ShootingShark In 1944, an elite US unit of jungle fighters dubbed Merrill's Marauders is engaged in a dangerous mission in Burma to capture a Japanese stronghold. Faced with treacherous conditions and greatly outnumbered, can they prevail ?This gritty war story, like almost all of Fuller's fascinating films, challenges the viewer to decide what it is really saying. On one hand it's a simple story of bravery, heroism and loyalty overcoming incredible odds, and is comparable to many of the war pictures of its time. On the other however, it's a detached portrayal of military insanity, shocking savage mistreatment of men pushed through almost unimaginable hardship for scant reason. The victories and the patriotic ending (which was added against Fuller's wishes) dress it up a little more palatable, but for me it's clear which one of these viewpoints the film is really going for. People often think movies like The Deer Hunter or Platoon were the first to depict the physical and psychological ravages of war, but this is unfounded; there's a long tradition of realism in American war films, with movies like this, Robert Aldrich's Attack, John Huston's The Red Badge Of Courage, all the way back to Lewis Milestone's All Quiet On The Western Front. Fuller was a WWII veteran and he understands these men instinctively; the General given impossible decisions to make, the Lieutenant who finds it hard to be above the camaraderie of his men, the world-weary Sergeant who cries when a local woman offers him a bowl of rice. Shot in the Philippines in beautiful Cinemascope by longtime John Wayne collaborator William H. Clothier, the camera glides around the action often with long, elegant silent takes. One of the hardest things for a movie to do is convey the oppressive conditions this one does - heat, humidity, stench, malaria, grime, mud, thirst, sheer animal exhaustion - which are at the very core of the story. The pathos of the movie is that it's all true; there really was a 5307th Composite Unit and they did march 750 miles across Burma, fought five major battles and only 200 men from 3000 survived. The movie was adapted by Fuller and producer Milton Sperling from a book by journalist Charlton Ogburn. Chandler's final film.

Spikeopath Merrill's Marauders is directed by Samuel Fuller, who also co-adapts the screenplay with Milton Sperling from the book, The Marauders, written by Charlton Ogburn Jr. It stars Jeff Chandler, Ty Hardin, Andrew Duggan, Claude Akins, Peter brown, Will Hutchins and John Hoyt. A Cinemascope/Technicolor production with music by Howard Jackson and cinematography by William H. Clothier.Cracker-jack war movie, packed to the rafters with blood, sweat and tears, and best of all, gritty realism. Story is about the warfare unit led by Frank Merrill (Chandler) during the Burmese campaign in 1944. Their mission was to destroy Japanese bases to avert the Japanese from making their way into India and onto a rendezvous with Hitler's forces. Their efforts was a success but it came at great cost of lives.Fuller, an ex-soldier himself, isn't interested in glorifying war for entertainment purpose, he wants to keep the focus on the men and what the mission does to them, both physically and mentally. The mission was only meant to be a short sharp shocker, but they keep getting "requested" to push on further beyond what was originally required, pushed to their limits by their leader who asked they follow his lead.In turn the men suffer through lack of food whilst some of them fall to typhus and malaria, inhospitable conditions take their toll, like trekking through miles and miles of swampy terrain, and of course they encounter the enemy on several nerve shredding occasions.As comrades fall and heart breaking letters are written to families, Fuller peppers the picture with haunting moments. A sweep of the aftermath of a battle finds dead bodies from both sides strewn about the place, the surviving Marauders too exhausted to lift themselves off the soil. A soldier breaking down crying, another willing to carry his donkey's load so it will not be shot for holding up the trek and on it goes, a whole ream of memorable instances designed to give us some idea of what the war is hell statement actually means.Filmed on location in the Philippines, it seems a little weird to say that the photography is beautiful given that so much emotional hardship and misery is being portrayed, but Clothier really brings everything to life with his superb use of colour, the great lens-man the ideal fit for Fuller's keen eye for lingering details.Performances are across the board on the good side of good, with Chandler - in what sadly would be his last film before his premature death aged 42 – turning in his best ever work. He puts his all into portraying Merrill, giving him great personality whilst hitting the mark for the various emotional beats required for a leader of men. A leader who himself carries a secret that he doesn't want his men to know about.Stock footage usage from another movie and musical lifts from two more, hint at the economical restraints on the production, but neither affects the all round quality of the picture. Free of cliché's or extraneous pap, this is one excellent – exciting - haunting war movie. 9/10

zardoz-13 "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.

ccthemovieman-1 This was a decent World War II movie, but not as exciting as I had hoped it would be. I liked the fact it was exactly that - a war story - with no sappy romance distractions - but yet it was still on the bland side. I can't quite put my finger on it, but some spark was missing. If this was re-made today, I'm sure it would have been more of an attention-grabber.Perhaps part of the minor problem is that the story is a bit of a downer most of the way through (not that war is ever uplifting). It's basically about a group of soldiers who volunteered for this bad assignment (to fight in Burma) and when their assignment was over and they assumed they were going home, they were given further assignments. Battling unrelenting fatigue and extremely difficult terrain means there are very few upbeat moments in this film. In this based-on-a-true story movie, only about 100 soldiers were left fighting after 3,000 started. Yet a lot of the movie just shows the poor guys sloshing through swamps or slowing trying to make their way up treacherous mountain terrain.You get a few minor attempts at some humor to break up the depressing story, but they are weak such as the stereotypical southerner with his pet mule who wears a straw hat.In some respects, this film reminded me of "The Big Red One," which also was directed by Sam Fuller but had a lot more intensity and passion to it.Jeff Chandler and Ty Hardin were fine in the lead roles, as was Claude Atkins in a supporting one. Chandler and Atkins looked like tough, battle-scarred soldiers more than the others. Hardin has too much pretty-boy looks and voice for this role, although his acting was fine.Overall, okay, but not worth a second look.