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The Dirty Dozen (1967)

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• Although Robert Aldrich had tried to purchase the rights to E.M. Nathanson's novel "The Dirty Dozen" while it was still in outline form, it was MGM that successfully acquired the property in May 1963. The book became a best-seller upon its publication in 1965.
  
  
• The French chateau that appears in the film was constructed especially for the production by art director William Hutchinson and his crew of 85. One of the largest sets ever built, it stood 240 feet across and 50 feet high. Gardeners surrounded the building with 5400 square yards of heather, 400 ferns, 450 shrubs, 30 spruce trees and 6 full-grown weeping willows.
  
  
• Construction of the faux chateau proved *too* good. The script called for it to be blown up, but the construction was so solid that 70 tons of explosives would have been needed to achieve the effect! Instead, a section was rebuilt from cork and plastic.
  
  

• John Wayne was first offered the part of Maj. John Reisman, but he declined and went on to star in and direct another war film (The Green Berets (1968)). The part was then offered to Lee Marvin, who took it.
  
  
• Originally Jiminez, the Trini López character, was supposed to be one of the heroes. He was to be the one to ignite all of the dynamite that would destroy the entire chateau.
  
  
• The operation count-off is as follows: - One: down to the road block we've just begun - Two: the guards are through - Three: the Major's men are on a spree - Four: Major and Wladislaw go through the door - Five: Pinkley stays out in the drive - Six: the Major gives the rope a fix - Seven: Wladislaw throws the hook to heaven - Eight: Jiminez has got a date - Nine: the other guys go up the line - Ten: Sawyer and Gilpin are in the pen - Eleven: Posey guards points Five and Seven - Twelve: Wladislaw and the Major go down to delve - Thirteen: Franko goes up without being seen - Fourteen: Zero hour, Jiminez cuts the cable Franko cuts the phone - Fifteen: Franko goes in where the others have been - Sixteen: we all come out like it's Halloween
  
  
• Lee Marvin (Marines), Telly Savalas and Charles Bronson (Army), Ernest Borgnine (Navy) and Clint Walker (Merchant Marine) all served in World War II.
  
  
• Donald Sutherland was a late casting decision, replacing an actor who dropped out because he thought the role was beneath him.
  
  
• Robert Aldrich was told that he could be in line for an Oscar as Best Director for the film if he cut out the scene of Jim Brown dropping hand grenades into the bomb shelter. The scene was considered controversial because the Germans (including women) were locked inside the bunker and had no chance to survive. Aldrich considered it but elected to leave the scene in to show that "war is hell".
  
  
• Jack Palance turned down the Telly Savalas role.
  
  
• The character of Reisman (Lee Marvin) was based on John Miara of Malden, Massachusetts, who was a close personal friend of Marvin's while both were serving in the Marine Corps during WW II.
  
  
• Jim Brown's character is credited as 'Napoleon Jefferson' in the original US trailer.
  
  
• The scene where one of the dozen pretends to be a general inspecting Robert Ryan’s troops was initially written for Clint Walker’s character. However, Walker was uncomfortable with this scene, so Robert Aldrich decided to use Donald Sutherland instead. The scene was directly responsible for Sutherland being cast in MASH (1970), which made him an international star.
  
  
• The sub-machine guns being used by most of the Dirty Dozen are M3, .45 ACP Cal., sub-machine guns know as the "Grease Gun". It came into use late in the war replacing Thompson sub-machine guns. It was not a general issue weapon to infantryman, normally it was the crew weapon on a tank. Many "found" their way to the frontline troops. This earlier model weapon had a charging lever on the side. Later models (M3A1) were charged by simply pulling back on the bolt by inserting your finger into a recess in the bolt. The M3A1 wire stock included a tab to help load magazines, the ends threaded to accept a cleaning brush to clean the barrel and was used as a wrench to unscrew the barrel for disassembly. The weapon, only manufactured during WWII by General Motors Headlight division, at a cost about $20 vs. the Thompsons at a few $100 each.
  
  

• SPOILER: During the "Last Supper" scene, Maggot (Telly Savalas) is in the Judas position of the Da Vinci painting, before betraying the team during its mission.
  
  
• SPOILER: Trini López's character was killed off early after his agent unwisely demanded more money. Instead of conceding to his demands, Robert Aldrich swiftly had an off-screen death scene for Lopez written into the script.
  
  

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