A Hollywood war film that turned real-life commandos into fictionalized, brawling outcasts
In short: The 1968 war film The Devil's Brigade dramatized the formation of a legendary joint American-Canadian commando unit. While it became a popular adventure movie, veterans of the actual 1st Special Service Force dismissed the film's portrayal of their ranks as historically inaccurate nonsense, noting it bore little resemblance to reality.
The film was based on a 1966 book by novelist Robert H. Adleman and Col. George Walton, a veteran of the unit. Producer David L. Wolper, aiming to transition from documentaries to feature films, secured the rights in October 1965. He sought a commercial success that felt like a fun, cinematic experience rather than a strict historical record. The production received logistical support from both American and Canadian military authorities, with filming beginning in April 1967 across locations in Utah and Italy.
The narrative follows Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Frederick, who is tasked with training a force of American misfits and elite Canadian soldiers. Despite initial friction, the unit eventually proves its worth by capturing the supposedly impregnable German stronghold of Monte la Difensa. To add visual flair, the production team outfitted the soldiers with fictional red berets, a detail that appeared prominently on promotional materials and book covers, despite having no basis in the unit's actual uniform.
Upon its 1968 release, the film faced stiff competition from The Dirty Dozen, which Wolper later blamed for overshadowing his project. While it found success in Britain—ranking as the fourth-most-popular film of the year—it struggled to gain traction elsewhere. Critics and audiences remain divided, with review aggregators showing mixed sentiment. For the actual veterans, the film was an entertaining spectacle, but they consistently rejected its depiction of the unit as a collection of jailbirds and troublemakers, asserting that the reality of their service was far different from the Hollywood version.
The film's legacy persists through its score by Alex North and its place in the genre of 1960s war epics. Although the production faced internal challenges, including re-editing without the director's final approval, it remains a notable example of how Hollywood studios often prioritized dramatic tropes over the nuanced history of elite military units.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Devil's Brigade (film)
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