ABSTRACT
The connection between the two movies discussed below lies with the interest of a remarkable Marine, Evans Carlson, whose individualism and eccentricity set him apart from his follow offi cers. His ideas about warfare were shaped by two experiences. The fi rst was his New England boyhood, during which he became fascinated with the story of another maverick, Robert Rogers-who led irregular forces on deep raids into the wilderness during the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The second infl uence on Carlson was his association in 1937 with Mao Zedong, the Communist revolutionary, guerilla war theorist, and future leader of “Red China.” 1 How Hollywood portrayed both Rogers and Carlson and the interaction of history and memory are the subjects below. Both are wartime fi lms and both deal with the stories that connect to the theme of moral and physical courage in desperate situations and against the odds.
