If you're counting, "The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission" is the second made-for-television sequel to the 1967 theatrical original about twelve convicted U.S. Army soldiers who volunteer for a suicidal mission behind enemy lines during World War II. In this sequel, Telly Savalas takes over as the leader, Major Wright, from Lee Marvin who had died,and Ernst Borgnine reprises his original role as General Sam Worden.
This time out the dozen have to blow up stashes of Hitler's secret nerve gas that they Huns have hidden in a monastery in France. "Le Mans" director Lee H. Katzin keeps the action moving ahead at a fast pace in the contrived, occasionally exciting script by "Let's Kill Uncle" scenarist Mark Rodgers. Katzin and Rodges maintain the formulaof Major Wright touring an English prison that the Army has established and selecting suitable prisoners scheduled for execution to take with him. They don't pick anybody like Jim Brown, and they shun people of color. Anyway, Vince Edwards plays the sergeant that ramrods the dozen, and Wright puts them through the rigors of training before he lets them enjoy themselves with prostitutes before the mission begins. There is the inevitable scene during training when the men must negotiate a course while live ammo is fired over their heads. Predictably,one of the men cannot take this and catches a bullet when he stands up. Meanwhile, the Germans kill their contact and General Worden warns Wright that things are going to be a little different. The dozen this time is no great shakes, though "Walking Tall, Part 2" actor Bo Svenson makes a particularly nasty rapist. World War II fans of the series will enjoy the firefights, especially when the dozen attack a German patrol boat and shoot it to ribbons. Again, only a handful of the dozen survive as they destroy the nerve gas and rescue the scientists that the Nazis had working for them. Altogether, despite its obviously hokey title, this "Dirty Dozen" mission is pretty tame. They link up with the French Resistance and Wright masquerades as a monk to survey the monastery. Naturally, this sequel lacks the bite of the original. Rather surprisingly, the theme of killing enemy generals and the general mistrust of officers is not played up in this installment.
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