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Commandos (1968)

Name: Commandos
Genre: Action, War
Released: 1968-11-19
Duration: 112 min
Rating: 5.7
Cast: Lee Van Cleef, Jack Kelly, Giampiero Albertini, Marino Masé, Götz George

Commandos (1968), directed by Armando Crispino, starring Lee Van Cleef and Jack Kelly.

11/19/1968 BR Action and War 1h 52m

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Seven men who stood between Rommel's Afrika Korps and ultimate victory

Synopsis

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.

Benito FrattariCinematography
Armando CrispinoDirector, Screenplay
Daniele AlabisoEditing
Alfonso SansoneProducer

About the film

Commandos a.k.a. Sullivan's Marauders is a 1968 Italian-produced war film starring Lee Van Cleef and Jack Kelly and directed by Armando Crispino. The film is set in North Africa but was shot in Sardinia.

Dario Argento is credited as co-screenwriter.

Read the full article (2k characters)

Dario Argento is credited as co-screenwriter.

Plot

The film is set in the middle of World War II, and in the deserts of Africa, 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. Sullivan, along with Dino, was one of three that survived from the Pacific War against the Japanese, although Lieutenant Freeman was killed in his last mission. Their Captain in charge of the mission, Captain Valli, has several soldiers with special training.

Sullivan thinks Valli is too green and doubts his leadership, while Valli worries that Sullivan is too blood thirsty and stubborn. Valli refuses to kill all the enemy Italians and they have to be kept hidden as various supply convoys pass through.

Later, Germans arrive and spend time talking, asking questions, and drinking.

Eventually the Italians try to escape.

Cast

Lee Van Cleef as Sgt. Sullivan

Jack Kelly as Captain Valli

Giampiero Albertini as Aldo

Marino Masé as Italian Lt. Tomassini

Götz George as Oberleutnant Rudi

Pier Paolo Capponi as Corbi

Romano Puppo as Dino

Ivano Staccioli as Rodolfo, Radio Man

Marilù Tolo as Adriana

Joachim Fuchsberger as Oberleutnant Heitzel Agen (called "Professor")

Heinz Reincke as Unteroffizier Hans

Helmut Schmid as Sergeant Miller

Otto Stern as Sergeant Braumann

Pier Luigi Anchisi as Riccio

Gianni Brezza as Marco

Duilio Del Prete as Bruno

Release

Commandos was released in Italy on 19 November 1968. It was released in West Germany as Himmelfahrtskommando El Alamein in several cities on 8 August 1969.

Reception

In a contemporary review in the Monthly Film Bulletin, Richard Comb commented that the conclusion of the film was "the kind of meaningless apocalyptic moment much favoured when international producers get together to meditate over mutual insanity in war", and that Commandos was "rife with such rhetoric, interspersed with all the action cliches of the war movie and fitfully jerking its line with type"

References

External links

Commandos at IMDb

Commandos at Rotten Tomatoes

Text from Commandos (film) on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandos_(film)

Trivia

It premiered on November 19, 1968, a Tuesday.
It runs 1h52 — a typical feature length.
As of September 20, 2026, it is available in Brazil by subscription on Artiflix.
This film's quiz has 12 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosProduzione Intercontinentale Cinematografica (PIC), G.G.I. SpA Rome, CCC Filmkunst
CountriesGermany, Italy
LanguagesItalian
StatusReleased

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Set in

Africa

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Crew

Benito Frattari Cinematography
Armando Crispino Director
Daniele Alabiso Editing
Alfonso Sansone Producer
Artur Brauner Producer
Henryk Chroscicki Producer
Mario Nascimbene Original music
Armando Crispino Screenplay
Artur Brauner Story
Dario Argento Screenplay
Don Martin Story
Lucio Battistrada Screenplay
Stefano Strucchi Screenplay

Questions about this film

What is Commandos about?

Commandos: 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 unti…

Who directed Commandos?

Commandos was directed by Armando Crispino in 1968.

Who stars in Commandos?

The cast of Commandos includes Lee Van Cleef, Jack Kelly, Giampiero Albertini, Marino Masé and Götz George.

How long is Commandos?

Commandos runs for 112 minutes, or 1h52.

Where can I watch Commandos?

Commandos is available on Artiflix. Availability changes often: the list on this page is the most recent we received.