Retreat, Hell!
Encyclopedia
Retreat, Hell! is a 1952
American film about the 1st Marine Division in the Korean War
directed by Joseph H. Lewis.
as a career Marine battalion commander who at the beginning of the film is recalled from work at an American embassy, Richard Carlson
as a veteran captain and communications specialist of World War II
called up from the Marine Corps Reserves, Russ Tamblyn
as a seventeen year old private who hides his true age to serve with the unit overseas and outdo his older brother also a Marine, and Nedrick Young
(credited as Ned Young) as a Marine sergeant. Also appearing in the film is Peter Julien Ortiz
, a highly decorated Marine who served in the Office of Strategic Services
(OSS) and appeared in several films.
The film's rapid pace begins with the formation and training of the battalion, the amphibious landing at the Battle of Inchon
, the advance through North Korea where the Winter Chinese Communist Offensive sends the Marines into a fighting withdrawal to the staging area at Hŭngnam
Harbor "...with rifles, grenades, bayonets, our bare fists if we have to" (quoting the battalion commander), hence the title.
It also has its human moments: In one scene, the private (Tamblyn), who was looking for his older Marine brother, was led to a row of dead Marines. One of them, he discovered unfortunately, was his dead brother. Being the only surviving one, the battalion commander (Lovejoy) was forced to send him back Stateside as per regulation of sole survivors. The Chinese Communist offensive put these on hold for the moment, and he was nearly killed during the withdrawal in a snowstorm until saved by a joint American-British force.
Variety
called it a "top-notch war drama" for the way it balanced tense action with a more human face of the war, anticipating film-making trends that would become more common twenty years later. The film's running time is 94 minutes.
against the Chinese Communist Forces offensive in the winter of 1950 being anxiously followed in the news of the day, Warner Brothers submitted a proposal on 7 December 1950 to the Marines to make a film about the events. The Marines approved the request, with former Marine Milton Sperling
producing and co-writing the film for his United States Pictures
division of Warners. The Marine Corps worked closely with Sperling on the script giving it their approval in August 1951 and agreeing to six weeks of filming at Camp Pendleton where the film crew bulldozed a road and sprinkled the area with gypsum
to simulate snow. The Marines also created accurate Korean villages for the film. Commandant of the Marine Corps
Lemuel Shepherd estimated the value of the Marine cooperation at US$1,000,000. The Hollywood Production Code
Office originally refused to approve the title because of its ban on the word hell
but changed their mind after requests from the Marine Corps.
The film also features the efforts of the U.S. Navy and Royal Marines
.
Director Joseph H. Lewis had been hired by Warner Brothers after the success of his film Gun Crazy
but had not been given any assignment until this film. During World War II
, Lewis directed US Army training film
s about the M1 Garand rifle that were shown well into the 1960s.
.
Retreat Hell is also a freeware
role-playing game
set around the year 2000 (but also featuring additions to allow for World War II
scenarios) offering tactical, realism-oriented (as opposed to Arcade) rules for modern infantry
warfare. The developers have recently released the third edition of the game under the title Sierra Hell. Rules can be downloaded from the game's website.
1952 in film
The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
American film about the 1st Marine Division in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
directed by Joseph H. Lewis.
Plot
The film is the story of the putting together of a Marine Battalion sent to Korea who are gathered from various sources. It stars Frank LovejoyFrank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
as a career Marine battalion commander who at the beginning of the film is recalled from work at an American embassy, Richard Carlson
Richard Carlson
Richard Carlson was an American actor, television and film director, and screenwriter.-Career:Born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, Carlson graduated from the University of Minnesota with an M.A. degree, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He later appeared on the Broadway stage in the 1930s after studying...
as a veteran captain and communications specialist of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
called up from the Marine Corps Reserves, Russ Tamblyn
Russ Tamblyn
Russell Irving "Russ" Tamblyn is an American film and television actor, who is arguably best known for his performance in the 1961 movie musical West Side Story as Riff, the leader of the Jets gang....
as a seventeen year old private who hides his true age to serve with the unit overseas and outdo his older brother also a Marine, and Nedrick Young
Nedrick Young
Nedrick Young was a screenwriter often blacklisted during the 1950s and 1960s. He is credited with writing the screenplay for Jailhouse Rock in 1957, which starred Elvis Presley....
(credited as Ned Young) as a Marine sergeant. Also appearing in the film is Peter Julien Ortiz
Peter Julien Ortiz
Colonel Pierre Julien Ortiz OBE was one of the most decorated Marine officers of World War II. He served in both Africa and Europe throughout the war, as a member of the Office of Strategic Services .-Military career:...
, a highly decorated Marine who served in the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS) and appeared in several films.
The film's rapid pace begins with the formation and training of the battalion, the amphibious landing at the Battle of Inchon
Battle of Inchon
The Battle of Inchon was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations . The operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels, and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital Seoul two...
, the advance through North Korea where the Winter Chinese Communist Offensive sends the Marines into a fighting withdrawal to the staging area at Hŭngnam
Hungnam
Hŭngnam was the third largest city in North Korea.It is a port city on the eastern coast, in South Hamgyong Province, on the Sea of Japan . The city covers an area of 250 square kilometers...
Harbor "...with rifles, grenades, bayonets, our bare fists if we have to" (quoting the battalion commander), hence the title.
It also has its human moments: In one scene, the private (Tamblyn), who was looking for his older Marine brother, was led to a row of dead Marines. One of them, he discovered unfortunately, was his dead brother. Being the only surviving one, the battalion commander (Lovejoy) was forced to send him back Stateside as per regulation of sole survivors. The Chinese Communist offensive put these on hold for the moment, and he was nearly killed during the withdrawal in a snowstorm until saved by a joint American-British force.
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called it a "top-notch war drama" for the way it balanced tense action with a more human face of the war, anticipating film-making trends that would become more common twenty years later. The film's running time is 94 minutes.
Production
With the U.S. Marine Corps' fight for life at the Battle of Chosin ReservoirBattle of Chosin Reservoir
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Changjin Lake Campaign ,Official Chinese sources refer to this battle as the Second Phase Campaign Eastern Sector . The Western Sector is the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. was a decisive battle in the Korean War...
against the Chinese Communist Forces offensive in the winter of 1950 being anxiously followed in the news of the day, Warner Brothers submitted a proposal on 7 December 1950 to the Marines to make a film about the events. The Marines approved the request, with former Marine Milton Sperling
Milton Sperling
Milton Sperling was an American film producer and screenwriter for 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. where he had his own independent production unit United States Pictures.-Biography:...
producing and co-writing the film for his United States Pictures
United States Pictures
United States Pictures was the name of the motion picture production company belonging to Milton Sperling who was Harry Warner's son-in-law....
division of Warners. The Marine Corps worked closely with Sperling on the script giving it their approval in August 1951 and agreeing to six weeks of filming at Camp Pendleton where the film crew bulldozed a road and sprinkled the area with gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
to simulate snow. The Marines also created accurate Korean villages for the film. Commandant of the Marine Corps
Commandant of the Marine Corps
The Commandant of the Marine Corps is normally the highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...
Lemuel Shepherd estimated the value of the Marine cooperation at US$1,000,000. The Hollywood Production Code
Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
Office originally refused to approve the title because of its ban on the word hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
but changed their mind after requests from the Marine Corps.
The film also features the efforts of the U.S. Navy and Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
.
Director Joseph H. Lewis had been hired by Warner Brothers after the success of his film Gun Crazy
Gun Crazy
Gun Crazy is a 1950 film noir feature film starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall in a story about the crime-spree of a gun-toting husband and wife. The film was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and produced by Frank King and Maurice King...
but had not been given any assignment until this film. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Lewis directed US Army training film
Training film
A training film is a form of educational film – a short subject documentary movie, that provides an introduction to a topic. Both narrative documentary and dramatisation styles may be used, sometimes both in the same production...
s about the M1 Garand rifle that were shown well into the 1960s.
Cultural effect
An oral history interview with Donald H. Eaton, a Korean War black veteran, includes a story where he says how he and several friends watched the film when it came out, and half of his friends ended up signing up for the Marine Corps. The Korean War (1950–1953) was the first war where United States troops were desegregated.Other references
Retreat, Hell is the motto of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment and features prominently in the film Battle: Los AngelesBattle: Los Angeles
Battle: Los Angeles is a 2011 American military science fiction war film directed by Jonathan Liebesman, and starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Ramon Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ne-Yo and Michael Peña...
.
Retreat Hell is also a freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
set around the year 2000 (but also featuring additions to allow for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
scenarios) offering tactical, realism-oriented (as opposed to Arcade) rules for modern infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
warfare. The developers have recently released the third edition of the game under the title Sierra Hell. Rules can be downloaded from the game's website.