Cinema poster for `We Are the First Brigade`

In 1928, the film Szaleńcy [Madmen] (also known as My I-sza Brygada [We the First Brigade]) was directed. The war drama was the directorial debut of Leonard Buczkowski (creator of Zakazane piosenki [Forbidden Songs] from 1946). Most shots were taken at a military training ground in Bobrujsk near Poznań, featuring various military formations: infantry, cavalry, air force and artillery. It was one of the largest and, at the same time, last silent productions in Polish cinematography. A considerable budget was used for innovative battle scenes, pyrotechnic effects, costumes and props.

The action of the film began in 1914 in Kraków, in the recruitment office. There, the two main characters met - a young employee of a wine shop and his peer who had dropped out of University in Zurich. They both enlisted in the ranks of the Polish Legions. During the fights, the injured student and his companion found shelter in one of the manors. The daughter and son of the landlord, who soon joined the army, helped them. From then on, the titular "madmen" fought together. During the Polish-Bolshevik War the youngest of the three was killed. In the final scene, friends sang a farewell song over the grave of the fallen.

The film features actors from the generation who in their youth experienced the war events of 1914-1920. The female lead, Irena Gawęcka, participated in the Wielkopolska Uprising. Marian Czauski, cast as the student, served in the 2nd Brigade of the Polish Legions.

In 1934, on the 20th anniversary of the departure of the First Cadre Company from Kraków's Oleandrów Street, the film was soundtracked. The music was composed by Tadeusz Górzyński. The improved version was shown again. It was also screened at the "Rialto" cinema in Lublin, announced by a poster detailing the military units involved in the production.

On the centenary of Poland's independence, in 2018, another version of the film was made, reconstructed based on preserved incomplete Polish and American copies.