COMMANDOS

 

COMMANDOS is a 1968 Italian-German co-production dealing with a secret mission in North Africa before the Operation Torch landings in late 1942 during WWII. The movie stars Lee Van Cleef, who at this time was at the height of his popularity as a Euro movie action star, and Jack Kelly, best known for the MAVERICK TV show. 

A group of U.S. soldiers, all of Italian descent and fluent in the language, are parachuted into North Africa before Operation Torch in order to take over a supply oasis. The group is led by Lt. Valli (Jack Kelly) and Sergeant Sullivan (Lee Van Cleef). Valli has been assigned to the group at the last minute--he planned the operation, but he has no real experience in combat. Sullivan, a hard-charging, take-no-prisoners type, is resentful of Valli. The group takes over the base, and poses as Italian soldiers, but the differences between Valli and Sullivan complicate matters. A German patrol stops by, with a tank commander (Joachim Fuchsberger). The commandos temporarily fool the Germans, but things soon get out of hand, and Valli and Sullivan have to learn to fight alongside each other. 

A brief description of COMMANDOS would make one think it is no more than a Spaghetti Western set in WWII, but the movie is a decent action flick that doesn't go off the rails the way so many other Eurocult pictures do. Lee Van Cleef's strong screen presence is perfect for the role of Sgt. Sullivan, a veteran who knows what war really means. The character of Sullivan is given a bit more depth in that he suffers from PTSD due to his experiences fighting at Bataan (this is presented in the film by giallo-esque flashbacks). This gives Sullivan a legitimate reason to distrust an officer like Valli. Due to the storyline one would expect Valli to come off as an officious jerk, but Jack Kelly plays him in a realistic manner--the lieutenant has a much different mindset than Sullivan, but he's not a coward or a detriment in combat. 

Joachim Fuchsberger, the King of Krimi, has a small but pivotal role as the German tank commander. Ironically, the Germans in this film are not portrayed as goose-stepping stereotypes--Fuchsberger's character was a professor in civilian life, and he's shown to be a distinguished man. I'm sure COMMANDOS didn't have all that much of a budget, but we do get an armored attack against the oasis at the climax (of course all the vehicles used are not from the WWII-era). 

COMMANDOS was directed (and co-written) by Armando Crispino. I have actually seen another Crispino film--JOHN THE BASTARD, which was terrible. COMMANDOS isn't brilliant, but it delivers the goods--there's plenty of shoot-outs and explosions, and there's a tough leading man in Van Cleef. The Italian locations fill in well for North Africa, and there's plenty of suspense generated over the commandos posing as Italian soldiers. Among the many co-writers listed in the credits are two future famous names: Menahem Golan and Dario Argento. The music score, which at times sounds like it was written for a horror film, is by Mario Nascimbene. 

I viewed COMMANDOS on Tubi, and it was a surprisingly nice widescreen transfer. The credits were in Italian, but the film was dubbed in English (thankfully Van Cleef and Kelly's voices are used). Considering how many cult names were involved in this movie, it's surprising that there hasn't been a official Blu-ray release of this from a company by Kino. 

Certainly Lee Van Cleef fans will want to check out COMMANDOS. It's a rough, no-nonsense war movie that doesn't glorify combat, or make it seem an adventure--the climax is quite downbeat.