Tell It to the Marines

In case you thought Lon Chaney was only capable of playing monstrous and unsavory characters, Tell It to the Marines (1926) is a perfect example of what the actor could do with a "straight" role. As Sergeant O'Hara, a gruff Marine who trains new recruits to become fearless officers, Chaney did not wear any makeup, relying solely on his dramatic skills to create one of his most compelling characters. Photoplay, in their review of the film, noted that "Lon Chaney, sans grotesque make-up for a change, proves himself an excellent actor by his playing of O'Hara. Indeed, his O'Hara has all the authentic earmarks of a real, honest-to-Tunney Marine." Perhaps even more complimentary than the positive critical reviews was the response from the United States Marine Corps' own magazine, Leatherneck: "Few of us who observed Chaney's portrayal of his role were not carried away to the memory of some sergeant we had known whose behavior matched that of the actor in every minute detail...." Tell It to the Marines could be seen as the prototype for such military training films as Sands of Iwo Jima and The D.I. and Chaney's performance as the quintessential drill sergeant which other actors from John Wayne to Louis Gossett, Jr. would emulate. The film also helped advance the career of William Haines who co-stars as "Skeet" Burns, the irresponsible youth who learns his own self-worth through the lessons of a boot camp lifer. The narrative focuses on his rite of passage at the Marine base to the Orient where he is sent to rescue a group of Americans held hostage by Chinese bandits. MGM brought in General Smedley D. Butler, commander of the Marine base in San Diego, for technical consultation on the film. The studio was also allowed to shoot on the base which made Tell It to the Marines the first motion picture made with the full cooperation of the U.S. Marine Corps. The battleship USS California (It was later destroyed in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941) was used for the scenes at sea and the final sequence of the film, where the marines rescue the hostages, was filmed at Iverson's Ranch in Chatsworth, California, the location for such films as Fort Apache and The Good Earth. Director: George Hill Producer: Irving G. Thalberg Screenplay: E. Richard Schayer Cinematography: Ira Morgan Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Arnold Gillespie Cast: Lon Chaney (Sgt. O'Hara), William Haines (Pvt. "Skeet" Burns), Eleanor Boardman (Norma Dale), Eddie Gribbon (Cpl. Madden), Warner Oland (Chinese bandit leader). BW-104m. by Jeff Stafford