# The Dirty Dozen: Fatal Mission
**The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission** is a 1988 American made-for-television war film, the third and final television sequel to [Robert Aldrich](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-aldrich)'s 1967 theatrical film *The Dirty Dozen*. It was broadcast on NBC on February 14, 1988, directed by Lee H. Katzin, and stars [Telly Savalas](https://www.edgepedia.org/telly-savalas) as Major Wright, rather than his original-film character Maggot, and [Ernest Borgnine](https://www.edgepedia.org/ernest-borgnine) reprising his role as General Worden, joined by Heather Thomas, Jeff Conaway, Erik Estrada, and Ernie Hudson.[1](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1994/International-Television-%26-Video-Almanac-1994.pdf) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/ie/movie/dirty-dozen-fatal-mission/umc.cmc.7i6idzg9otuv389133tyx6pna) • [8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/961639/pop-culture-101-the-dirty-dozen)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First broadcast | NBC, February 14, 1988, two-hour slot[1](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1994/International-Television-%26-Video-Almanac-1994.pdf) |
| Director / writer | Lee H. Katzin; screenplay by Mark Rodgers; produced by Mel Swope[1](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1994/International-Television-%26-Video-Almanac-1994.pdf) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_fatal_mission) |
| Lead cast | Telly Savalas as Maj. Wright, Ernest Borgnine as Gen. Worden, Heather Thomas as Lt. Carol Campbell[2](https://tv.apple.com/ie/movie/dirty-dozen-fatal-mission/umc.cmc.7i6idzg9otuv389133tyx6pna) |
| Premise | Major Wright leads military prisoners on a mission to stop high-ranking Nazis from reaching Istanbul by train and establishing a Fourth Reich in the Middle East[4](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=C9446404F76CF185MV) • [9](https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/dirty-dozen-fatal-mission/umc.cmc.7i6idzg9otuv389133tyx6pna) |
| Setting | A new group of World War II misfits boards the Orient Express to thwart Hitler's plans for a Fourth Reich in the Middle East, with a traitor in their midst[2](https://tv.apple.com/ie/movie/dirty-dozen-fatal-mission/umc.cmc.7i6idzg9otuv389133tyx6pna) |
| Production | MGM/UA Television with Jadran Film and RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana; about 95 minutes[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_fatal_mission) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/ie/movie/dirty-dozen-fatal-mission/umc.cmc.7i6idzg9otuv389133tyx6pna) |
| Place in series | Third and final TV movie sequel, after *The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission* (1985) and *The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission* (1987)[5](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/68013) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Major Wright is threatened with a court-martial unless he accepts an assignment to rescue six scientists who are being coerced into developing a nerve gas so lethal it could change the course of the war.[4](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=C9446404F76CF185MV) As in the earlier films, the team is drawn from convicted soldiers who face prison sentences of life or execution if they refuse the mission.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_fatal_mission) The group boards the [Orient Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/orient-express) to thwart Hitler's plans for a [Fourth Reich](https://www.edgepedia.org/fourth-reich) in the Middle East, but a traitor determined to stop the mission is among them.[2](https://tv.apple.com/ie/movie/dirty-dozen-fatal-mission/umc.cmc.7i6idzg9otuv389133tyx6pna) A contemporary listing summarizes the story as a female officer joining a major and GI convicts for a desert raid on the Nazis.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_fatal_mission)
## Production and casting
The film was produced by MGM/UA Television in association with the Croatian company Jadran Film and the Italian broadcaster RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_fatal_mission) Lee H. Katzin, who had also directed the preceding sequel *[The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-dirty-dozen-the-deadly-mission)* (1987), returned as director, again working from a screenplay by Mark Rodgers, with Mel Swope producing.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_fatal_mission) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_deadly_mission)
**Lee Marvin's absence.** Marvin, who had played Major John Reisman in the 1967 original and the first sequel, died shortly before filming began, and his character was written out of the film.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095022/) Telly Savalas, who in the original had played one of the dozen, the psychotic Maggot, took over the commander's part as Major Wright, a distinct character replacing Marvin's Major John Reisman.[5](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/68013) • [10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_deadly_mission/cast-and-crew) Ernest Borgnine returned as General Worden, a role he played in all four Dirty Dozen films.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_fatal_mission) • [5](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/68013)
The supporting cast included [Heather Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/heather-thomas) as Lt. Carol Campbell, the first woman among the dozen, along with Hunt Block as Joe Stern, Matthew Burton as Gen. Richter, [Jeff Conaway](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-conaway) as Sgt. Holt, [Alex Cord](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-cord) as Dravko Demchuk, Erik Estrada as Carmine D'Agostino, Ernie Hudson as Joe Hamilton, and James Carroll Jordan as Lonnie Wilson.[2](https://tv.apple.com/ie/movie/dirty-dozen-fatal-mission/umc.cmc.7i6idzg9otuv389133tyx6pna)
## Place in the series and reception
The film followed *[The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-dirty-dozen-next-mission)* (1985), which reunited [Lee Marvin](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-marvin), Ernest Borgnine, and [Richard Jaeckel](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-jaeckel), and *The Deadly Mission* (1987), in which Savalas first took the lead opposite Borgnine.[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/961639/pop-culture-101-the-dirty-dozen) *Fatal Mission* was the last time Borgnine and Savalas reprised their roles.[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/961639/pop-culture-101-the-dirty-dozen) Like its predecessors, it repeats the original's structure: a major rattles off the convicts' rap sheets at the start, and scenes such as one man contemplating going AWOL while the others stop him recur from the earlier entries.[5](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/68013)
**Reception.** The film has drawn a weak audience response: Rotten Tomatoes records an 8% audience score from more than 100 ratings, with no professional critic reviews tallied.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_fatal_mission) The film historian Stuart Galbraith IV, reviewing the 2015 Olive Films Blu-ray that pairs it with *The Deadly Mission*, judged both sequels reasonably entertaining on their own terms and described them as exemplifying the last gasps of the old-fashioned postwar World War II movie, though he noted that *Fatal Mission*'s soundtrack is ordinary mono where its predecessor's was full stereo surround.[5](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/68013)
## References
1. [Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission, The, International Television & Video Almanac 1994](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1994/International-Television-%26-Video-Almanac-1994.pdf)
2. [Dirty Dozen: Fatal Mission, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/ie/movie/dirty-dozen-fatal-mission/umc.cmc.7i6idzg9otuv389133tyx6pna)
3. [The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_fatal_mission)
4. [The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission, Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=C9446404F76CF185MV)
5. [Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission / The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission Blu-ray review, DVD Talk (Stuart Galbraith IV, 2015)](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/68013)
6. [The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_deadly_mission)
7. [The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission (1988), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095022/)
8. [Pop Culture 101: The Dirty Dozen, Turner Classic Movies (Rob Nixon, 2014)](https://www.tcm.com/articles/961639/pop-culture-101-the-dirty-dozen)
9. [Dirty Dozen: Fatal Mission - Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/dirty-dozen-fatal-mission/umc.cmc.7i6idzg9otuv389133tyx6pna)
10. [The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission, Cast and Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dozen_the_the_deadly_mission/cast-and-crew)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released in the 1980s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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