Maverick U.S. Army Major Marvin is assigned to train and deploy 12 convicted military criminals in a targeted assault on a Nazi high-command compound; among the titular miscreants flexing acting and other muscles are Brown, Bronson, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, and Oscar-nominated John Cassavetes. Satisfying moviegoers’ nostalgia for WWII derring-do and appetite for red-meat action, the box-office hit inaugurated a succession of “suicide squad” tales.