Darby's Rangers (1958 film)
Encyclopedia
Darby's Rangers is a 1958 war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...

 starring James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...

 as William Orlando Darby
William Orlando Darby
William Orlando Darby was an officer in the United States Army during World War II. Darby led the famous Darby's Rangers which evolved into the US Army Rangers and was also made famous as a major motion picture starring the American actor James Garner in the role of Darby.-Early life:Darby was...

, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 commander of the 1st Ranger Battalion
1st Ranger Battalion
The 1st Ranger Battalion is an elite special operations unit of the US Army that is currently based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, United States....

. The movie was shot by Warner Brothers Studios in black and white to match wartime stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...

 included in the production and was directed by William Wellman.

Plot

Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 William Darby (Garner) is a staff officer who is placed in command of the volunteer US Army 1st Ranger Battalion
1st Ranger Battalion
The 1st Ranger Battalion is an elite special operations unit of the US Army that is currently based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, United States....

 based on and trained by the British Commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...

s. Darby and Master Sergeant
Master Sergeant
A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in some armed forces.-Israel Defense Forces:Rav samal rishoninsignia IDF...

 Saul Rosen (Jack Warden
Jack Warden
Jack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...

), who also narrates the film, select a variety of men for training in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Darby tells his volunteers that the British Commandos are the best soldiers in the world, but in time they will be. The Americans are quartered in Scottish homes and several of the Rangers pair off with local lassies: Rollo Burns (Peter Brown
Peter Brown (actor)
Peter Brown is an American television actor known for his role as Deputy Johnny McKay opposite John Russell in the 1958 Warner Bros. western series Lawman.-Early life:...

) with Peggy McTavish (Venetia Stevenson
Venetia Stevenson
Venetia Stevenson , born Joanna Venetia Invicta Stevenson is a retired film and television actress.-Family:Stevenson is the daughter of Oscar nominated director Robert Stevenson and actress Anna Lee. Her brother is actor Jeffrey Byron...

), the daughter of the fearsome but humorous Scottish Commando instructor, Sergeant McTavish (Torin Thatcher
Torin Thatcher
Torin Thatcher was an English actor born in Bombay, British India, India), to English parents. He was an imposing, powerfully built figure noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains....

), and vagabond Hank Bishop (Stuart Whitman
Stuart Whitman
Stuart Maxwell Whitman is an American actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967...

) with the proper Wendy Hollister (Joan Elan).

After a landing in French North Africa, two more Ranger battalions are formed, with Darby promoted to colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

. Joining the Rangers is 2nd Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 Arnold Dittmann (Edd Byrnes), a by-the-book West Pointer who is humanized by his encounter with Angelina De Lotta (Etchika Choureau). There are several action scenes in a bombed out Italian village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 where the men face a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....

, and a running firefight
Firefight
Firefight may refer to:* firefight, a large exchange of bullets between two sides * Firefighting, process of extinguishing destructive flames* A game mode in Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach video games...

 with the Germans.

Darby confides to Rosen a recurring dream
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...

 of being run over by an oncoming train, foreshadowing the climax. His 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions are ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...

ed and wiped out by the Germans at the Battle of Cisterna
Battle of Cisterna
The Battle of Cisterna took place during World War II, on 30 January-2 February 1944, near Cisterna, Italy, as part of the battle of Anzio that followed Operation Shingle. The battle was a clear German victory which also had repercussions on the employment of U.S...

 at Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...

. Darby leads his 4th Ranger Battalion in an unsuccessful rescue attempt. Of the 767 men who go in, only seven come back, the majority being captured.

Cast

  • James Garner
    James Garner
    James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...

    ... William Orlando Darby
  • Etchika Choureau ... Angelina De Lotta
  • Jack Warden
    Jack Warden
    Jack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...

    ... Saul Rosen
  • Edd Byrnes ... Arnold Dittmann (billed as Edward Byrnes)
  • Venetia Stevenson
    Venetia Stevenson
    Venetia Stevenson , born Joanna Venetia Invicta Stevenson is a retired film and television actress.-Family:Stevenson is the daughter of Oscar nominated director Robert Stevenson and actress Anna Lee. Her brother is actor Jeffrey Byron...

    ... Peggy McTavish
  • Torin Thatcher
    Torin Thatcher
    Torin Thatcher was an English actor born in Bombay, British India, India), to English parents. He was an imposing, powerfully built figure noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains....

    ... Sergeant McTavish
  • Peter Brown
    Peter Brown (actor)
    Peter Brown is an American television actor known for his role as Deputy Johnny McKay opposite John Russell in the 1958 Warner Bros. western series Lawman.-Early life:...

    ... Rollo Burns
  • Joan Elan ... Wendy Hollister
  • Corey Allen
    Corey Allen
    Corey Allen was an American film and television director, writer, producer, and actor. He began his career as an actor but eventually became a television director. He may be best known for playing the character Buzz Gunderson in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause...

    ... Pittsburgh Tony Sutherland
  • Stuart Whitman
    Stuart Whitman
    Stuart Maxwell Whitman is an American actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967...

    ... Hank Bishop
  • Murray Hamilton
    Murray Hamilton
    Murray Hamilton was an American stage, screen, and television actor who appeared in such memorable films as The Hustler, The Graduate and Jaws.-Early life:...

    ... Sims Delancey
  • William Wellman, Jr. ... Eli Clatworthy (billed as Bill Wellman, Jr.)
  • Andrea King
    Andrea King
    Andrea King was an American film and stage actress. She was sometimes billed as Georgette McKee.-Early life:Andrea King was born Georgette André Barry in Paris, France...

    ... Sheilah Andrews
  • Adam Williams ... Heavy Hall
  • Frieda Inescort
    Frieda Inescort
    Frieda Inescort was a Scottish-born actress best known for creating the role of Sorel Bliss in Noel Coward's play Hay Fever....

    ... Lady Hollister

Production

Warner Brothers had had a financial and critical hit in Battle Cry
Battle Cry (film)
Battle Cry is a 1955 CinemaScope film, starring Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, James Whitmore, Tab Hunter, Anne Francis, Dorothy Malone, Raymond Massey, and Mona Freeman...

, and wanted to repeat the success with Major James Altieri's biographical account of Darby's Rangers, The Spearheaders. Altieri was known to Warners as he had been technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...

 on Force of Arms (1951). Director William Wellman's reputation for superb war films lay in The Story of G.I. Joe
The Story of G.I. Joe
The Story of G.I. Joe, also credited in prints as Ernie Pyle's Story of G.I. Joe, is a 1945 American war film directed by William Wellman, starring Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Mitchum's only nomination for Best Supporting Actor.The...

and Battleground. He was hired on condition that Warner Brothers finance his dream project, Lafayette Escadrille
Lafayette Escadrille
The Lafayette Escadrille , was an escadrille of the French Air Service, the Aéronautique militaire, during World War I composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters.-History:Dr. Edmund L...

, about his (Wellman's) own World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...

 air squadron. Warner Brothers emphasised the romantic pairings of most of the leads, as a feature of the film, to emulate the success of Battle Cry; problems arose.

Although the U.S. Marine Corps enthusiastically lent Camp Pendleton, Marine film extras, materiel, and colour film of the Pacific Island campaigns to stimulate recruiting and its public image (see The United States Marine Corps on film), the U.S. Army was not keen on the Rangers, because they had suffered excessively high casualty rates of excellent soldiers that the Army thought would be better employed leading regular infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 units. The U.S. Army of the 1950s preferred training individual officers and NCOs at the Ranger School
Ranger School
The United States Army Ranger School is an intense 61-day combat leadership course oriented towards small-unit tactics. It has been called the "toughest combat course in the world" and "is the most physically and mentally demanding leadership school the Army has to offer". The course is conducted...

 who then returned to their parent units and trained them in Ranger tactics and military values, and not have separate Ranger companies and battalions, thus, the U.S. Army's co-operation was limited to training the actors and providing black and white stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...

.

Originally, Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...

 was cast as William O. Darby. He was enthusiastic about portraying a recent historical figure; he could interview people who knew Darby in creating his characterisation. However, he asked for five percent of the profits. Jack Warner
Jack Warner
Jack Leonard "J. L." Warner , born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, was a Canadian American film executive who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California...

 thought he was joking, until just before filming. Producer Warner looked to his contracted stock company
Stock company
Stock company can refer to:*Joint stock company *Stock company - referring to a group of actors...

, and, fortuitously, choose thirty-year-old James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...

 who had the proper appearance and age to play William O. Darby, who died at age thirty-four. Garner, a Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...

, had just broken through as a leading man with the Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...

television series and replaced Heston. Garner's first leading role demonstrated the thespian range that made him believable as a Ranger infantry officer. Garner's original role in the film was taken by Stuart Whitman
Stuart Whitman
Stuart Maxwell Whitman is an American actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967...

.

Originally, Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter is an American actor, singer, former teen idol and author who has starred in over forty major films.-Background:...

 was to play the Lieutenant, but quit before filming; Edd Byrnes replaced him. Garner's interpretation of Ranger commander Darby is earnest and sensitive; Byrnes' character is a heartless, over-serious, young lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

, the ultimate "square", the opposite of the two stars portrayals of their character of the easy going cyncial Bret Maverick
Bret Maverick
Bret Maverick is an American Western series starring James Garner in the role that made him famous in the 1957 series Maverick: a professional poker player traveling alone year after year through the Old West from riverboat to saloon...

 and the hip "Kookie" of 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....

.

Darby's Rangers was filmed, economically, on the studio backlot
Backlot
A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio, containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction....

. The supporting cast includes: Murray Hamilton
Murray Hamilton
Murray Hamilton was an American stage, screen, and television actor who appeared in such memorable films as The Hustler, The Graduate and Jaws.-Early life:...

, Adam Williams, Corey Allen
Corey Allen
Corey Allen was an American film and television director, writer, producer, and actor. He began his career as an actor but eventually became a television director. He may be best known for playing the character Buzz Gunderson in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause...

, and William Wellman Jr. French actress Etchika Choureau (née Françoise Choureau) made her Hollywood début in this film, and acted in Lafeyette Escradille, then returned to Europe. Francis De Sales
Francis De Sales (actor)
Francis A. De Sales was an American actor. He was known for his roles on two early television series: as police Lieutenant Bill Weigand on the CBS and then NBC drama Mr. and Mrs. North and as Sheriff Maddox in the syndicated western Two Faces West...

 had an uncredited role as a captain. The film emphasizes romantic subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...

s, as Darby counsels his soldiers about their personal problems. William H. Clothier
William H. Clothier
William H. Clothier, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer.Born in Decatur, Illinois, Clothier entered the film industry painting sets at Warner Bros., and at the end of the silent era began photographing such films as Wings and Ernst Lubitsch's The Patriot...

's black and white cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...

 blends with the stock footage, and renders the sets believable.

Promotion

The premiere showing in several major US cities was proceeded by a banquet where James Garner and the highest-ranking Darby Ranger in that city still in the service sat side by side at the head table. In Philadelphia, that Darby Ranger was Captain Edward Haywood, US Army retired, 1941 to 1961, deceased 1990.

External links

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