Introduction

Desert Commandos (Italian: Attentato ai tre grandi) is a 1967 French/Italian/West German international co-production war film set during World War II in Morocco where it was filmed. The Italian title (Attack on the Big Three) refers to a German commando group with a mission to assassinate Churchill, Roosevelt and de Gaulle at the Casablanca Conference.

The film is a character-based drama that focuses on the German soldiers’ various drives and conflicts during encounters with Tuareg nomads, and French and American soldiers.

Outline

The grief-stricken Captain Fritz Schoeller has assisted his terminally ill wife with her wishes for euthanasia. A party of men whisk him from his wife’s funeral, not for arrest, but to be briefed on a special mission he will lead. The Captain, Lieutenant Roland Wolf, Sergeant Erich Huber, Corporal Hans Ludwig and Private Willy Mainz are all skilled in commando tactics and have excellent English language skills. They are dressed in British Commando uniforms and parachuted into Morocco where Faddja Hassen, an Arab woman will guide them to Casablanca where they will assassinate Allied leaders.

Cast

• Ken Clark: Captain Fritz Schoeller
• Horst Frank: Lieutenant Roland Wolf
• Jeanne Valérie: Faddja Hassen
• Carlo Hintermann: Sergeant Erich Huber
• Howard Ross: Willy Mainz
• Franco Fantasia: Major Dalio
• Hardy Reichelt: Corporal Hans Ludwig
• Fabienne Dali: Simone
• John Stacy: Sir Bryan
• Tom Felleghy: Colonel Ross
• Gianni Rizzo: Perrier

Release

The film was released in West Germany on 15 March 1968, as Fünf gegen Casablanca.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Umberto Lenzi
• Producer(s):
  • Alberto Grimaldi … producer
• Writer(s):
  • Umberto Lenzi … (screenplay)
  • Umberto Lenzi … (story)
• Music:
  • Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
• Cinematography:
  • Carlo Carlini
• Editor(s):
  • Eugenio Alabiso
• Production:
  • Constantin Film
  • Films EGE
  • Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA)
  • Terra-Filmkunst
• Distributor(s):
  • Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA) (Italy, 1967)(Produzioni Europee Associati (PEA), theatrical)
  • Constantin Film (West Germany, 1967)(theatrical)
  • Constantin Film (West Germany, 1968)(theatrical)
  • Film AB Corona (Sweden, 1968)(theatrical)
  • Les Films Fernand Rivers (France, 1968)(theatrical)
  • Avante-Garde Distributors (Canada, 1971)(‘Desert Commandos’, dubbed, theatrical)
  • Peppercorn-Wormser Film Enterprises (United States, 1976)(dubbed, theatrical)
  • Audio Video Magnetics (Greece, 1983)(VHS)
  • Fil à Film (France, 1990)(dubbed, VHS)
  • Reel Media International (United States, 2004)(VHS)
  • Payless Entertainment (Australia, 2005)(DVD)
  • Alpha Video Distributors (United States, 2007)(DVD)
  • Reel Media International (United States, 2007)
  • TGG Direct (United States, 2008)(on “War Movies – WWII Collection”; as ‘Desert Commandos’, DVD)
  • Mill Creek Entertainment (United States, 2009)(on ‘Combat Classics’ collection; as ‘Desert Comnmandos’, DVD)
  • YouTube (United States, 2020)(‘Desert Comandfos’, VOD, dubberd, video)
  • Cinefear (United States)(VHS)
  • Synergy Entertainment (United States)(‘Desert Commandos’, DVD)
  • Taurus Video (West Germany)(VHS)
  • Techno Film (Sweden, 1981)(video)
  • Video Rondo (Poland)(VHS)
• Release Date: 01 September 1967 (Italy).
• Running Time: 96 minutes.
• Rating: PG.
• Country: France, Italy, West Germany.
• Language: Italian.

Video Link(s)