QA Note Regarding Spoilers
AThe following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.
QWhy did Breed and Reisman dislike each other so much?
AIt's evident in the movie that Colonel Breed (Robert Ryan) and Major Reisman greatly dislike each other, but no details about their backstory is provided. It's explained in the book that the mutual contempt between them began in Italy. Reisman, an OSS officer, was working undercover with local partisans in Italy and had observed Breed's arrogant and dismissive treatment of the paratroopers under his command. Reisman, dressed as an Italian peasant, had seen Breed order his men out of a small cafe in which some of the troopers had stopped to have a drink. Reisman broke character and called Breed out for the jerk he was in English, telling him that he ought to give his guys a break and let them drink because tomorrow some of them might be dead. The pompous Breed, embarrassed in front of his men, was furious and had Reisman arrested and held until his identity was confirmed.
QIs 'The Dirty Dozen' based on a book?
AYes. The Dirty Dozen is also a 1965 novel by E.M. 'Mick' Nathanson, said to be inspired by the Filthy Thirteen, a real life Demolition Section of the U.S. Army whose job it was to demolish enemy targets behind the lines. The book was adapted for the movie by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller. A sequel, The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission, followed in 1985.
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