The Day of the Trumpet

A tiny Filipino village has just got shot of the occupying Spanish when an American cavalry troop arrives to try to control some local guerrilla fighting. Nobody actually asked for their "help" and so, naturally, they don't all get the warmest of receptions initially. "Sgt. Norcutt" (John Agar) is a decent sort of soul, though, and with his squad he tries to befriend the locals, help them with their school and generally make a positive difference to their fairly subsistence existence. "Capt. Maxalla" (Pancho Magalona) is a bit of a brute and is determined to undermine their efforts - and that results in more than a few outbreaks of fisticuffs as this meanders along for eighty minutes of frankly rather pointless cinema that simply appears designed to suggest that the US occupiers were better than their forebears. The acting, script and story itself are all pretty weak and although it does look like it was filmed in a real jungle environment, much of that doesn't really matter as the grudges and romantic interludes just rob the thing of what ever pace it had at the start. Agar's smile can only do so much here, sorry...

I give this film points only for featuring Igorot people, something very rare. Otherwise it's very slow and boring, and often false and offensive.

As an action or war movie it fails. There's about 3 minute of action total, including one ridiculous fistfight where the American officer outweighs a Filipino leader by 50 lbs and still barely wins.

The war depicted was one of the most brutal, but almost unknown in America. Up to a million dead, massacres, forced relocation, starvation, epidemics, and several notorious generals who issued orders to "kill everyone over 10 years old."

And this film whiteswashes it, makes the troops into nice guys who build a well and a school. The patriots who fought for independence for over 30 years are shown as primitive savages (with feather headdresses!) or deluded. And the average Filipino just loves loves loves Americans, the exact opposite of real history.

GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS! An angry Philippine nationalist stops the planned rebellion against United States forces during the American occupation in 1902, after seeing the Americans helping his people with food and medicine. Written and directed by Eddie Romero. It is 80 minutes long and is in color. Stars John Agar, Richard Arlen, and Myron Healey. This was a joint U.S. and Philippine production shot entirely in the Philippines. John Agar is outstanding in this film. Respectfully yours, Sarge Booker

I am an American born and bred from immigrants, and I love my country, not for its mistakes, which sometimes seem to build on themselves, but for the fabulous promise it holds.

So I am surprised that Eddie Romero, a Filipino who should know his own country's history, is the director of this film, a prime example of inaccurate history and bad film making as well.

This film is in no way an accurate depiction of the interaction between Americans and Filipinos at the time shown. And I would hate to believe that it would be received as such.

Before anyone is offended by my review, let me state first that it is historically inaccurate.

Unlike the conditions depicted in this film, the United States was a far worse occupier of the Philippines at this time than the Spanish before them The Spanish at least came to recognize the national aspirations of the Filipinos to some degree. The U.S. Army, however, considered the Filipinos subhuman and raped the women and killed the men without remorse. Ask me to verify this. I can.

No surprise, then, that there was a popular insurrection against the American occupation. The racist attitude of the Americans never completely went away, but eventually a peace of sorts came to be and improved dramatically over time. By World War II, the Filipinos were with us against the Japanese, who were the most brutal occupiers in modern history.

But 40 years earlier, in 1902, the American Army was still indiscriminately slaughtering people who wanted their freedom and their own nation. To help rule the Philippines, the Americans set up an elite class of quislings as the ruling class, a pragmatic mistake that haunts the Philippines to this day and is responsible for their systemic inability to rule themselves effectively.

Before this seems like a condemnation of the United States, let me note the following: The United States had promised before World War 2 to grant the Phillipines their independence in 1946 and, unlike other Western powers, who were interested in holding on to their colonies, the United States did exactly that on July 4, 1946--less than a year after the end of the war-- much to their everlasting credit.

This review was deleted once before because someone was offended by it, which is not the best of reasons. If IMDb has a problem with this review, I ask them to contact me before deleting my review. I am not speaking out of the wrong end, and I can prove it.