SUICIDE COMMANDO (1968)
DIRECTOR:
Camillo Bazzoni
CAST:
Aldo Ray, Tano Cimarosa, Luis Davila, Ugo Fangereggi, Manuel Zarzo, Vira Silenti and Pamela Tudor.
Here we have yet another Italian/Spanish World War II film, concerning an "impossible mission" taken on by misfit soldiers. How many times did the Italians make this type of WW2 movie in the 1960s and 1970s? There's The Dirty Heroes, Battle of the Commandos and Five for Hell to name a few ... this one isn't too bad, but it's in no way a classic.
The Germans have built a secret airfield which threatens the D-Day invasion. Flak in the area is so heavy that Allied planes can't get through the bomb the airfield. So High Command calls in French commando Sgt. Cloadec (Aldo Ray of all people!!!, in the same type of role he had in The Green Berets) to take on the impossible task of leading 4 misfit commandos behind enemy lines to destroy the airfield. The mission takes on various twists and turns until the climax.
The movie is quite low budget, and that shows in a lot of places. Unfortunately, we never get to see too many enemy soldiers pursuing the good guys. The lack of extras is only one piece of evidence which suggests the low budget. Besides Aldo Ray, the producers couldn't hire any other easily recognizable actors for the movie. There's Luis Davila from Eagles over London as a commando who's become depressed and suicidal, but the other actors haven't appeared in too many notable films. Even big man Ray obviously doesn't like the material he's working with; he's stiff, wooden and tense throughout. He's uncomfortable with the role and makes no effort to cover it up. The special effects aren't too great, either. They usually involve burning model plastic aircraft. And I am not kidding; the close-ups are just as bad as the awful effects in Battle of the Eagles. (Luckily, there aren't too many of the them). The heroic take on Ride of the Valkyries for a musical score is rousing at first but soon goes into sheer monotony. But we do finally get to see some action and a little bit (a very little bit) of originality and some good acting. On a really high note, the cinematography is really good; the movie was filmed out in the woods some place, for the most part, but resembles France pretty accurately for once. Most Italian war movies are set in France or Germany, but look like they were filmed in -- well -- Italy or Spain.
Overall, the movie is entertaining but really lacks originality and is also undeniably cheap. But, it's well paced, solidly directed and contains some good characters.
SGT. SLAUGHTER'S RATING:
3 Bullets
