When it comes to the sentiment that it is a wonderful tribute to those in the Devil's Brigade I have to take my grandfather's opinion... "All a bunch of Hollywood BS" The reason for this is he was part of this elite unit.He never talked about his time in this unit but only one time... when he was interviewed by the paper about the release of this movie. He was lucky to survive as this unit had the highest casualties and was severely wounded just shy of the liberation of Italy. He has been gone now for almost 20 years (Oct. 1992) and when I miss him the most I put this movie on, it may be almost all fictional but at least I take comfort in the fact I have something of him to keep me from missing him too much and gives me a sense of pride he was part of this unit and fought for our freedom. Also they were trained as paratroopers as comment above, but after his time in Devil's Brigade he would never ever step foot on a plane again.

Critically drubbed as another "Dirty Dozen" clone during its initial release, director Andrew V. McLaglen's "The Devil's Brigade" is a factual World War II epic about the First Special Service Force. This exciting, flavorful actioneer about combat during the Italian campaign is representative of the big-budgeted movies about World War II produced in the 1960s. This was McLaglen's first major film without either John Wayne or James Stewart as the star. William Holden stars along with Cliff Robertson, Vince Edwards, Dana Andrews, and Claude Akins. You'll recognize lots of other character actors, such as Jack Watson, Richard Jaeckel, Richard Dawson, and Michael Rennie. Clocking in at 131 minutes, "The Devil's Brigade" covers a lot of ground from the formation of the unit to the rivalry between the American and Canadian soldiers,and finally their baptism by fire in Italy. Although women appear in the bar brawl and Holden has a scene with a general's matronly secretary, the opposite sex is pretty much relegated to the periphery of the action. McLaglen does a good job of keeping the lumbering action in motion and "Magnificent Seven" scribe William Roberts inserts an interesting line or two. Lenser William Clothier captures the combat in several rugged settings and provides this war story will a virile look, while Alex North contributes an inspirational score.An American Colonel Colonel Fredericks (William Holden of "Picnic") with no battlefield experience receives orders to train a unit of American misfits and snappy Canadian troops for a mission that he had derided earlier as insane. This qualifies as a more eloquent as well as palatable version of "The Dirty Dozen." The singular drawn-back is the tragic ending that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Nevertheless, the plot is never dull. Our spit and polish outfit completes their training only to learn to their chagrin that they have been relieved for mission in Norway for which they are designed. Momentarily, it appears that the Devil's Brigade will be broken up and the troops reassigned, but a determined Fredericks flies to Washington to see if he can keep the outfit alive. General Mark Clark (Michael Rennie of "Soldier of Fortune") takes them into his command and sends them out to capture German troops. Fredericks surprises not only Clark but also his second-in-command Major Generall Maxwell Hunter (Carol O'Connor)when he captures an entire village of Germans during an early morning raid.

Liked this movie for the most part. Not overly hammy, and some good action sequences. Had an authentic feel to it. One quibble, was the laughable scaling of La Difensa during the final assault. You have 500+ men scaling a near vertical wall of 1000+ feet, barehanded, with nothing but muscle and rope ( having of course not had any mountain training by the CO's admission ), no safety devices, and ostensibly not a single fall. Simply amazing. Other than that, no complaints. OK, I have to work hard to fill the 10 line minimum for IMDb. So let's see, loved the scenery at the boot camp. Couldn't help but notice that most of the guys in the flick are dead now, but they were plenty lively in the film.

I don't care about what other people think. Those who gave a bad review of this movie are just too shallow to understand the MEANING of this film. It may not have all the flashy gun-play of newer films...Its the 1960's! Kay? I liked how the Canadians were showing the yanks up all the time, but MY ABSOLUTE favorite scene is the bar scene when the Canucks and Yankees finally became brothers. I almost cried at how touching the union was.This is among my favorite war movies because it shows how much Canada and the US can kick some serious ass! Talk about the ultimate killing machine. I tip my hat to the Devils.