Fuller saw much action in WW II. In the First Division, The Big Red One, attempts to portray the horrors of war as it affects the men in the front lines. Lee Marvin, who was wounded and almost killed in the real war, portrays a sergeant who leads a squad of men through North Africa, Sicily, the Normandy beachhead to the liberation of Falkenau concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.
The battle scenes are realistic, bloody and well done. There is a scene in a mental hospital complete with throat slashings, inmates walking around unconcerned while fighting rages and romantic music plays, that pretty much sums up the insanity that Fuller remembers from his own experiences in the war.
Mark Hamill and Robert Carradine play supporting roles as soldiers under the leadership of Lee Marvin.