Comedy

Tell It To The Marines (1926) Lon Chaney (silent)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• Rate this torrent +  |  -

Torrent info

Torrent Files List

Torrent description

Tell It to the Marines (1926)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018471/

Directed by
George W. Hill (as George Hill)

Writing credits
Richard Schayer (screenplay)
Joseph Farnham (titles) (as Joe Farnham)

Cast
Lon Chaney ... Sgt. O'Hara
William Haines ... Pvt. George Robert 'Skeet' Burns
Eleanor Boardman ... Nurse Norma Dale
Eddie Gribbon ... Cpl. Madden
Carmel Myers ... Zaya (a native)
Warner Oland ... Chinese bandit leader
Mitchell Lewis ... Native starting fight
Frank Currier ... Gen. Wilcox
Maurice E. Kains ... Harry (as Maurice Kains)
Lori Bara ... Navy Nurse (uncredited)
Dick Curtis ... Marine in Barracks (uncredited)
Ray Erlenborn ... Extra (uncredited)
Willie Fung ... Guard at door of besieged clinic (uncredited)
H.H. Hopple ... Marine (uncredited)
Sgt. Jiggs ... Dog (uncredited)
Tetsu Komai ... Hangchow leader (uncredited)
Nola Luxford ... Navy Nurse (uncredited)
Daniel G. Tomlinson ... Marine Major (uncredited)
Millard K. Wilson ... Fight referee (uncredited)

Produced by
George W. Hill .... producer (as George Hill)

Original Music by
Robert Israel (2000 New Score)

Cinematography by
Ira H. Morgan (as Ira Morgan)

Film Editing by
Blanche Sewell

Set Decoration by
Cedric Gibbons (settings)
A. Arnold Gillespie (settings) (as Arnold Gillespie)

Production Management
Frederic Leahy .... unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur Rose .... second assistant director (uncredited)
Jacques Tourneur .... second assistant director (uncredited)
Millard K. Wilson .... assistant director (uncredited)

Stunts
Cy Clegg .... horse wrangler (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Melio Caluori .... assistant camera (uncredited)
Cecil R. Cooney .... assistant camera (uncredited)
Reggie Lanning .... camera operator: additional photography (uncredited)
Harold Lipstein .... assistant camera (uncredited)
James Manatt .... still photographer (uncredited)
Gordon Osbourne .... assistant camera (uncredited)
Bob Roberts .... assistant camera (uncredited)
Homer Van Pelt .... still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kathleen Kay .... wardrobe
Maude Marsh .... wardrobe

Other crew
Smedley Darlington Butler .... military consultant (uncredited)
H.H. Hopple .... technical advisor (uncredited)

U.S. Marine Sergeant O'Hara has his hands full training raw recruits, one of whom, 'Skeets' Burns, is a particular thorn in his side...


TRIVIA
Not only did Lon Chaney forgo his customary grotesque makeup for this picture; he refused to wear any film makeup at all, because - he reportedly reasoned - to have done so would have detracted from the documentary reality and integrity of the picture.


Lon Chaney would often state that this was his favorite film


During the production, Lon Chaney formed a close friendship with Marine Corps Gen. Smedley Darlington Butler, which lasted for the rest of Chaney's life.


Urban legend has it that this film drastically increased Marine enlistment.


Because his performance was considered to be so realistic, Lon Chaney became the first actor to be granted an honorary membership in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Quotes:
Marine Major: Burns, are you an American citizen?
Pvt. George Robert 'Skeet' Burns: Sure! Do I look like a Persian?
Marine Major: Ever been married?
Pvt. George Robert 'Skeet' Burns: Not me! I'm America's sweetheart!
Marine Major: Ever been in jail?
Pvt. George Robert 'Skeet' Burns: Well, Maje old kid... now I'm a Marine.
Marine Major: You're damned right you are! Stand up!
Sgt. O'Hara: Terrible!
Sgt. O'Hara: Madden, put a uniform on this! Try to make it look human!
Sgt. O'Hara: Don't shoot him before we find out where his parents live.


User Comments (Comment on this title)
7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best movies ever!, 15 November 2006

Author: D from Pembrokeshire, Wales

Let me tell you a story. I started college recently and one of my lecturers asked us to introduce ourselves and tell her something about ourselves to help her remember us. As a mature student I thought I'd mention my love of classic movies. "Oh, black and white" she says, as if all older movies are in B/W. "Older" I say "I love silents". Her face lit up "Oh, Charlie Chaplin!" She says triumphantly as if she's incredibly clever. I admit that I replied snottily that silent movies are much, much more than Charlie Chaplin and this movie is an example of that. This is one of the best movies I have ever seen, it has everything from great humour through to great drama and all the performances are faultless. Stand out though is Lon Chaney as Sgt O'Hara, this has to be my favourite of all his performances, words fail me when I come to describe it, I would want this to be the performance he is remembered for instead of Erik or Quasimodo, but, hopefully anyone who loved those performances will watch this movie and he doesn't have any make up on. William Haines was excellent as Skeet, he plays the cocky know it all who cannot keep out of trouble with so much charm that you can't help liking him even though you want to give him a smack to knock some sense into him and Eleanor Boardman as Norma, wonderful as always. Everything is spot on and the scenes involving the mock battle, Chaney looks like he's been a marine all his life. I cannot recommend this film highly enough, especially if you are from a Naval or Marine background as I am. 10/10

4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful.
review, 8 June 2003

Author: kw from louisville, kentucky

Chaney gives a recruiting poster performance of a rough,tough,Marine with a tender heart[thats well hidden],with Haines giving an equally good performance as the recruit.A mixture of humor and excitement are well blended to make this a very entertaining movie.


9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent film, 8 June 2003

Author: VB from Orange County, California

Lon Chaney is one of my top 3 actors ever, so naturally I watched this movie because of him. It's amazing how he managed to make gruff characters so likeable-- even under layers of makeup as the Hunchback of Notre Dame or the Phantom of the Opera. Here he's not buried under a few layers of makeup, but his character is no less memorable. William Haynes is quite good in his role as the goofy recruit that Chaney swears to make into a Marine. The movie can be quite funny, quite touching and often exciting, as well. Highly recommended.


11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Lon Chaney - Semper Fidelis, 4 November 2000

Author: RO from Forest Ranch, CA

A tough-as-shoe-leather sergeant patiently molds a rambunctious, rowdy youth into a sturdy Marine.

Available again after decades of obscurity, TELL IT TO THE MARINES is a wonderful, rousing paean to America's famous fighting force. Produced with the full cooperation of the Corps, it surges with heartfelt emotion & genuine excitement. It is the kind of film which should be shown to skeptics who doubt the power of silent cinema to satisfy a modern audience.

Lon Chaney is beyond praise as the hard-boiled Sergeant O'Hara, who loves the Corps and all that is stands for, but still has a tender heart and a good soul hidden beneath his rough exterior. This was Chaney's favorite role and he plays it without any of the extravagant make-up for which he was so famous. A superb character actor, Chaney became the parts he played. Completely believable, he fascinates the viewer into forgetting that this is an actor they are watching. His early death robbed him from rightfully enjoying the accolades & acclaim which other actors, like Chaplin, reaped in old age.

TELL IT TO THE MARINES provided the celebrity-making role for young William Haines and in it he practically revels in the silly billy antics that would dominate the rest of his movie career. In 1930, only 4 years after the release of this film, Chaney would be dead at the age of 47 and Haines would be the industry's top box office male. Things move fast in Hollywood.

Eleanor Boardman is perfect as the crisp Navy nurse who harbors tender feelings for both men. Carmel Myers is the exotic, albeit flea ridden, native girl who tempts Haines. Warner Oland has a small, flashy role as a despicable Chinese bandit. Movie mavens will recognize Willie Fung unbilled as a servant translating for Oland.

And what was the Marines' reaction to this film? They loved it, and especially Chaney's performance in it and he became the first actor to be awarded an honorary membership in the Corps.

The film's shipboard sequences were filmed on the mighty USS California, later to be sunk in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Where was Lon Chaney when they needed him?

TELL IT TO THE MARINES has been restored to pristine condition & given a rousing new score by Robert Israel.

7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
The film that proved Chaney didn't not need make-up!, 14 June 2003
Author: DD from Australia

Tell it to the Marines (1926) is one of the greatest motion pictures of all Time!

Lon Chaney was the greatest actor ever in my opinion. When I watch his films as diverse as Tell it to the Marines (1926) & The Unknown (1927), it always sends chills down my spine, good chills. He was magnificent in other silent film classics such as While The City Sleeps (1928), West of Zanzibar (1928) & Laugh, Clown Laugh (1928). He is just amazing. Chaney was born in 1883 and his parents who were both deaf-mutes probably helped Chaney to become a good actor in the future. In 1912 he began acting at Universal in bit parts, later in Romantic roles and finally in the late 1910s he began perfecting, the terrifying stranger character used in several of his later feature films. His most famous films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) & The Phantom of the Opera (1925) have sometimes been ignored as great films although Chaney is great in both of them. Several of his films are lost and that's another reason why Chaney is still so popular today. His last silent film Thunder (1929) is also believed lost but a few minutes have been discovered and show that Chaney was really good in it too. He was such a devoted actor that the lead role of Thunder (1929), he plays Grumpy Anderson a railroad engineer and in fact, he went to a real engineer and made him a deal that he'll buy the engineer a new pair of overralls and Chaney would get his old ones so that it looked worn in. In 1926 Chaney made Tell it to the Marines where Chaney proved that he didn't need make-up to be a good actor and his performance was so superb that he was the first ever motion picture actor to be honored with a special award from the Marine Corps. Chaney followed with his amazing film The Unknown (1927) where he played Alonzo the Armless and his performance in that film is his greatest and I think it's one of the top 10 silent films of all time. Going back to the film Thunder (1929) Chaney had gone location shooting and he caught pneumonia and it proved to be very serious later although no one knew of the consequences just yet. In 1930 Irving Thalberg chose Chaney's first sound film for he did not want to talk but he did and it was his last film. The film was The Unholy Three (1930) a re-make of his earlier film of the same name in 1925. Chaney again gave a stunning performance and the scene at the end for many is very sad. Chaney farewells his 2 co-stars and he's on the end of the train as it rides on along and away into the distance slowly as the camera fades to black and that was Chaney's last appearance on the Silver Screen and one month later he died. Chaney will always be remembered as The Man of a Thousand Faces and his films will always be pleasurable to watch.


6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Lon Chaney's rare screen face - his own, 29 October 2000
Author: l from Kissimmee, Florida

"Tell It to the Marines" (MGM, 1926) premiered on Turner Classic Movies October 24, 2000. Starring Lon Chaney, known as 'The Man of a Thousand Faces,' it features him as a tough Marine sergeant, O'Hara, who has a time training a new wisecracking recruit named George Robert "Skeet" Burns (William Haines). While Chaney's name is above the title, this is really Haines' movie, who is actually the central character to the story, a private under O'Hara for the next four years. Eleanor Boardman, best remembered for her role in MGM's 1928 silent classic, "The Crowd", (and to me, who resembles that of Jodie Foster), plays Norma Dale, the girl loved by Sgt. O'Hara, but who eventually turns to Skeets. And then there's Warner Oland (later famous as 'Charlie Chan' in the 1930s film series) as the Chinese bandit leader who appears near the end of the story. Carmel Myers, a forgotten name of the silent era, plays Zaya, the vamp. This movie is evident that Lon Chaney didn't always appear in horror films. His facial expressions say it all about the character he plays, and without the use of words. In Chaney's closing scene, he, after losing Norma to Skeets, wipes away a tear from his eye, looks around, and then resumes his rough and tough facial exterior. (Fade-out) Although I get a little leery when it is announced that a silent movie about to be shown is recorded with a new musical soundtrack, in fear that the score would be sleep-inducingly awful, the score the currently accompanies this silent particular movie, conducted by Robert Israel, is very satisfactory. Recommended.

6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
movie for the true Marine, 30 December 2004

Author: sgtb from United States

Great movie for the true Marines that want to see what it was like when Smedley Butler, Dan Dailey, and 'Chesty' were hooking and jabbing.... made at the times when they served in their glory and in the places they were. Check out the period uniforms and the Springfield rifles, which when the movie was being shown weren't period at all but were the actual equipment used by the leathernecks of the time. Most amazing thing i seen from a Marine's point of view was the buildings at MCRD San Diego that were shown throughout the first portion/training phase of the movie, made me feel more a part of history and movie folk lore. And then the gruff sergeant that Chaney portrayed is certainly the kind we all had in boot camp and later in our tour of duty, (or we wished we had....... or sometimes wished we never met up with).

5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Chaney's best movie, 17 May 1999

Author: KMB from Vermont

I know that many people consider Chaney's best performances to be Quasimodo and the Phantom, but I found his acting overwrought and slightly impossible to watch. This film, however, shows a more understated Chaney, gruff and lovable, kind of like Victor McLaglen without all the soppy John Ford Irish sentimentality and slapstick. Chaney's performance isn't the only highlight. William Haines plays yet another of his engaging all-American heroes and he's cute, too! Eleanor Boardman has little to do, but she does it well. As far as I'm concerned, she should have gone off with Chaney, not Haines, because I think Chaney was as much of a looker as the sex symbols of the time!

related torrents

comments (0)