Posted on 02/14/2026 2:45:18 PM PST by Twotone
Lee Marvin had a reputation for being a great interview, obliging the press who expected the ultimate movie tough guy with more than they expected. His agent, Meyer Mishkin, said that Marvin gave his best performances for the press, going so far as to play with a knife during interviews.
"Most people only wise up when they are down on the floor with the blood everywhere," was one such gem. In another he said that despite their brutality, he didn't think his films had a bad influence on the audience. "The Shirley Temple movies are more likely to do that; after listening to 'The Good Ship Lollipop' you just gotta go out and beat up somebody. Stands to reason."
He spoke like one of his profession's foremost authorities on violence: "When I do a scene I make it as rough as I can. Knock a man down with one round, then walk up on him and put three or four more in his face. Roll him over and put one in his back. Make it ugly... I say make it so brutal that a man thinks twice before he does something like that."
But as Dwayne Epstein recounts in Lee Marvin: Point Blank, his biography of the actor, Marvin was taken aback when he rewatched the film that gave his bio its title – probably his greatest role – near the end of his life.
"I saw Point Blank at a film festival a year or so ago and I was absolutely shocked," Marvin recalled. "I'd forgotten. It was a rough film. The prototype. You've seen it a thousand times since in other forms. That was a troubled time for me, too, in my own personal relationship, so I used an awful lot of that while making the picture..."
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
My screen name is a daily tribute to Lee Marvin’s memory.
Correct character spelling was Frank Ballanger for his role in the tv series M Squad (1957-1960, 117 episodes).
A great flick…
AND NOT THE HORSES IN MOST WESTERN MOVIES-—
He was great in Donovan’s Reef.
LEE MARVIN - DECORATED WWII USMC COMBAT VETERAN
Birth Date: February 19, 1924
Lee Marvin was a decorated U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran who served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, participating in 21 island invasions.
As a member of the 4th Marine Division, he was critically wounded during the Battle of Saipan in 1944, earning a Purple Heart.
He was medically discharged in 1945 as a Private First Class.
MILITARY SERVICE:
Enlistment: Enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve at age 18 in August 1942.
Combat Experience: Served as a sniper with “I” Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division.
Participated in numerous Pacific island landings.
Battle Wounds: On June 18, 1944, during the Battle of Saipan (assault on Mount Tapochau), he was wounded by machine-gun fire that severed his sciatic nerve.
Recovery & Discharge: Spent over a year in naval hospitals recovering from injuries.
He received a medical discharge in 1945 with the rank of Private First Class.
Awards: Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal.
Marvin was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in 1987.
Not as unrealistic as it may seem to some.
The average number of small arms rounds fired per enemy kill by U.S. forces has increased dramatically
From roughly 45,000 in World War II to over 50,000 in Vietnam, and exceeding 250,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This high ratio is due to increased use of automatic weapons to provide suppressive fire rather than a lack of accuracy.
World War II: Estimated 45,000 rounds per kill.
Korean War: Estimated 30,000–80,000 rounds per kill.
Vietnam War: Estimated 50,000+ rounds per kill, with some estimates for 5.56mm and 7.62mm combined reaching up to 200,000.
Iraq/Afghanistan: Estimates suggest over 250,000 rounds per insurgent killed.
Historical Context: In earlier conflicts like the Civil War, this number was much lower, often around 60–70 rounds per kill.
The figures are largely driven by the philosophy of suppressive fire, where rounds are intended to pin down enemies rather than hit
them directly, allowing for maneuvering or for other weapons (artillery, mortars) to finish the engagement.
Loved him as A#1 in Emperor of the North.
I haven’t seen it for many years but it was excellent.
Cat Ballou
Angie half naked
Lee throws guy off balcony
Two takeaways I remember from 60 years ago grade school age
At paramount theatre with my folks
WW2 vet (like many from his era), wounded on Saipan. I have visited his grave at Arlington, which is next to boxer Joe Louis.
Who was more brutal, Marvin or Gibson, both were pretty menacing.
I'm not sure who was more brutal but the scene in "Pay Back" where the mob smashed Gibson's toes with a two pound sledge hammer, still gives me chills when I re-watch it.
I know it's fake, and only a movie...but I still shudder at the thought of that anticipation of pain.
How the standards of Rank have fallen.
I received a discharge of PFC in the early 60's {having been busted twice from E-4, down to a PFC} and if all Marvin got for his service was E-3, I sure as hell did not deserve the same rank.
I shudder to think of the rank that current soldiers are awarded and for what actions.
I know that thousands of American soldiers were shot and killed in WW II, but it seems that PFC was a very low rank for a soldier that did what Marvin did.
Like Cary Grant, Lee Marvin was hired to play himself.
Every WW2/Korea Marine vet I ever knew was a Pvt, probably because they lived.
I know what you mean, every time I watch that film I can get the same chilly feeling, and that guy doing the hammering seems to really enjoy his work.
I have read a few stories about The Outfit in Chicago and what they would do to people.
If you were in the Corps in early 1960s you probably saw what I did - that promotions in that era were very slow.
I was in the Marine Corps almost 70 years ago and it was common to see infantry Marines on their second hitch who had never been busted and only made it to E-3.
AS to Lee Marvin's rank, he was only active a relatively short time before he received the wound that led to his medical discharge.
He joined in 1942 and was wounded after serving less than 2 years.
With the great Michael Dunn, too. Great scene.
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