Merrill's Marauders
With Jeff Chandler, Ty Hardin, Peter Brown.
US, 1962, 35mm, color, 98 min.
Print source: Warner Bros
Rarely screened today, Merrill’s Marauders is a rousing widescreen adventure and heartfelt tribute to American heroism during WWII that draws heavily upon Fuller's own combat experiences. In retelling the little-known story of the incredible long march and intervention against the Japanese in Burma made by Brigadier General Frank Merrill's "marauders,” Fuller chose to focus not on the "action" of gunfights and raids but upon the less glamorous reality of fatigue, boredom and dull pain that was the foot soldier's everyday experience. The idea that heroism and victory lie in sheer endurance and willpower, and not simply in blowing up a bridge, is powerfully embodied in the restrained performance by Jeff Chandler, who gives stoic dignity to Merrill in one of his last roles before the actor's tragically early death.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Pickup on South Street
The Crimson Kimono
The Naked Kiss
Underworld U.S.A.
The Baron of Arizona
Merrill's Marauders
House of Bamboo
Fixed Bayonets!
Forty Guns
Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street
A Fuller Life
Run of the Arrow
Street of No Return
The Steel Helmet
The Big Red One
Shock Corridor
Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made
