June 15, 1967: "The Dirty Dozen" Premieres

June 15, 1967: The Dirty Dozen premieres, based on the 1965 novel of the same title by E.M. Nathanson. It becomes one of the most popular films set in World War II, striking a chord with people tired of seeing news about the Vietnam War on television every night, and wanting to see American troops win.

The action begins in March 1944. The U.S. Army, in the person of Major General Sam Worden (played by Ernest Borgnine), wants to train some of its worst convicts, all serving life sentences in military prisons, into highly-skilled commandos to eliminate Wehrmacht officers near Rennes, France, disrupting the Nazi chain of command in northern France, thus making the planned D-Day invasion and the subsequent attempt to liberate France easier. If any of the convicts survive, they will be pardoned.

As the title suggests, there are 12 of them, under the command of Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin): Robert T. Jefferson (football star Jim Brown), Joseph Wladislaw (Charles Bronson), Archer J. Maggot (Telly Savalas), Vernon L. Pinkley (Donald Sutherland), Victor Franko (John Cassavetes), Pedro Jiminez (folksinger Trinidad "Trini" López), Samson Posey (Clint Walker), Glenn Gilpin (Ben Caruthers), Roscoe Lever (Stuart Cooper), Milo Vladek (Tom Busby), Seth K. Sawyer (Colin Maitland) and Tassos Bravos (Al Mancini). Their crimes ranged from murder (Jefferson and Wladislaw) to rape (Maggot) to Mob-related activities (Franko).

Brown was filming his scenes in London in June 1966 when Art Modell, owner of the Cleveland Browns, called and told him to leave the set and report to training camp. Brown refused. Modell told Brown he would be fined every day he didn't show up. Brown, just 29 years old and the best running back in the game, retired. He was making more money, having more fun, and getting hit less, while making movies than he had been playing football.

Bronson was the only actor to have been one of The Magnificent Seven and one of The Dirty Dozen. Among the other well-known actors in the film: George Kennedy (as Major Max Armbruster), Robert Ryan and Richard Jaeckel.

Upon parachuting into northern France, Jiminez breaks his neck during the jump. With a man down, the mission proceeds with Reisman and Wladislaw, a Polish-American, both of them able to fluently speak German, infiltrating the chateau disguised as German officers.

The element of surprise is lost when Maggott breaks cover, and is subsequently killed. The sound of gunfire makes the Wehrmacht officers and their companions retreat to a locked underground bomb shelter, but the unit pours gasoline and throws grenades into the shelter through ventilation shafts, killing the officers.

Only Reisman and Wladislaw make it back alive. Back in England, a voiceover from Armbruster confirms that General Worden exonerated the sole surviving member of the Dirty Dozen, and communicated to the next of kin of the rest that "they lost their lives in the line of duty."

Many reviewers criticized the film's violence, especially the finale, in which not just the Germans, but their presumably innocent wives and girlfriends, are burned to death. But the depiction of atrocities mirrors the reality of war. The 1960s had already had an effect on film, and, while the Americans do "win," the film does show them to have a darker side.

The film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including Cassavetes, for Best Supporting Actor, but no wins.

Ben Carruthers died in 1983, Lee Marvin in 1987, John Cassavetes in 1989, Telly Savalas in 1995, Charles Bronson and Tom Busby in 2003, Al Mancini in 2007, Ernest Borgnine in 2012, Clint Walker in 2018, Trini López in 2020. As of June 15, 2022, four of the Dozen are still alive: Jim Brown, Donald Sutherland, Colin Maitland and Stuart Cooper. (UPDATE: Jim Brown died on May 18, 2023, and Donald Sutherland died on June 20, 2024 reducing the number to 2: Colin Maitland and Stuart Cooper.)

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June 15, 1967 was a Thursday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 2-0 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.) Mel Stottlemyre pitched a 5-hit shutout. Mickey Mantle hit his 509th career home run.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. The ChiSox took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 11th inning, but in the bottom of the 11th, Tony Conigliaro hit a 2-run home run to win it. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5.

* A doubleheader was split at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Phillies won the opener, 4-1. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the nightcap, 5-2. Roberto Clemente only played in the 2nd game, going 1-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Jim Brewer pitched 5 innings, Don Sutton pitched 4, and, between them, they pitched a 4-hit shutout. Ernie Banks went 0-for-3.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-4 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run. Al Kaline went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Reggie Jackson, who made his major league debut only 6 days earlier, singled home Josh Donaldson with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Frank Robinson went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Willie Mays went 1-for-4.

* And the New York Mets, the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, the St. Louis Cardinals, the California Angels and the Cleveland Indians were not scheduled.