The Real Glory

With the American troops retreating from the Philippines due to the strength of the Moro uprising and leaving the locals open to massacre, they leave a few men including Gary Cooper, David Niven and Broderick Crawford behind to train the natives how to defend themselves. The Moro are though determined to lure everyone to the jungle where they can attack them.

Like many gung ho adventures created largely for propaganda purposes in thirties and forties this plays fast and loose with the truth generally in favour of the Americans. Interesting the film was banned in 1942 given that it showed the Moro as blood thirty savages who became allies in WWII.

All this aside, this is a stirring quite brutal gung ho adventure with plenty of high drama, a cholera epidemic, a frightened commanding officer and a number of impressive action packed set pieces. This and Cooper, Niven and Crawford our fearless go getters out to save the locals and battle the blood thirsty savages, what more could one ask for.

Adventure and military movie set after the US capture of the Philippine Island during the Spanish-American War (1898) , set in 1906 the Island of Mindanao, there takes place an uprising of Moro tribesmen spreading terror and massacre . After most of islands are evacuated only a small group of Army officers is left to lead the Filipino soldiers against rebels . Along the way a sympathetic trumvirate : Gary Cooper , Broderick Crawford , David Niven attempt to save Philippine patriots from savage insurgents at a fort . Love and danger, the two strongest challenges to a soldier's heart . With the savage rhythm of jungle drums beating in his brain , a devil-may-care soldier faces the crises of his life beside the girl he loves. Always outnumbered never outfought . With the screen's most romantic adventurer ¡.

An overwhelming and adventurous movie with mighty thrills and particularly fine interpretation from Gary Cooper and Broderick Crawford. Henry Hathaway and producers attempted to make a similar film to "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" 1935 but set in Philippines , copying likeness elements as terror of the fanatic Muslims to be wrapped in pig skin , and equally starred by a trío of brave soldiers . It includes an enjoyable relationship among three protagonists : Gary Cooper/David Niven/Broderick Crawford Including an exciting and breathtaking finale when Cooper comes to rescue of the heavily besieged fort . Gary Cooper is nice , as always, as a heroic doctor called Bill Canavan who is not afraid to fight . Support cast is frankly good such as : Andrea Leeds , Vladimir Sokoloff, Reginald Owen , Kay Johnson, Russell Hicks, among others. This moving and patriotic film was initially titled Revolt of Manilla, Black of Manilla, and The Last Frontier. It was shot on various locations in California : Chatworth, Kernville, Point Magu and Hunt Salto Canyon.

The picture released thru United Artists was well directed with dash by Henry Hathaway. He was a good professional with a long career of spendour in Hollywood , as he directed all kinds of genres with penchant for Western : "When West was young, Man of the Forest, Go West Young Man, Brigham Young, Gundown ,North to Alaska, Sony of Kathy Elder, How the West was won, Nevada Smith, Five Card Stud, True Grit, Shoot out" and Adventure movie : " The lives of a Bengal Lancer, Souls at Sea , The Racers , Legend of the Lost , Sundown, Spawn of the North, Prince Valiant, Circus World, The Last Safari and this The Real Glory" . The yarn will appeal to adventure films enthusiasts and Gary Cooper fans .

This is a very enjoyable adventure that clearly influenced Raiders of the Lost Ark and the other Indiana Jones films. It is expertly directed by the unfairly forgotten Henry Hathaway and Gary Cooper is excellent in the lead role as a doctor assigned to help train Phillipine natives against the dangerous Moro tribesman who regularly invade their villages.

I must point out that another user comment, by one "skt171," attempts to make an analogy between this film and our current situation in Iraq. The analogy is correct, but not in the way the poster intended. This film is now widely considered both "historically and politically dubious," a fact pointed out by the well-respected Time Out Film Guide.

For this reason, it is hard for me to take the poster's assertions seriously, particularly when he tries to point out how our media would have "ruined" our successful intervention in Phillipine affairs as it (presumably) is ruining our involvement in Iraq. Except for one problem...our involvement in the Philippines was neither as noble nor as successful as this film depicts.

One other interesting point: this film is being shown repeatedly on the Fox Movie Channel prior to an important election in which Iraq is perhaps the most pressing issue. In fact, they are "celebrating" the legacy of studio-system "product" (their term, not mine) Henry Hathaway all month. Hathaway, of course, made MANY pro-war films during his career...which basically consisted of him taking whatever job the studio gave him. I can just see the Fox executives thinking to themselves, "if only movies were still like this...those Democrats wouldn't have a leg to stand on! Lets show nothing but Hathaway films until after the election." Im sure the reason for this is to prompt others to liken this inaccurate film to Iraq...it seems to have worked for skt171 (although he saw the film on VHS), thats for sure! Bottom line: enjoy this film as an adventure story. It works beautifully in this way. But look elsewhere for accurate history. And please, do not use this film as a basis for supporting our presence in Iraq, but rather as a blueprint for what a pro-Iraq War film would be like if we still lived in an era when movies were allowed to function as a propaganda arm of the US Government's military policy.

I had long been curious about this film as it took place in my parents' homeland of the Philippines during the years of the early 20th century when the U.S. had occupied it with some Army posts there for the purpose of teaching the natives to defend themselves against invading Moros. Though the disclaimer at the end says the movie is entirely fictional, it's safe to assume that the part of many of the country's citizens suffering from cholera has some basis in fact as that disease is common in many Asian countries. Anyway, Gary Cooper plays a military doctor who is in charge of treating many of the natives during the American occupation but decides to help many of them prepare for the eventual battle despite his captain's orders not to bother. Also on hand to offer support are fellow officers played by David Niven and Broderick Crawford who provide some amusing turns before things turn serious for both of them and Andrea Leeds who is charming as the leading lady who provides the buffer between Cooper and her stubborn captain father played by Reginald Owen. And leave it to veteran director Henry Hathaway to provide the rousing finish one usually expects from many of these '30s adventure movies. So on that note, The Real Glory is recommended.

The film comes to life in some brief flashes of proto-Indiana Jones action. Otherwise, it's a standard melodrama of an occupying fort holding on in hostile country. The unusual setting in the Philippines circa 1910 is under-utilized. For all the difference it makes, the film could easily have been set in the British Raj- or, with only a little rewriting, in a post-Civil War U.S. frontier fort.