Darby's Rangers (released in the UK as The Young Invaders) is a 1958 American war film directed by William Wellman and starring James Garner as William Orlando Darby, who organizes and leads the first units of United States Army Rangers during World War II. The movie was shot by Warner Brothers Studios in black and white, to match wartime stock footage included in the production. The film was inspired by the 1945 book Darby's Rangers: An Illustrated Portrayal of the Original Rangers, by Major James J. Altieri, himself a veteran of Darby's force. The supporting cast features Jack Warden and Stuart Whitman.

Plot

The US Army has decided to form an elite strike force similar to the British Commandos, led by Major William Darby (James Garner), a former staff officer. Darby is in command of the 1st Ranger Battalion, formed entirely from able-bodied volunteers. On June 19, 1942 the 1st Ranger Battalion is sanctioned, begins recruiting, and trains volunteers under command of British commando units in Dundee, Scotland. Darby and Master Sergeant Saul Rosen (Jack Warden), who also narrates the film, are called on to select a variety of men, who must undergo rigorous training by the British Commando veterans. Darby tells his men that the British Commandos are the best soldiers in the world, but in time the Rangers will own that distinction. The American trainees are quartered in Scottish homes and several of the Rangers pair off with local lassies: Rollo Burns (Peter Brown) with Peggy McTavish (Venetia Stevenson), the daughter of the fearsome but humorous Scottish Commando instructor, Sergeant McTavish (Torin Thatcher), and vagabond Hank Bishop (Stuart Whitman), with prim and proper, Wendy Hollister (Joan Elan).