"Merrill's Marauders" is a testament to the tenacity of America's fighting men and a story as heroic as anything that came out of ancient Greece with its tales of legendary heroes. These flesh & blood heroes here sweated out the worst that the Japanese could deliver and triumphed over incredible odds. The themes of man versus nature, man versus man, and the toll that leadership takes on the individual are examined without sentiment. In the finest traditions of American combat troops, these soldiers were outnumbered by the enemy but defeated them.
In 1944, the U.S. Army invades Burma in World War II with rugged, iron-haired Jeff Chandler in the lead, followed by a battalion consisting of strapping young Warner Brothers contract players Ty Hardin,Will Hutchins, Peter Brown, and Claude Akins. The historical epic depicts the extraordinary efforts of the the 5307th Composite Unit to do what nobody else could do or did to prevent the Japanese Imperial Army from linking up with the German Army. Typically, during World War II movies of the 1960s, the enemy--the Japanese here--were never shown close-up, but instead were only shown in long shots because they were our allies in 1962. "The Steel Bayonet" director Sam Fuller, who later helmed "The Big Red One," shows the grueling ordeal that 3000 volunteers went through slogging through jungles, wading through swamps, and climbing mountains. If these feats were not enough, the soldiers often found themselves at the mercy of cerebral malaria, amoebic dysentery, and/or scrub typhus.
Lieutenant Stockton (Ty Hardin of "Bronco") both hates writing letters to the families of the fallen ones and asking his troops to perform the impossible. At one point, Stockton asks to be relieved of his command, but Brigadier General Frank Merrill (Jeff Chandler)cannot afford to demote him. Merrill complains that he is going nuts and Doc (Andrew Duggan) warns him that he--Merrill--cannot withstand the continuous torture that he is putting himself and his men through. Meanwhile, the troops, such as 'Bullseye' (Peter Brown of "Laredo"), carp about the lack of food. Indeed, they are so bone-tired and worn out that they cannot tell what day of the week that it is. Eventually, after his men are barely able to fight, Merrill collapses urging his men to put one foot in front of the other to complete their mission. Fuller does not treat combat as a game of heroes, but our heroes--though brave and gallant--are a weary, run-down bunch of men that in real life trudged across 750 miles of the tough terrain in the world. Only 100 survived this trek through Hades to defeat the Japanese.
John Hoyt of "Brute Force" bears an amazing resemblance to General Stillwell. Andrew Duggan plays the doctor who cannot believe that the troops can still fight. One officer tells Merrill that he plans to have six kids after the war, line them up against a wall and tell them how tough Burma was and then beat the tar out of them if they do not cry. Sadly, "Merrill's Marauders" was the last movie that Jeff Chandler made in a career cut short. Milton Sperling of "Battle of the Bulge" co-scripted this opus with director Fuller from the 1956 book by Charlton Ogburn Jr.'s non-fiction book "The Marauders." Interestingly, Ogburn served as a communications officer for the marauders. This Warner Brothers film was lensed on location in the Philippines,
"Merrill's Marauders" is a traditional World War II movie. None of the enlisted men want to kill their officers.
In 1944, the U.S. Army invades Burma in World War II with rugged, iron-haired Jeff Chandler in the lead, followed by a battalion consisting of strapping young Warner Brothers contract players Ty Hardin,Will Hutchins, Peter Brown, and Claude Akins. The historical epic depicts the extraordinary efforts of the the 5307th Composite Unit to do what nobody else could do or did to prevent the Japanese Imperial Army from linking up with the German Army. Typically, during World War II movies of the 1960s, the enemy--the Japanese here--were never shown close-up, but instead were only shown in long shots because they were our allies in 1962. "The Steel Bayonet" director Sam Fuller, who later helmed "The Big Red One," shows the grueling ordeal that 3000 volunteers went through slogging through jungles, wading through swamps, and climbing mountains. If these feats were not enough, the soldiers often found themselves at the mercy of cerebral malaria, amoebic dysentery, and/or scrub typhus.
Lieutenant Stockton (Ty Hardin of "Bronco") both hates writing letters to the families of the fallen ones and asking his troops to perform the impossible. At one point, Stockton asks to be relieved of his command, but Brigadier General Frank Merrill (Jeff Chandler)cannot afford to demote him. Merrill complains that he is going nuts and Doc (Andrew Duggan) warns him that he--Merrill--cannot withstand the continuous torture that he is putting himself and his men through. Meanwhile, the troops, such as 'Bullseye' (Peter Brown of "Laredo"), carp about the lack of food. Indeed, they are so bone-tired and worn out that they cannot tell what day of the week that it is. Eventually, after his men are barely able to fight, Merrill collapses urging his men to put one foot in front of the other to complete their mission. Fuller does not treat combat as a game of heroes, but our heroes--though brave and gallant--are a weary, run-down bunch of men that in real life trudged across 750 miles of the tough terrain in the world. Only 100 survived this trek through Hades to defeat the Japanese.
John Hoyt of "Brute Force" bears an amazing resemblance to General Stillwell. Andrew Duggan plays the doctor who cannot believe that the troops can still fight. One officer tells Merrill that he plans to have six kids after the war, line them up against a wall and tell them how tough Burma was and then beat the tar out of them if they do not cry. Sadly, "Merrill's Marauders" was the last movie that Jeff Chandler made in a career cut short. Milton Sperling of "Battle of the Bulge" co-scripted this opus with director Fuller from the 1956 book by Charlton Ogburn Jr.'s non-fiction book "The Marauders." Interestingly, Ogburn served as a communications officer for the marauders. This Warner Brothers film was lensed on location in the Philippines,
"Merrill's Marauders" is a traditional World War II movie. None of the enlisted men want to kill their officers.