Lee Marvin is at his best in this blockbuster war movie as an army major given a nigh-on impossible task of crashing into a country chateau and killing as many German officers as possible. To do so he has to pick and train 12 men taken from Death Row. The training scenes are terrific, the raid is thrilling and there's a witty script and fast, action-packed direction. Charles Bronson stands out in a fantastic cast - including Telly Savalas, George Kennedy, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker and Ernest Borgnine - as a busted Polish officer. John Wayne turned down the Marvin part and made The Green Berets instead and Jack Palance declined Savalas' role. In real life, Marvin, Savalas, Bronson, Borgnine and Walker all served in World War II.

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