Tell It to the Marines is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by George W. Hill and starring Lon Chaney, William Haines, and Eleanor Boardman.

In 1924, "Skeet" Burns applies to join the United States Marine Corps, but only to get a free train ride to San Diego, California.

When he arrives, he escapes from veteran Marine Sergeant O'Hara and boards another train to "Tia Juana", Mexico for the horse races.

On board ship, Skeet picks a fight with a "gob", a sailor, unaware that his intended victim is actually the Navy heavyweight champion.

O'Hara and his men are assigned to Tondo Island, a dreary naval station described as being "six miles this side of Hell".

Skeet mistakenly believes O'Hara told her about the incident in order to improve his own romantic chances with Norma.

MGM brought in General Smedley D. Butler, commander of the Marine base in San Diego and subsequently the author of the anti-war book War Is a Racket, for technical consultation on the film.

A writer in Leatherneck Magazine wrote that "few of us who observed Chaney's portrayal of his role were not carried away to the memory of some sergeant we had known whose behavior matched that of the actor in every minute detail ..." For his role in the film, Chaney became the first film star chosen to be an honorary Marine.