Merrill’s Marauders
Directed by Samuel Fuller
Written by Samuel Fuller and Milton Sperling
1962/USA
Warner Bros./United States Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Bannister: Do you know what I’m going to do after the war? I’m going to get married and have six kids. Then I’m going to line them up and tell them what Burma was like. And if they don’t cry, I’ll beat the hell out of them.[/box]
This may be one of Sam Fuller’s least Fuller-esque pictures.
This is based on the true story of an infantry unit that battled the Japanese in Burma. Brig. Gen. Frank D. Merrill (Jeff Chandler) is given one impossible task after another. All the grunts want to do is go home. By the end, all they want is something to eat.
This is OK but is basically combat and explosions, only sporadically interrupted by story and dialogue.
Merrill’s Maraudes was Chandler’s last film. He died at age 42 of blood poisoning shortly after production ended.
Trailer
