Sgt. Sullivan puts together a group of Italian-Americans into disguise as Italian soldiers in order to infiltrate a North African camp held by the Italians. After the soldiers have knifed the Italians in their beds, they find a hooker living at the camp. Sullivan's commandos are to hold this camp and its weaponry until an American battalion arrives, all the while these Italian-Americans pretend to be Italian soldiers, often hosting the enemy. Lt. Valli is a young, "green," by-the-book officer who constantly argues with Sgt. Sullivan, who tells his superior that he has no idea what he is doing. One man on the base, probably a touch from Argento, is an entomologist who is needlessly killed. Things go terribly wrong after that. During WW2, an Italian-American commando outfit, disguised as an Italian Army unit, is parachuted behind Axis lines in North Africa. It is October 1942 and the Germans are nearly at the height of their World War II successes. In North Africa the German-Italian Axis forces under Field Marshal Rommel are at El-Alamein. This situation is the setting for the movie. Italian-American commandos, led by a humane Captain Valli and a tense Sergeant Sullivan, have the mission of taking an oasis held by Italians in preparation for Operation Torch, the planned American invasion of Africa in November 1942. Without going into details, the movie focuses on the escapades of the commando unit as they first take on the Italians, then pose as the "regular" Italians in deceiving the Germans, and then battle the Germans in a lengthy and exciting action sequence (only to face a bitter irony revealed during the denouement).<br/><br/>The movie was not cliché-filled as Leonard Maltin has written in his Movie Guide. Instead the ending is a complete surprise BIG TIME SPOILER ALERT as only one Italian-American (not a lead character) and a German (a jovial sort of fellow) are left. They make a truce and gather the dead. It is pleasing that the Germans are not pictured as nasty Nazis, but as regular soldiers fighting for their country (not a cliché, Mr. Maltin). The Italians too are portrayed as doing their jobs and having contributed to the Axis victories (not a cliché). The movie does indicate that the Italians were hampered by inferior weaponry during World War II, like the Mannlicher-Carcano semi-automatic rifle (not a cliché).<br/><br/>The movie is not perfect, as there are errors, like Valli's improperly worn captain's insignia on his uniform and the 1968-style bikini underwear worn by the Italian woman. Despite some shortcomings, the movie passes inspection and is enjoyable. Another fantastic slice of war drama from the Italians, who were at their best filming on a tight budget in the middle of the African desert and blowing up shedloads of jeeps and tanks along the way. Following in the footsteps of dozens of similar offerings post-DIRTY DOZEN, the simplistic plot line tells of a small group of American soldiers who capture an Italian base in the middle of the desert (what for is never quite explained) and then who have to pretend to be Italians when the Germans show up looking for a good time. An excellent script with full-on characterisation, a few moral messages about the nature of war and comradeship, and heapings of suspense (realised through a monotonous but effective chordal note on the soundtrack) make for one heck of a film.<br/><br/>The film is based on a short story by notorious exploitation producer Menahem Golan, with the script co-written (with three others) by none other than Dario Argento, who later found fame as the "Italian Hitchcock". Argento brings his trademark touch of strong characters and violent situations into the story with the direction left in the more than capable hands of genre director Armando Crispino.<br/><br/>The cast is outstanding, with notable performances from all the major players. Lee Van Cleef handles the part of his tough sergeant as well as you would expect, and as a bonus gets extra psychological torment via some Filipino flashbacks. Jack Kelly is equally good as the determined captain who leads the group into disaster. Everyone else is perfect, especially the German actors, and there's a good turn from Giampiero Albertini (ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON) as a loyal fighter. The action sequences are mostly saved for the finale, but what a finale it is: packed with gunfire, explosions, destruction, mayhem and death, this easily rivals much more lavish productions and is the best battle I've seen in a long time. COMMANDOS is a hard film to fault which is why I award it full marks for effort and execution.
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