Dayton's Devils

Frank Dayton (Leslie Nielsen) leads a group of crooks in a caper to steal one and a half million dollars from an Air Force base. Dayton is the tough-guy military leader who recruits Mike (Rory Calhoun), ex-Nazi Max (Hans Gudegast), sadistic killer Barney Barry (Barry Sadler), and failed French artist Claude (Pat Renella) in the scheme. Singer Laine Kazan plays the romantic interest for Dayton as the nightclub songbird Leda. Sadler, who's "Ballad Of The Green Berets" was a pro-war, right-wing anthem, would later serve time for murder in real life in an ironic twist on his cinematic character in the film. Nielsen, always the consummate professional, would gain a large following as a comedic actor in such films as Airplane and The Naked Gun. Ironically, his character name in the latter series of films was Frank Drayton. (official distributor synopsis)