Born in 1931, director Lee Man-hee graduated from Kyungshin High School and served as a communications soldier during the Korean War. He worked as assistant to director Ahn Jong-hwa in 1956 and entered the film industry. At the recommendation of actor Kim Seung-ho, he debuted as a director with The Guiding Light in 1961 and began to receive recognition with Dial 112, a noire style thriller, in 1962. He achieved both artistic and commercial success with war films or thrillers such as The Marines Who Didn′t Come Home, Soldiers Without a Serial Number, and The Devil′s Stairway, and dramas like Late Autumn and A Road to Return. The filmmaking conditions worsened after the 70s, but Lee Man-hee was obsessed with making films, which gradually wore down his health. On April 3, 1975, he lost consciousness in the editing room while working on The Way to Sampo and fought for his life for ten days before passing away on April 13 at the age of 45.