's character to Holden about how his men (the Canadians) had fought at Dunkirk. To my knowledge no Canadian soldiers were present at Dunkirk. 

Later in an exercise in stupidity a Division of Canadians was landed in France after the British evacuation. They stayed only a couple of days and were evacuated when it became obvious that France was going to fall. 

What Robertson's character should have been referring to was the raid at Dieppe. Here in August 1942, 6,000 Canadians attacked this French port in a dress rehearsal for the later Normandy landing. It was a disaster with 5,000 casualties. Again however, this battle would not be well known to American audiences, hence the substitution. 

These errors aside, my only really personal beef is in the aforementioned bar room brawl scene. Here you see Richard Dawson flying over the bar to kick someone in the head. His kilt flies up to reveal his white briefs. 

Having served in two Highland Regiments, I can assure you, no self respecting Highland Soldier, in either the British or Canadian Army, would be caught dead wearing anything under his kilt. Sorry it is just not done. 

Being ex military I often find I'm a little critical of war movies. No that's an understatement. There are some people that refuse to watch them with me. Especially if I'm in one of my "that's wrong" moods. 

There are points wrong with this movie sure. Stuff that perhaps even that ten-year-old boy would have probably caught. Overall though it was/is a good movie. Besides there aren't that many Hollywood war movies out there with us Canadians as the stars, so I'll take what I can get.


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## Michael Dorosh (2 May 2003)

There are photos of the real life Devil‘s Brigade flying the Union Jack in Helena, Mike....   

Red Ensign was not the official banner of the Canadian Army until 1944.


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## Michael Dorosh (2 May 2003)

I‘ll also add I have some historical stuff (as well as some nitpicky uniform info) about the Devil‘s Brigade film at my own site; direct link to the frames page is: 

 http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/devil.htm 

I‘ll open up the conversation here by some comments re: Mike‘s review.



> It wasn‘t that it was any better or worse than its contemporaries. It did though have something special for us kids growing up north of the 49th parallel. Unlike the rest of Hollywood‘s creations, this one had Canadians in it.


I may very well have been convinced to join the Army Cadets because of this movie; the pipe band scene always stuck with me, and it was that scene I had in mind when I joined the cadet pipe band.  Changed my life.



> The cast overall is good. William Holden turns in an above average if predictable performance as Colonel Robert T. Frederick, the actual Force Commander. The other characters are all fictionalized composites and to be honest are a little bit too much of a cliché to be realistic.


It‘s funny how Hollywood always figures Canadians speak with UK accents, isn‘t it.  Or else French ones.  This movie has two Scots (Dawson and Corporal Peacock), an Irishman (Robertson) and a French-Canadian.

Not sure what you mean by "predictable" though, in relation to Holden‘s performance.  Care to expand?

Incidentally, Major Crown is obviously fictional; the first Canadian contingent commander was John McQueen of the Calgary Highlanders.  Notice the large number of Calgary Highlanders shoulder titles and cap badges in the film; this was probably unintentional, but I would love to know who their advisor was - maybe a Calgary Highlander?



> While it was true a lot of the Canadians in the real Special Service Force would have been in the military longer than the Americans, and included a fair number of veterans., The force was raised in 1942, and Canada had been in the war since September 1939 as opposed to December 1941 for the States. The overall portrayal here, especially of the Americans is more the work of the screen writer than reality.


The Americans started drafting men early in 1941, and Canadian recruiting was still going strong until 1942 - in fact, the 3rd Division was never mobilized until the summer of 1940 - so Canada didn‘t really have that much of a jump on the US in terms of training men.  I don‘t know the exact numbers, but it is possible the Yanks had just as many men in uniform by the summer of 1941 as Canada did - probably more, given the relative size of our population.  Also, where would these Canadian "veterans" have come from?  We didn‘t see any action until Hong Kong (and every Canadian to set foot there was killed or captured) and later Dieppe.  In fact, Canadian soldiers in Europe and North America until July 1942 had just as much combat experience as American soldiers - none.



> In all the training camp sequences you see the British Union Jack flying alongside the Stars and Stripes. Sorry folks Canada had its own national flag even then, the Red Ensign. The only rational I can come up with for this error is that the Union Jack would be more recognizable to a predominately American audience than the Canadian Flag. By the time the movie was released it had been replaced by the present Maple Leaf.


See my post above.  Period photos show the Union Jack in use by Canadian forces serving with the 1 FSSF.  The Red Ensign was not an official flag whereas the Union Jack was.  The Red Ensign did gain in popularity - in 1944 it was ordered flown over Canadian Army headquarters in the UK and later on the Continent.



> Later in an exercise in stupidity a Division of Canadians was landed in France after the British evacuation. They stayed only a couple of days and were evacuated when it became obvious that France was going to fall.


Well, if it wasn‘t obvious France was going to fall until a couple days later, it wasn‘t so stupid to sent the "Second BEF" to France, was it?    



> What Robertson‘s character should have been referring to was the raid at Dieppe. Here in August 1942, 6,000 Canadians attacked this French port in a dress rehearsal for the later Normandy landing. It was a disaster with 5,000 casualties. Again however, this battle would not be well known to American audiences, hence the substitution.


I‘m not sure that‘s true, but it would explain it.  Dieppe was also the place where the US Army first saw combat in WW II, with 50 Rangers landing on the various beaches.  One famous photo of dead Canadians on the beach has a dead Ranger front and centre.  

But the guys who made Memphis Belle also put P-51 Mustangs in the film several months before historical accuracy would have permitted them because the more historical correct Spitfires were, in the opinion of the film-makers, more associated with the Battle of Britain!  The advisors pleaded, but to no avail.  



> These errors aside, my only really personal beef is in the aforementioned bar room brawl scene. Here you see Richard Dawson flying over the bar to kick someone in the head. His kilt flies up to reveal his white briefs.
> 
> Having served in two Highland Regiments, I can assure you, no self respecting Highland Soldier, in either the British or Canadian Army, would be caught dead wearing anything under his kilt. Sorry it is just not done.


It‘s done if you have crotch rot!  But I agree, it looked really silly in this one, and times were different back then - you could still check and demand that offending undergarments be removed!

All in all, a good review; the stuff I haven‘t commented on stands on its own.  For me, the postwar uniforms, the 1960s tanks, and the general treatment of the Germans as inept kind of ruin this one for me.  The complete lack of realistic tactics does it in, and the bar was raised a lot by Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers, etc.

All in all, as mentioned, it is the only thing out there, **** near, that portrays Canadians, even if in a cliched light.  If you can get past the anachronisms and propaganda, there are strong performances, especially by Holden and Robertson, and it is nice to see us portrayed positively.


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## Danjanou (2 May 2003)

Thanks Michael, for jumping in (why did I have a feeling you‘d be one of the first).

You‘re right, you caught me on a couple of bits I missed out on such as the Red Ensign. 

I‘m  not sure if I just overlooked the "modern tanks" incorrect weapons etc. as standard for the 1960‘s era war movies. Look at others from this period such as  _Battle of the Bulge, Patton_ etc. It seem only more recent efforts pay more attention to such details.

As to Holden‘s performance, all I meant was I found it minimal cliched and perhaps a bit wooden.
Comapred to what he was capable of, it seems as if he was just going through the motions.

Like you said though, gliches aside, it‘s still worth watching. I have a copy on my shelf, and pop it in the VCR now and then, which is more than I can say for _Dieppe_, the made for TV movie.

BTW you‘re a lot more gentle, than the comments I received when I first published this. The movie critic were like sharks.


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## jmacleod (24 Oct 2004)

The Devils Brigade, the movie, could have been much more than it was - created by Hollywood
screen writers of the period. I have never thought too highly of the film, and when I moved to
Moncton NB last year, I found that my neighbour was in fact in the 1st Canadian Special Service
Force, and keeps in constant touch with the some 176 surviving members, through their association
with a U.S. based Airborne Association Newsletter. Ross, my neighbour has told me a great deal
about the Force, in particular the fighting in Italy. One interesting (and appalling) point - Ottawa
bureaucrats of the period refused to approve recommendations for Commonwealth medals of the
period, like the Military Cross or Military Medal, because in Ottawa, the famed Unit was considered
"American" thus a Canadian Captain, (later a noted architect in Halifax NS) was awarded the U.S.
DSC, and other personnel, Silver Stars etc. General Frederick, later killed by a sniper in Germany
in 1945 is considered by Ross and his surviving comrades one of the finest infantry officers ever.
There was a recent article on the Unit in "After The Battle". MacLeod


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## jmacleod (24 Oct 2004)

I must submit a correction to my recent post on the Devils Brigade. After I posted the item, I checked
the net for articles about the First Canadian Special Service Force, and found a lot of highly detailed
information and facts. The U.K. Magazine, "After The Battle" I quoted from stated that BGen Frederick
"was KIA in Germany 1945" In fact, General Frederick died in California in 1970 of natural causes promted
by his war wounds. MacLeod


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## Michael Dorosh (24 Oct 2004)

There IS an edit button, you know....

Since I have a photo of Frederick on my own site, mentioned above, taken during the release of the movie in the 1960s, I would say you were wise to publish that retraction. ;D


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## jmacleod (24 Oct 2004)

Thanks for the heads up - actually I made a correction, did not submit a retraction. The article
I referred to was done from memory, and actually defined the death, by 88mm shell fragment
of Col William O. Darby, who was tasked with creating the United States Army Rangers. Article
entitled "Rangers Rendezvous With Destiny" and was originally published by the Eisenhower Centre
for American Studies, World War II Desk Reference. My next door neighbour, Ross McGillivary met
General Frederick on several occasions, and always speaks highly of him, and other West Point and
RMC Graduates who served with the 1 Special Service Force. The definative film on airborne operations
is Sir Richard Attenborough's "A Bridge Too Far" in my opinion. MacLeod


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