History Film / TheDevilsBrigade

* SuspiciouslySmallArmy: during the Force's graduation parade scene, it is obvious there are only a couple of companies of extras. The real life Force commander had chosen the title "Brigade" to mask its true size from the enemy. In actual fact the First Special Service Force was made up of three regiments of about 600 men in each, or about 1800 men in total.

* SergeantRock: Canadian Sgt. O'Neill subverts this. His first appearance is as a bespectacled, trash-talking wimp. He quickly hands Pvt. Rockman his own rear, commenting on the human body's weaknesses with every blow and deflection.

** The use of English, Scottish, Irish accents among Canadians qualifies as a trope. This liberal mixing of accents is probably more indicative of the view Americans had of their cousins to the north, than of the actual proportion of soldiers raised in the UK serving in the Canadian Army in 1943. While in 1914, the proportion of UK-born soldiers in Canadian combat units was about 50%, that number declined during the First World War in favour of Canadian-born soldiers, and by 1939 the majority of soldiers in the Canadian Army would have used a flatter "Canadian" or possibly mid-Atlantic accent. Historical accuracy would have involved the actors portraying Canadians to sound no different than someone from Michigan or Montana, and there would have been little to distinguish them from the American characters.

* FakeNationality: Cliff Robertson (a Californian) plays the senior Canadian as an Irishman (in actuality, the senior Canadian was Major John [=McQueen=] of the Calgary Highlanders). Richard Dawson (an Englishman who emigrated to the United States) plays Canadian Corporal [=MacDonald=] with a Scottish accent. Corporal Peacock is played by an actual Englishman, Jack Watson, and though audiences might be confused by his kilt, that is a reflection of his unit (the Calgary Highlanders) and not his nationality. The other Canadians (Jeremy Slate, Harry Carey) are played by Americans and speak with a neutral English accent. Jean-Paul Vignon, who plays the only Francophone Canadian, was actually born in Ethiopia to a French father and Italian mother.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Downplayed but present. During the initial action in Italy Sgt. O'Neill dresses as a German soldier, which under the rules of war would have gotten him shot by the enemy and court martialed by his country.

** The use of English, Scottish, Irish accents among Canadians qualifies as a trope. This liberal mixing of accents is probably more indicative of the view Americans had of their cousins to the north, than of the actual proportion of soldiers raised in the UK serving in the Canadian Army in 1943. While in 1914, the proportion of UK-born soldiers in Canadian combat units was about 50%, that number declined during the First World War in favour of Canadian-born soldiers, and by 1939 the majority of soldiers in the Canadian Army would have used a flatter "Canadian" or possibly mid-Atlantic accent.

* FakeNationality: Cliff Robertson (a Californian) plays the senior Canadian as an Irishman (in actuality, the senior Canadian was Major John McQueen of the Calgary Highlanders). Richard Dawson (an Englishman who emigrated to the United States) plays Canadian Corporal [=MacDonald=] with a Scottish accent. Corporal Peacock is played by an actual Englishman, Jack Watson, and though audiences might be confused by his kilt, that is a reflection of his unit (the Calgary Highlanders) and not his nationality. The other Canadians (Jeremy Slate, Harry Carey) are played by Americans and speak with a neutral English accent. Jean-Paul Vignon, who plays the only Francophone Canadian, was actually born in Ethiopia to a French father and Italian mother. The liberal mixing of accents among the senior Canadians is probably more indicative of the view Americans had of their cousins to the north, than of the actual proportion of soldiers raised in the UK serving in the Canadian Army in 1943. While in 1914, the proportion of UK-born soldiers in Canadian combat units was about 50%, that number declined during the war in favour of Canadian-born soldiers, and by 1939 the majority of soldiers in the Canadian Army would have used a flatter "Canadian" or possibly mid-Atlantic accent.

* FakeNationality: Cliff Robertson (a Californian) plays the senior Canadian as an Irishman (in actuality, the senior Canadian was Major John McQueen of the Calgary Highlanders). Richard Dawson (an Englishman who emigrated to the United States) plays Canadian Corporal MacDonald with a Scottish accent. Corporal Peacock is played by an actual Englishman, Jack Watson, and though audiences might be confused by his kilt, that is a reflection of his unit (the Calgary Highlanders) and not his nationality. The other Canadians (Jeremy Slate, Harry Carey) are played by Americans and speak with a neutral English accent. Jean-Paul Vignon, who plays the only Francophone Canadian, was actually born in Ethiopia to a French father and Italian mother. The liberal mixing of accents among the senior Canadians is probably more indicative of the view Americans had of their cousins to the north, than of the actual proportion of soldiers raised in the UK serving in the Canadian Army in 1943. While in 1914, the proportion of UK-born soldiers in Canadian combat units was about 50%, that number declined during the war in favour of Canadian-born soldiers, and by 1939 the majority of soldiers in the Canadian Army would have used a flatter "Canadian" or possibly mid-Atlantic accent.

* UsefulNotes/CanucksWithChinooks: The professional half of the 1st SSF.

--> {{MacDonald}}: Haven't you ever seen a man say goodbye?

--> MacDonald: Haven't you ever seen a man say goodbye?

* CanucksWithChinooks

* ChekhovsSkill: One of the Americans is a former circus acrobat, which comes in handy for getting through to places that the Nazis wouldn't expect their enemies to come from.

* JerkassHasAPoint: The general in Italy makes several solid points regarding the 1st: They're a green unit that is half made up of derelict soldiers on the American side, and led by a commander who hasn't yet seen any combat.

* RuleOfCool: Surviving members of the unit note that while the film was just barely based on real life, they did admit it was an entertaining movie to watch.

Released a year after the more-well-known film Film/TheDirtyDozen, The Devil's Brigade is loosely based on the real exploits of the 1st Special Service Force.

Released a year after the more-well-known film TheDirtyDozen, the Devil's Brigade is loosely based on the real exploits of the 1st Special Service Force.