Grey-haired Jeff Chandler never made it to the top rung of Hollywood stardom, and this, his last and finest movie before his premature death from blood poisoning at the age of 42, makes us wonder why. As Brigadier General Frank Merrill, he's a vivid and boisterous leader of a top US Army unit in Second World War Burma. What marks it out from other battle movies is William Clothier's dramatic photography and director Samuel Fuller's understanding of soldiers in action. Fuller knows that war is hell but that the heat of action can strengthen character.

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.