Twelve condemned soldiers are recruited for the mission in The Dirty Dozen.
The 1967 film follows Major John Reisman, who is ordered to train a group of military prisoners for a dangerous attack on a French château occupied by German officers. The title refers to the twelve men selected from a larger group of condemned or imprisoned soldiers.
Lee Marvin plays Reisman. The ensemble includes Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, and Clint Walker. The film blends prison-camp drama, military training, and an audacious wartime raid.
The number twelve is part of the title and the unit’s identity, but the film also includes guards, officers, and other personnel who are not members of the Dirty Dozen. It is therefore the recruited condemned soldiers—not every person involved in the operation—who total twelve.