Tell It to the Marines

Supposedly the first US film with direct marine input, the jingoism isn't surprising, and the narrative, while novel for its time, is cliched and predictable. Haines is also a bit of a wet blanket, but Chaney as a hard arsed sergeant, sans makeup, impresses, and Hill directs with a sense of pacing and economy, which disguises the lack of depth to some degree. Ultimately, it is Chaney's show, and he is a pleasure to watch even without the usual prosthetics.

One more Lon Chaney movie checked off. A good one. Chaney without any of his fancy make-up and still manages to look like a dangerous monster as a Marine sergeant! Tell It to the Marines is what's become the standardized 'cocky new recruit vs brute training camp sergeant' seen in so many movies over the decades. And few come as cocky as William Haines! So even with two of the silent era's top box office draws, this one felt only lukewarm compared to what I had hoped.

A vastly sub-par drama movie that should have been an action/war movie, it's interesting that one of the rare instances where Chaney has no make up sucks and is STILL better than "The Phantom of the Opera", and "The Huntchback of Notre Dame."