The Marines Who Never Returned

The Marines Who Never Returned (Korean: 돌아오지 않는 해병; RR: Doraoji anneun haebyong; aka Marines Are Gone) is a 1963 South Korean film directed by Lee Man-hee. It was released in the U.S. in 1966 as Marine Battleground.^[2] For this film, Lee was given the Best Director award at the third Grand Bell Awards ceremony in 1964. The film was also given the awards for Best Sound and Best Cinematography.^[3]

The Marines Who Never Returned
Poster for The Marines Who Never Returned (1963)
Hangul	돌아오지 않는 해병
Hanja	돌아오지 않는 海兵
Revised Romanization	Dolaoji anneun haebyeong
McCune–Reischauer	Toraoji annŭn haebyŏng
Directed by	Lee Man-hee[1]
Written by	Jang Guk-jin
Produced by	Won Seon
Starring	Jang Dong-hwi Choi Moo-ryong Koo Bong-seo Lee Dae-yup Kim Won-ha Jeon Gye-hyeon Kang Mi-ae Jeon Young-sun
Cinematography	Seo Jeong-min
Edited by	Kim Hee-su
Music by	Jeon Jong-kun
Distributed by	Dae Won Films
Release date	April 11, 1963 (1963-04-11)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean

Synopsis

During the Korean War, a squad of Marines from the South battle Chinese forces in the North, and are killed off one by one. At the beginning of the film, a young girl Young-hui and her mother desperately try to run for their lives from the Chinese soldiers. The girl's mother is shot dead but soldiers rescue Young-Hui in time and they immediately hide her from their higher-ranking commanders. Young-Hui is then instructed to continue hiding when she is delivered to their camp, out of fear that the general will send her to an orphanage.

The first half of the film centers on the Marines focusing on entertainment and looking after the young girl to alleviate the burden of the war. Afterwards, the Marines depart Young-Hui and head to the mountains to go into heated combat to confront the People's Volunteer Army.^[4]

Notes

1. Infobox data from Toraoji annun haebyong (1963) at IMDb and "Marines Are Gone ( Dora-oji Anneun Haebyeong )(1963)". KMDb Korean Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
2. "Release dates for Toraoji annun haebyong (1963)". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
3. Hartzell, Adam. "The Marines Who Never Returned (1963)". www.koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
4. Synopsis from "Marines Are Gone ( Dora-oji Anneun Haebyeong )(1963)". KMDb Korean Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-12-20.

Bibliography

• Hartzell, Adam. "The Marines Who Never Returned (1963)". www.koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
• "돌아오지 않는 해병 Marines Are Gone, 1963" (in Korean). Cine21. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
• "Marines Are Gone ( Dora-oji Anneun Haebyeong )(1963)". KMDb Korean Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
• Toraoji annun haebyong (1963) at IMDb