Grito de batalla

Cry of Battle is a WWII film that portrays a side of the war not normally focused on, the conflicts in the Philippines. The film overall proved to be quite interesting in both the historical and plot aspects. Specifically the plot was just not focused upon a love triangle, but also corrupted friendships and the theme of man vs. man. The film held many underlying themes that were projected both to better tell the story and also display the historical context of the film. The three lead actors (Van Heflin, James MacArthur, and Rita Moreno) rightfully portrayed their characters developing them throughout the movie. All in all Cry of Battle is one of the thousands of war films glossed over during the mid twentieth century, except it actually was a diamond lost in a pile of rocks.

Disney movie veteran James MacArthur does a real about-face in this impossibly tough war-drama about a young American man in the Philippines during World War II who is forced to grow up quickly after being unceremoniously placed into battle against the Japanese. Silvery black-and-white cinematography, some intriguing ideas, but mostly a grating, ungainly picture which MacArthur's youthful finesse can't quite elevate. Van Heflin, as a hard-drinking soldier who's also a rapist and murderer, gets stuck with the worst scenes, though Irving Lerner's direction is good and there are gripping sequences for fans of this genre. ** from ****

Actress Rita moreno says it was an Awful film..in a recent interview (on youtube), and had to fly herself in between filming to attend the 1960/61 Academy Awards from Manilla, to Los Angeles, CA, for her previous film 'West Side Story'. She thought she had a 'slim chance' to win eventhough the industry Favorite Judy Garland was also nominated for 'Judgement at Nuremburg',,, but at the time was in the hospital. .

For some unknown reason, Joe, 3rd mate on a merchant ship, is given a spot promotion to 2nd Lt, and given a squad of Philippinos with orders to attack a Japanese sugar processing plant. This is the last we hear of the plant.

Tagging along, again for unspecified reasons, is the snot-nosed scion of an unseen mogul who falls in love with the heroine. The heroine, alas, is something of an opportunist, and ends up in bed with Joe just because. Naturally, the green-eyed monster makes an appearance.

The only thing this film has to do with war are the 17 or so Japanese soldiers who occasionally make their appearance. Most of this movie deals with the angst felt by the snot-nosed kid in his never-ending attempts to pry the heroine away from Joe.

I found this film to be a grand waste of time.

"Cry of Battle" was released in 1963--the same year that "Spencer's Mountain" hit the big screen. Both star James MacArthur in a coming of age story, but it would be difficult to find two films so different from each other. Where "Spencer's Mountain" is filled to the brim with scenes about the virtues of family bonds and living in harmony with the land, "Cry of Battle" is nearly morally bankrupt. In fact, I am surprised the novel was chosen for filming.

Set during World War II, the film features MacArthur as the son (David McVey) of a wealthy businessman, trapped on a remote island of the Philippines. He is befriended by a creepy opportunist named Joe Trent (Van Heflin)--a man for whom he feels both revulsion and loyalty.

In refreshing contrast to the script, which is distasteful, is the performance of Rita Moreno as Sisa, a Filipina who is caught up in the tragedy of the war and the stormy relationship between the two men.

The final scenes try to resolve the moral ambiguity of the film, but end up being abrupt, unsatisfying and enigmatic.