Directed by William A. Wellman Written by Guy Trosper "Suggested by" a book by Major James Altieri Cast James Garner as Colonel William Darby Etchika Coureau as Angelina De Lotta Jack Warden as Master Sgt. Saul Rosen Edward Byrnes as Lt. Arnold Dittman Venetia Stevenson as Peggy McTavish Torin Thatcher as Sgt McTavish Peter Brown as Pvt. Rollo Burns Joan Elan as Wendy Hollister Corey Allen as Tony Sutherland Stuart Whitman as Sgt. Hank Bishop Murray Hamilton as Sims Delancey Bill Wellman Jr. as Eli Clatworthy Andrea King as Mrs. Sheilah Andrews Adam Williams as Heavy Hall Frieda Inescort as Lady Hollister Reginald Owen as Sir Arthur Hollister Philip Tonge as Prof. John Andrews Edward Ashley as Lt. Dave Manson Raymond Bailey as Brig. Gen. W.A. Wise Willis Bouchey as Brig. Gen. Turscott Uncredits bits Thomas Browne Henry  David Janssen H.B. Warner

This preLawman Warner Bros. WWII drama tells the more or less true story of Major William Darby who came up with the plan to create an American version of the elite British Commandos -- the American Rangers.  He also managed to convince the Brigadier General that he should leave the frustration of desk duty to command the Rangers.

The story follows a group of "representative" soldiers through both love and war.  Young Peter Brown plays  brave young soldier Rollo Burns, a character somewhat similar to the young deputy he would later play in Lawman  -- eager, inexperienced and courageous, as well as sweet and relatively innocent with girls.  [We wonder if Peter, who himself was anything but innocent and inexperienced, especially when it came to women, got a kick out of playing so many naive young men.]

Peter's first appearance with the Rangers is less than auspicious as he got lost somewhere around Victoria station and is 13 hours late in reporting.  Garner tests Rollo's instincts by pulling the pin on a grenade and tossing it to him.  Peter reacts by throwing it out the window and throwing himself on top of Darby, putting him out of harms way.  Of course the grenade wasn't actually live but the action convinced Darby that Rollo has the right stuff.

The American soldiers are billeted with local families.  Rollo asks directions from the formidable Sgt. McTavish to the place he has been assigned.  The Sgt. seems to know the place well, including the fact that a 19-year-old girl will answer the door.  When she does answer,  the flirtation begins.

Rollo seems little rattled when she offers to show him his room and lets him know no one else is home.  He trips on the stairs twice, but this being 1958, all is innocent.  She makes the kind of teasing comment no nineteen year old boy can tolerate -- he's probably never been alone in a bedroom with a girl before.  And that it's cute to see a man so inexperienced.  He lets on he's had "some" experience.  They trade a few lines and end up bouncing childishly on the bed as she shows him how soft the down quilt is.  Of course, daddy, who turns out to be the sergeant, comes up the stairs to the sound of the bouncing bed.  When he comes in, Rollo hastily tells him that he found the house all right.

Although for reasons of time the details of courtship are not included in the film, our next scene with Rollo and Peggy has them telling the sergeant that they want to get married.  Daddy pours a toast which Rollo chokes on, whether from the unaccustomed strength of the liquor or the toast itself which includes a wish for lots of children, is not clear.

But marriage is delayed to see if Rollo "makes it through the war" so he bids Peggy good-by, leaving no future child behind.

Peter's best scenes in the movie occur when he kills his first enemy soldier, an Italian sniper who has taken a position on a bell tower.  The man falls into a pile of debris below.  Rollo looks on stricken at the man's dying words.

When Rollo falls into a depression, a smart-ass new West Point graduate, Lt. Dittman [Edd Byrnes], gives Rollo a haughty "you should be proud to kill an enemy" and "get back to work" speech.

However, the compassionate Darby comes by and, in one of the best moments in this movie, gives Rollo a much more intelligent talk about his duty and the harshness of war.

When Rollo thanks Darby for taking the time to talk to him, Darby says he was talking to himself as well.

When the Rangers get to Anzio, where a large percentage of them were killed, Rollo is shot, tumbles down a drop to a road and is carried to the medics by a buddy.

Rollo bravely tells Darby how proud Sgt McTavish will be of how many Germans he killed.

Then in the scene which ruined this movie for a group of ten-year- old girls watching it after they had already been watching Peter as Johnny McKay on Lawman for half a season, Rollo dies.

NiteOwl Review:  Of course, we've only noted Peter's part here.  Overall the movie spent about half its time on the various adventures with women embarked on by all the characters.  This distracted from the tone of the movie and wasn't well enough done to be a welcome distraction.  We liked James Garner, of course, and enjoyed Peter's scenes, especially those with Garner.  Peter was in a better Warners WWII movie, Merrill's Marauders, after his stint on Lawman.  When our video group took a survey of the members as to what was the first movie that made them cry, Darby's Rangers came in second after Gone With the Wind (and just ahead of Old Yeller).  [Of course, most of the men wouldn't admit they had ever cried in movies so this was mostly a female survey.]  Some of us didn't go to another war movie until someone's big brother told us that Peter's character didn't get killed in Merrill's Marauders.