Despairing over the loss of a 19-year-old Marine fighting in 1951 Korea, gunnery sergeant Robert Webber (as McGrath) decides his next dangerous mission will be accomplished with a more expendable crew. From the brig, he rounds up a "dirty dozen" group of hardened criminals, exempting cowardly clerk Ken Miller as Kenny Miller (as Oliver Quill) from that description. The mission gets immediately complicated when the men must assume responsibility for beautiful Catholic nun Anna Sten (as Mary Joseph) and some pretty young Asian actresses dressed up like schoolgirls. Yes, you read that correctly, and they strip to their slips for a brief gratuitous swim. Mainly, there is a mutiny being planned by villainous Leo Gordon (as Dockman)...
The group must also deal with the dangerous environment. Sporting lovely false eyelashes in close-up, sister Sten becomes inured. Alcohol leads to the inevitable attempted rape. Directed by Franklin Adreon, this is one step up from a contemporary TV production; however, it is only interesting on surface levels and doesn't have much imagination or intelligence. Going down the cast list – Dale Ishimoto (as Pak) is the group's Korean guide, company cook Hari Rhodes (as Hall) sings spiritually, heavily accent Robert Easton (as Orville Nupert) brings along his pet snake, and handsome young Tod Windsor (as George Nevins) develops a romance with one of the girls. Of the other players, Valentin de Vargas (as Rivas) arguably gets the best part.
***** The Nun and the Sergeant (1/27/62) Franklin Adreon ~ Robert Webber, Anna Sten, Leo Gordon, Robert Easton