''Marines, Let's Go'' is a 1961

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...

DeLuxe Color DeLuxe Color or Deluxe color or Color by DeLuxe is Deluxe Laboratories brand of color process for motion pictures. DeLuxe Color is Eastmancolor-based, with certain adaptations for improved compositing for printing (similar to Technicolor's "se ...

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

film about three Marine buddies ( Tom Tryon, David Hedison and Tom Reese) on shore leave in Japan and at war in Korea. It was produced and directed by

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent cinema actor George Walsh. He wa ...

, who also wrote the story. Walsh had previously had successes with films about the U.S. Marine Corps in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

('' What Price Glory?''), the 1920s ('' The Cock-Eyed World'' and '' Sadie Thompson''), and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(''

Battle Cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religio ...

''). This was the next-to-last film of Walsh's long directing career.

Plot summary

During the

, an infantry unit from the 1st Marine Division is given R&R in

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

, Japan. The group is led by PFC Desmond "Let's Go" McCaffrey, a veteran of the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...

and the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

with over 16 years of service in the Corps, yet he is repeatedly demoted from the rank of Sergeant. McCaffrey, described as "a headache to the enemy, a

migraine Migraine (, ) is a complex neurological disorder characterized by episodes of moderate-to-severe headache, most often unilateral and generally associated with nausea, and light and sound sensitivity. Other characterizing symptoms may includ ...

to the M.P.s" is incapable of behaving himself on leave due to his penchants for excessive alcohol consumption and

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of ranged weapons.Hunsicker, A., ''Advanced Skills in ...

with people on his own side. When PFC Skip Roth, a World War II "retread" called the "brain" for being a scheming con-man loses the gang's money during gambling, he concocts an elaborate scheme to pay for their R&R. He converses with Private Pete Kono, a Japanese-American World War II veteran on a

walkie-talkie A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver, HT, or handheld radio, is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer A ...

to fool the staff of a respectable family hotel into believing the Marines are an undercover counter-espionage group working for General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

, including having the hotel management give the Marines money for their expenses. Unfortunately the radio conversations are picked up by the Marine Corps Provost Marshal. Other Marines in the group include: PFC David Chatfield, who McCaffrey hates because he is from a well-to-do

Back Bay, Boston Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and ...

family. Chatfield has a Korean "

Moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

" he left behind. Pvt. Newt Levells is a young Texan who intends to meet a woman he has been corresponding with from his home town in Texas who was interned by the Japanese with her family during the war, but never returned to the US. Pvt. Waller intends to meet his girlfriend as does the company Gunnery Sergeant Hawkins. The group is told to keep their eye on McCaffrey as he is due to be promoted to his old rank and awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

, but Roth schemes to get McCaffrey into trouble by forging unknown love letters, then blaming them on a sailor to goad him into a brawl. McCaffrey gets his revenge by having Fuji, a girlfriend's

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

champion brother go after Roth. The Marines are called back to Korea to repel a Chinese offensive in the area where Chatfield's "Moose" and her father live.

Cast

* Tom Reese as Pfc. McCaffrey * Tom Tryon as Pfc. Roth * David Hedison as Pfc. Chatfield * Linda Hutchings as Grace *

Barbara Stuart Barbara Stuart (born Barbara Ann McNeese; January 3, 1930 – May 15, 2011) was an American actress. She had a recurring role of Sgt. Carter's girlfriend Bunny on '' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' Early years Born in Paris, Illinois, Stuart was ...

as Ina * David Brandon as Pvt. Newt Levels * Steve Baylor as Pvt. Chase * Peter Miller as Gunnery Sgt. Howard Hawkins * Rachel Romen as Mrs. Ellen Hawkins (as Adoree Evans) * Hideo Inamura as Pvt. Pete Kono * Vince Williams as Hank Dyer (war correspondent) * Fumiyo Fujimoto as Song Do (Chatfield's girl) * Heihachirô Ôkawa as Yoshida (hotel manager) * Shohei "Giant" Baba as Fuji *

Roy Jenson Roy Cameron Jenson, also known and credited as Roy Jensen (February 9, 1927 – April 24, 2007), was a Canadian American football player, stuntman, and actor. Early years Jenson was born in Calgary, Alberta, and moved to Los Angeles with his ...

as a Sailor

Production

Walsh filmed the movie on location in Japan with extras from the US Marine Corps, who were pulled off filming due to the possibility of their being sent to

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. The film was completed in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. The Marine technical advisor of the film was Colonel Jacob G. Goldberg (1911–2008), who served 30 years in the Marine Corps. Tom Reese was a former Marine and a military policeman, Roy Jenson a former sailor.

Reception

When the White House was interested in

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

making a film on John F. Kennedy's exploits as the commander of PT 109,

Jack L. Warner Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-born American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's ca ...

sent a print of ''Marines, Let's Go'' to display Raoul Walsh's expertise for making the movie about Kennedy. The president hated the film,Suid, Lawrence H. ''Sailing on the Silver Screen: Hollywood and the U.S. Navy'', Naval Institute Press, 1996, p. 153 however, and Warner Bros. had to choose a new director for '' PT 109''.

References

External links