La Legione dei dannati

Steven Nyland (Squonkamatic) wrote on IMDB:

I love these stupid, silly Italian Euro War movies. They were made for one reason and that was to sell tickets. Historical accuracy, plotting and didactic character development be damned, these were Spaghetti Westerns with tanks and machine guns instead of six-shooters and horses. The dialog and stories were interchangeable, hell they even used the same sets, stock casts of extras, musical composers and technical crews. It really doesn't matter what the story was about, how competent the acting & direction was, only that you could fit two of them on a double bill and have two more just like it in their place next weekend.

Others have already adequately described the plot. This one isn't any more remarkable or inept than any one of them, and is made distinguishable from the pack instead by who participated. The film was directed by veteran grindhouse pro Umberto Lenzi, written in part by his future modern Italian horror guru Dario Argento in addition to a pack of other writers who obviously managed to see THE DIRTY DOZEN & GUNS OF NAVARONE before concocting the potboiler story about an ornery Irish/American officer leading a misfit platoon of offbeat characters in a mission to impregnate another impregnable German fortress lest the allies lose the war, set a rousing musical score by personal favorite Marcello Giombini. If you switch your brain off you will be entertained.   [ show more ]

The cast is a gem: Jack Palance earns more alimony money as the tough as nails Yankee commander with a personal grudge against his unit general that results in some priceless one-liners that if spoken by an actor of less than Palance's worldliness would sound absurd. Future Bond megalomaniac Curd Jürgens is well-cast as the somewhat unhinged Nazi Gruppenfuhrer who finds himself outclassed by a bunch of ex-con commandos -- all of them formidable veteran Spaghetti Western character actors: my hero Franco Fantasia, the always enjoyable Thomas Hunter, Claudio Undari, Bruno Corazzari, and the insane Aldo Sambrell. Legend would have it that Sambrell actually assumed his characters into his person, going so far as swinging by town after the shoot wrapped for a few drinks still clad in his costumes. Here he plays a Sikh knife fighting expert due to his somewhat swarthy complexion. He doesn't even really "act" the role, he lets it seep into his own character & just follows the stage direction.

So it's a film populated and made by legends or semi-legends, with the added bonus of Euro Horror siren Diana Lorys, since after all what good is an Italian genre film without some gorgeous woman to ogle. Jack Palance steals the show with a cockeyed performance highlighted by a half Irish accent that he probably fed with a solid half pint of booze during the course of an average day's shoot. Can't blame the guy for turning it into a good time, and it's fun to play "Spot the Location" during the film: Spaghetti fans will note a valley from GRAND DUEL, a ranch house from SEVEN GUNS FOR THE MACGREGORS (plus a couple other I can't think of offhand) and the same Tuscany seacoast featured in practically every one of these things. It is the familiarity with form that makes them so appealing, though it is kind of hard keeping track of which movie is which.

This is the one directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Jack Palance. That's pretty much all you need to know about it, put away your history text books, pop some popcorn & enjoy.

5/10 [ show less ]

SgtSlaughter wrote on IMDB:

If you like low-budget Italian movies or war films, then this will be a real treat, even though it is probably one of the worst films I've ever seen – regardless of genre. This is unfortunate, because director Lenzi's first war effort, Desert Commando, showed marvelous potential.

The story focuses on a band of British ex-cons, who are recruited by Scottish Colonel MacPherson (Jack Palance) to clear a path for British commandos through a minefield off the Normandy coast on the night of June 4th, 1944. When the commando force is ambushed by a German PT Boat, MacPherson becomes obsessed with taking on their mission: destroy a huge railroad gun which threatens the imminent Allied landings, which happens to be commanded by his nemesis, Colonel Ackerman (Wolfgang Preiss), much to the dismay of his men.   [ show more ]

Lenzi's second war film is, for all intents and purposes, a combination of three classic war movies: the indestructible artillery and impossible mission theme of The Guns of Navarone; the rivalry between Allied and Axis extremists, not to mention the central steam engine of The Train; and the now-familiar anti-hero characters of The Dirty Dozen. This is a fast-paced movie about a bunch of guys on the run, racing against the clock to complete their mission. The characters are never really fleshed out, but for a low-budget action film, they've got more dimensionality than we've come to expect.

Palance never makes a very convincing leader. At his best, he tries to be human, but always returns to being a tough bully. He's got a mission and will stop at nothing to accomplish it, even though it means the death of just about everyone under his command. On one hand, he has a responsibility to save Allied lives by destroying the railroad gun, but his real goal is always, clearly, personal prejudice, and it's not admirable.

What's more admirable are the attitudes of his men: Guido Lollobrigida (Commando Attack) is one of the ex-cons, who realizes the error of his ways and is now willing to fight because his duty is to his country. Helmut Schneider is excellent in a very under-developed part of a humanitarian, who can't agree with MacPherson but goes along because he's a concentration camp survivor and wants vengeance. Thomas Hunter is fun to watch as an American captain who got conned into the mission because of his specialty in demolitions. At first, he's a coward who wants to be back at a desk job chasing girls, but proves his courage under fire more than once. Roberto Undari and Bruno Corazzari are the rebels of the group, who are constantly bickering with MacPherson, but always stick with him because they know he is their only chance for surviving behind enemy territory. That's where the depth hits rock bottom. Every time men threaten to abandon the mission, MacPherson simply yells and threatens to shoot them, and the discussion is over. There's not much moral drama to be explored, and once the point is made, it's dropped and Lenzi moves on to more important things.

Don't let me mislead you – this is an action movie and is not meant to be anything more, but substance and character are necessary to make the action have an impact. On the action level alone, Lenzi fails miserably – though not as badly as he would years later in the infamous "Bridge to Hell". Working with a low budget this time around, Lenzi and his production crew obviously couldn't afford much in the way of pyrotechnics or extras, and as director, Lenzi tries to cover this up – and doesn't do a very good job. The many combat scenes consist of skirmishes between small bands of men, a dozen or so at the most, and consist mainly of quick zoom-ins, frequent cutting and rapid shift of focus. This is often confusing and dizzying, and makes the action move far too quickly. It's too much information thrown out too fast, and looks pretty pathetic on top of that.

The limits of the budget are also obvious in the sets. There are not many interiors, and when we do go inside a house or German office building, they're shabbily furnished. Lenzi keeps his focus on the actors so that you don't notice right away that their surroundings don't look too convincing. Many exteriors - particularly near the end of the picture – are set in southern France, but were obviously shot in Spain. Instead of forests or lush fields, we see desolate sand mounds and bare, rocky hills all over the place. As far as costumes and props go, Lenzi also fails to make his movie look authentic. Most of the Germans wear uniforms of artillery troops, often with ill-fitting jackets or helmets. They are armed primarily with Beretta submachine guns, a weapon developed by the Italians. Finally, miniature work is below-par, too, but fortunately this flaw is limited to a single shot during the climax.

On the plus side, Armando Travajoli provides an energetic score which adds to the tension and fast pace. This film is always moving, and there is never a wasted moment: every action, every line, every glance contributes to the story. That is the glue holding this mess together. Lenzi does manage to execute the finale quite well, too. The German train yard looks quite bustling and official, and the battle between the Allied commandos and German soldiers on the train is tense and nail-biting. It's a pity that Lenzi has to ruin this victorious spirit by throwing in a muddled anti-war statement for the film's conclusion.

This is a satisfying action yarn, but offers little besides some enjoyable, pulpy 90 minutes of pure adventure. Despite poor execution, the familiar supporting cast of Italian and German character-actors offers some good turns and provide enough energy to keep the film moving through the final scenes. [ show less ]

paul_johnr wrote on IMDB:

'La Legione dei dannati' AKA 'Battle of the Commandos' and 'Legion of the Damned' is one of numerous Second World War films to emerge from Italy during the late 1960s. As the spaghetti western lost vitality, producers financed movies with cowboy themes set in wartime Europe and often made use of locations previously filled by desperadoes and stagecoaches. Exploitationist Umberto Lenzi was one director who jumped on the bandwagon, first making 'Desert Commandos' in 1967. In 1969 came his second war film, this low-budget affair produced by Bruno Bolognesi and Ignacio Gutierrez.

American character actor Jack Palance leads a potboiler that grifts material from several big-budget films, most noticeably 'The Dirty Dozen' and 'The Guns of Navaronne.' Palance stars as Colonel Charley MacPherson, a Scottish commando leader who has returned to Britain after witnessing the deaths of his entire unit in a North African tactical mission. While irate over the handling of his men by British generals, MacPherson is talked into leading a raid off the Normandy coast to destroy mines for incoming D-Day soldiers. It so happens that the coastal area is watched over by Colonel Ackerman (Wolfgang Preiss), whose German unit wiped out MacPherson's on the desert sands.   [ show more ]

With his entire team dead, MacPherson is allowed to choose six men needed for the mission. Readily at hand are four insubordinates (à la 'The Dirty Dozen') whom the colonel pulls out of their jail cell. Also tagging along are Captain Burke (Thomas Hunter), an American explosives 'expert,' and Sergeant Habinda (Aldo Sambrell), MacPherson's loyal Indian aide who was the only other person to survive North Africa. The men get their job done, but end up stranded on the coast after a trailing band of commandos is gunned down. Thirsty for revenge against Ackerman, MacPherson forces his unwilling crew to reach the next objective, the destruction of a giant howitzer for use during allied invasions.

'Battle of the Commandos' is considerably better-plotted than Lenzi's other war films, including his 1978 stinker 'The Greatest Battle,' which recycles a great deal of footage used here. The script by a seven-man team that included emerging Dario Argento gives somewhat more weight to character study, although there is little development and each person sings mostly one tune for the entire film. Enough balance is achieved between dialogue and the action scenes to make this film watchable, since the fighting consists only of close-range shootouts between MacPherson's unit and small bands of the German army. These cheaply-budgeted action sets make repeated use of the same extras and props, with poor coordination to boot.

Palance's open-mouthed chutzpah is not enough to carry this film, although his gritty presence is felt at times. Wolfgang Preiss ('A Bridge Too Far') is the better lead as a rational German officer slowly watching his country fall to pieces. Thomas Hunter effectively plays his role as a youthful American who is dependable but would rather be somewhere else. Helmuth Schneider has good moments as Private Schrier, a concentration camp escapee who wouldn't mind getting back at the Nazis. Guido Lollobrigida plays a rogue who changes his ways, while Claudio Undari and Bruno Corazzari leave MacPherson only to head back after realizing their chances of escaping German territory. As usual for Lenzi's war films, there are too many people floating through the story, including several members of the French Resistance and a female hostage (Diana Lorys) used to leak information.

While the script and acting are decent, this movie is hurt by Lenzi's bizarre and often careless directing. The action scenes are hysterically paced and have little or no continuity. Soldiers and gunfire seem to pop out of nowhere and camera angles change on a whim, disorienting the viewer. Lenzi also makes us reach for an aspirin with drastic zooms, close-ups, and dolly swings even more overdone than in films by Michael Winner. The editing by Giese Rohm and uncredited Stanley Frazen is awful throughout. Rohm is (unsurprisingly) not credited for any other film, while Frazen managed to edit the 'Kojak' TV series and 'Friday Foster' during the 1970s. The cinematography by Alejandro Ulloa is nothing to write home about. One pleasant surprise is the music by Marcello Giombini, in a military style that reminds one of Shostakovich.

Known through most of the 1970s for his gialli, Lenzi's efforts in the war genre actually became worse. Footage from 'Battle of the Commandos' was reused in 'The Greatest Battle,' a film with top-shelf actors and limited craftsmanship. By the mid-1980s, Lenzi was out of second chances and had beaten it to Yugoslavia, turning out direct-to-video junk like 'Wartime' and 'Bridge to Hell.' It is quite ironic that Dario Argento, who co-wrote this film, went on to bigger and better things while Lenzi never exceeded this level.

'Battle of the Commandos' is not an easy film to purchase, since it has never been released as a DVD and is rarely available in VHS format. Republic Pictures Home Video distributed a cassette version in the mid-80s, one of the worst VHS presentations that I have ever seen. Besides the horrendous print quality, this version appears to be a straight transfer with little (if any) pan and scan; actors are cropped off the screen entirely, often while speaking. This makes the action scenes an even harder watch and ruins a touching moment at the film's conclusion. The print looks as if discovered in someone's attic, with faint colors, endless grain, and severe artifacts. 'Battle of the Commandos' would certainly look better in a restored widescreen presentation, although looks alone could never make this film 'good.'

* ½ out of 4 [ show less ]