MERRILL'S MAURAUDERS
DIRECTED BY SAMUEL FULLER
PRODUCED BY MILTON SPERLING
UNITED STATES PICTURES
WARNER BROS. PICTURES
Information from IMDb
Plot Summary
Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill leads the 3,000 American volunteers
of his 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), aka "Merrill's Marauders",
behind Japanese lines across Burma to Myitkyina,
pushing beyond their limits and fighting pitched battles at every strong-point.
Written by Martin H. Booda
Full Cast
Jeff Chandler ... Brig. Gen. Frank D. Merrill
Ty Hardin ... 2nd Lt. Lee Stockton
Peter Brown ... Bullseye
Andrew Duggan ... Capt. Abraham Lewis Kolodny, MD
Will Hutchins ... Chowhound
Claude Akins ... Sgt. Kolowicz
Luz Valdez ... Burmese girl
John Hoyt ... Gen. Joseph Stilwell
Charlie Briggs ... Muley (as Charles Briggs)
Chuck Roberson ... Officer
Chuck Hayward ... Officer
Jack C. Williams ... Doctor
Chuck Hicks ... Cpl. Doskis
Vaughan Wilson ... Bannister
Pancho Magalona ... Taggy
Writing Credits
Milton Sperling (screenplay) and
Samuel Fuller (screenplay)
Charlton Ogburn Jr. (book)
Original Music
Howard Jackson
Cinematography
William H. Clothier
Trivia
Bannister, Merrill's Aide de camp, was played by Lt. Col. Samuel Vaughan Wilson
(credited as Vaughan Wilson), who was actually one of "Merrill's Marauders" and a survivor of the campaign.
This movie was released in 1962. At the end of the movie there is a parade review
that features the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
In the battle at Shaduzup, the huge triangular sets of concrete blocks in the rail yard,
where the close-in fighting took place, were originally built to support huge fuel tanks
used to fill up the engines as they were leaving the yard.
Jeff Chandler's final film.
Director Trademark
Samuel Fuller: [Lemchek] A recurring character name in Fuller's films.
Goofs
Continuity
When Merrill and Stockton converse after the first battle, Merrill's pipe moves
instantaneously to and from his mouth between shots.
When the troops are resting in the swamps, mud patches on Bullseye's arms
appear and disappear between shots.
When Stock and the rest of his platoon reach the top of the mountain.
The lower part of the left sleeve on his shirt has been cut away.
It remains like this for the rest of the film and isn't explained until the last battle Stock
has a wound on his arm and a bandaged has been applied but no wound was visible until after the final battle.
When Merrill is writing his letter at the railhead, the closeup shows his writing
is well up in the top third of the paper, but in the wider shot he is seen writing under the middle of the page.
Factual errors
The British officer incorrectly had his slouch hat pinned up on the right side.
Commonwealth troops have always worn the slouch hat pinned up on the left side to accommodate left shoulder (sloped) arms.
Filming Locations
Philippines