Marines, Let's Go

Marines, Let's Go
Marines, Let's Go
	Original film poster
Directed by	Raoul Walsh
Written by	Raoul Walsh (story); John Twist
Produced by	Raoul Walsh
Starring	Tom Tryon; David Hedison; Tom Reese; Linda Hutchings; Barbara Stuart
Cinematography	Lucien Ballard
Edited by	Robert L. Simpson
Music by	Irving Gertz; title song sung by Rex Allen
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	August 15, 1961;
Running time	103 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,665,000

Marines, Let's Go is a 1961 CinemaScope DeLuxe Color Korean War 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, who also wrote the story. Walsh had previously had successes with films about the U.S. Marine Corps in World War I (What Price Glory?), the 1920s (The Cock-Eyed World and Sadie Thompson), and World War II (Battle Cry). This was the next-to-last film of Walsh's long directing career.

Plot summary[]

Four privates romp their way through occupied Japan while on leave, finding a little romance and some laughs. After it's over they head to the front lines of the Korean War where brutality and death are constant.

Cast[]

Tom Tryon as Pfc. Roth
David Hedison as Pfc. Chatfield
as Pfc. McCaffrey
Linda Hutchings as Grace
Barbara Stuart 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)

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.^[2] The film was completed in Okinawa.

The Marine technical advisor of the film was Colonel Jacob G. Goldberg (1911–2008), who served 30 years in the Marine Corps.^[3]

Reception[]

When the White House was interested in Warner Bros. making a film on John F. Kennedy's exploits as the commander of PT 109, Jack L. Warner 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,^[4] however, and Warner Bros. had to choose a new director for PT 109.

References[]

^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989, p. 253. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
^ American Cinematographer, Volume 42 (1961), p. 473.
^ MarineChat.com
^ Suid, Lawrence H. Sailing on the Silver Screen: Hollywood and the U.S. Navy, Naval Institute Press, 1996, p. 153

External links[]

Marines, Let's Go at IMDb
Marines, Let's Go at AllMovie
Marines, Let's Go at the TCM Movie Database
Marines, Let's Go at the American Film Institute Catalog
Howard Thompson, "'Marines, Let's Go!' Comes to Paramount" (review), The New York Times, August 16, 1961.
Marines, Let's Go film clip on YouTube

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[1] Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989, p. 253. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.

[2] American Cinematographer, Volume 42 (1961), p. 473.

[3] MarineChat.com

[4] Suid, Lawrence H. Sailing on the Silver Screen: Hollywood and the U.S. Navy, Naval Institute Press, 1996, p. 153

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