The Red Beret
| The Red Beret | |
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| Directed by | Terence Young |
| Produced by | |
| Written by | |
| Based on |
The Red Beret 1950 novel by Hilary Saint George Saunders |
| Starring | |
| Music by | John Addison |
| Cinematography | John Wilcox |
| Edited by | Gordon Pilkington |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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88 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$700,000 |
| Box office | US$8 million (world wide) |
The Red Beret (aka The Red Devils, The Big Jump and retitled Paratrooper for the US release) is a 1953 Technicolor British war film directed by Terence Young and starring Alan Ladd, Leo Genn and Susan Stephen.
The Red Beret is the fictional story about an American who enlists in the British Parachute Regiment in 1940, claiming to be a Canadian. It is notable as the first film made by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli's Warwick Films, with many of the crew later working on various films for Warwick Films and Broccoli's Eon Productions. It is partly based on the 1950 non-fiction book with the same title written by Hilary Saint George Saunders, about the Parachute Regiment and its first operation, Operation Biting, in February 1942.
Steve MacKendrick (Alan Ladd), nicknamed "Canada" because he claims he is from there, volunteers in 1940 for the British Army's paratroop school. He obviously has a good deal more experience and leadership skills than he lets on. Canada tries to become better acquainted with a pretty parachute rigger named Penny Gardner (Susan Stephen). She is initially put off by his attitude, but they eventually start dating. Both Penny and his new commander, Major Snow (Leo Genn), see potential (and a mystery that does not add up) in him, despite his strong efforts to avoid assuming any responsibility. Canada turns down Snow's offer to send him to officer school.
After completing parachute school, Canada's unit goes on a raid on the German radar station at Bruneval. An RAF radar expert, Flight Sergeant Box (John Boxer), accompanies the raiders to retrieve a key component to take back to Britain. The mission is a success, but Corporal Dawes (Michael Kelly), one of the men in Canada's outfit, hurts both his legs in the drop.
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Wikipedia