What becomes of the Dirty Dozen? (From Borehamwood Times)

What becomes of the Dirty Dozen?

9:34am Friday 22nd January 2010

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PAUL WELSH comes across an MGM classic and remembers when Studio Way resembled a battleground.

While channel hopping on my television the other day I came across an old movie made at the old MGM Studios in Elstree Way.

The film was The Dirty Dozen, shot in 1967 and one of the most successful box office films of that year. It was a war film with an all-star cast and I still remember the noisy night shooting on the backlot when they blew up a set representing a French chateau.

The movie was originally intended to star John Wayne, but he disliked aspects of the script and declined, so his role was taken by hard-drinking real-life war veteran Lee Marvin. He had enjoyed a successful career playing hard men and even managed to score a hit record, Wandering Star, from the film Paint Your Wagon. Sadly, he died relatively young in 1987, from a heart attack.

Another role was to have been played by Jack Palance who also disliked the part, so it went to veteran Telly Savalas, who later enjoyed TV fame as Kojak. The TV detective became world famous and also had a hit record as the bald-headed lollipop-loving crimebuster. In fact, he decided on the character being a lollipop licker as in real life he was trying to give up cigarettes. Sadly, he died of cancer in 1994.

The cast also included Charles Bronson who was first noticed playing Vincent Price’s assistant in the Fifties horror movie House of Wax and in the seventies enjoyed huge fame in the Death Wish movies. Sadly, Charles suffered from Alzheimer’s disease in his later years and died in 2003.

Cast members still alive include 82-year-old Clint Walker, who shot to fame in the Fifties TV series Cheyenne and still attends movie conventions to sign autographs, and Jim Brown, now aged 73, who was a very successful NFL player until turning to acting.

Screen hardman Ernest Borgnine celebrates his 93rd birthday this Sunday and is still acting, as is 74-year-old Donald Sutherland, who also enjoyed success in movies such as Klute and MASH.

The Dirty Dozen was certainly a lad’s film with plenty of explosions, shootings and tough-guy action. For many of the stars, who had actually served in war, it was very unrealistic but the director emphasised it was not a documentary.

The residents living in the streets now occupying the old MGM backlot, off Studio Way, probably have little knowledge that all these famous faces once recreated a war adventure on their doorsteps.

Finally, I must take this opportunity to congratulate veteran actress Luise Rainer on celebrating her 100th birthday. Luise very kindly graced two of the Elstree film evenings I organised a few years ago and charmed everyone.

She won back-to-back Oscars for Best Actress in the mid-Thirties and she modestly told me: “In those days I was under contract to MGM, which had a great deal of influence over the voting for such awards.” But she remains the oldest surviving Academy Award winner.

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