Bataan

For a war movie, this was a bit unusual in that almost the whole film took part in one place. You could almost make a play out of this. A group of men stay in one area trying to sabotage a bridge so the Japanese can't use it to transport supplies. Meanwhile, they have to fend off attacks by the enemy. The closing scenes feature that attack and some are quite brutal.

At least half of the story is not action but melodramatic looks at the soldiers, particularly of the squad's sergeant leader Robert Taylor and one of his men who has an attitude problem: Lloyd Nolan. We also get some shorter profiles of combat men played by Robert Walker, Thomas Mitchell and Desi Arnez (yes, Lucy's husband).

The special effects are more than passable considering they weren't too advanced in the film industry compared to today's technology. However, credibility was a little thin as those Japanese soldiers died awfully fast in those combat scenes at the end. I swear I saw several of them drop over before anyone hit them!

Taylor was the best in this movie "army" and Walker was the annoying character, playing an extremely young and generally stupid Navy guy (don't ask) who never stopped talking in this irritating voice. Other than his character, this was a tough, no-nonsense war movie.

The film talks about the Pacific battle , during WWII , concerning the defenders of Bataan but Japan has just invaded . A small group of soldiers (Thomas Mitchell , LLoyd Nolan , Desi Arnaz , among others) flee from Japanese repeatedly attack and they head for blowing-up a bridge on the Bataan location and their final destination : Corregidor . The captain (Lee Bowman) dies and the top-sergeant (Robert Taylor) takes command along with an Airbone lieutenant (George Murphy). The military unit surrounded by the Japanese in a foggy set , lush jungle and progressively dwindling group . The defenders gave a few days for posterior victories and future US conquest like Midway , Island Salomon and Bismark . The Bataan of the film's title refers to both the World War II Battle of Bataan and the place Bataan which is a Central Luzon region province on Luzon island in the Philippines which occupies the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on the island . This movie's dedication states that it is dedicated to the heroes of Bataan.

This classic warlike movie is nicely starred by Robert Taylor at one of his best roles as a tough sergeant , he's accompanied by a plethora of first-rate secondaries . This exciting actioner warfare completed with slice of military stereotypes although some characters are very one-dimensional , as well as presenting an African American in an intelligent and sympathetic manner , attempting to avoid any racial speeches in the script . The original plot belongs to ¨Lost patrol¨ (1934) by John Ford , whose screenplay has been pretty imitated and remade many times but it's still a magnificent entertainment . In fact , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer paid RKO a lot of money for the right to use scenes from Lost patrol in this movie . As ¨Lost patrol¨ was subsequently remade and reworked several times : ¨Sahara¨ (by Zoltan Korda) with scenarios in Libya desert ; ¨Last of Comanches¨ (Andre De Toth) in California desert ; and even part of ¨Flight of Phoenix¨ (Robert Aldrich) in Sahara desert , and , of course , this ¨Bataan¨(Tay Garnett) in Philippines jungle . This is one of a handful of feature films that have featured the story of the World War II Battle of Bataan , they include ¨So proudly we hail¡¨ by Mark Sandrich (1943) ; ¨They were expendable¨ (1945) by John Ford and ¨Back to Bataan¨ (1945) by Edward Dmytryck . The film is set into a lush , abundant jungle with a dense fog made by usual Metro Goldwin Mayer production designer , Cedric Gibbons , and it contains an atmospheric as well as thrilling musical score by Bronislau Kaper . The motion picture was professionally directed by Tay Garnett, a good Hollywood craftsman.

The actual deeds about Bataan concern an unsuccessful attempt by US and Filipino troops under General Douglas MacArthur to defend the peninsular against the Japanese 1 Jan-9 April 1942 . Following the surrender of Bataan , MacArthur was evacuated , but Allies captives were force-marched 95 km/60 mi to the nearest railhead in the Bataan Death March,ill-treatment by the Japanese guards during the march killed about 16.000 US and Filipino troops .

My Mom saw this movie at the time it was released and said it gave her more nightmares than any horror film she ever saw. It is still violent today and must have been shockingly brutal back in the day.

Yes, you can say some of the soldiers are clichéd, but death is shown unflinchingly. Combat is portrayed as a bloody, messy, fatigue-inducing business. Boredom and endless waiting take their toll on nerves as well. The banter and cocky talk is whistling past the graveyard.

Lloyd Nolan's character is rough and unlikeable. He fights for freedom, but he fights dirty and he doesn't pretty things up with patriotic speeches. Some might complain about the black soldier playing harmonica and taking orders from white men. Actually, for the time, he was portrayed with dignity and shown to be as brave as any of the other soldiers. As for Robert Taylor, his weariness and resolve at the end are stirring and the last scene is not one you will soon forget.

Ignoring the propaganda aspects of the movie, the last half works as almost a pure horror movie, as our cast gets gruesomely picked off by unseen foes lurking in the jungle.

Exciting and gripping, it's easy to overlook the faults of this most violent and gritty of WW2 films made at the time.

"Bushido, Bushwa! You stink!" So died the heroes of Bataan...

Bataan is a province, central Luzon, Philippines, sheltering Manila Bay from the South China Sea... It is largely covered by jungle and is traversed north to south by steep mountains...

After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in December 1941 and the fall of Manila (January 2, 1942), the defending Americans and Filipinos withdrew to Bataan, foiling Japanese efforts to split the forces of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur... His troops fought a fierce delaying action until April 9, 1942, and remnants, led by Lieut. Gen. Jonathan M.Wainwright, escaped to Corregidor Island, where they surrendered about a month later...

On January 9, 1945, U.S. Forces, under MacArthur, landed at Lingayen Gulf to the north and sealed off the Bataan Peninsula... Landings were then made at Mariveles Harbor in the south and on Corregidor Island, thus securing Manila Bay for the U.S. Navy...

"Bataan" is the fictional story of 13 men who stayed behind, holding a bridge, and fighting to the death a rear guard action to ensure the success of the Allied forces retreat from the Philippines...

The audience live with the soldiers their last heroic days: George Murphy, an Air Force Lieutenant secretly reliable; Lloyd Nolan, the smart Corporal with compassionate qualities; Thomas Mitchell, a career NCO; Deni Arnaz, a friendly Spanish soldier; Barry Nelson, the competent Matowski; Lee Bowman, the Captain who falls with a bullet; Robert Walker (in his screen debut) who almost breaks down from homesickness; Kenneth Spencer, the black soldier with an undisturbed force and simple dignity, and Robert Taylor, the tough heroic Sergeant alive in the face of the enemy, who sets up his machine gun and keeps it firing until the end...

All are representatives of the heroism existing in all Americans, symbol of the heroic resistance...

BATAAN is one of the better war films to come out during the war years of World War II. Robert Taylor holds the whole gritty film together with his realistic depiction of a sergeant leading a small troop of men in an effort to hold back the Japanese attack by blowing up a crucial bridge. Taylor, Robert Walker as a gum-chewing homesick sailor, Lloyd Nolan, Dezi Arnaz (surprisingly effective in a dramatic role) and others make splendid contributions. Special mention should be made of Philip Terry's medic--an under-appreciated actor who is shown as committed to his job in a selfless way but finally going berserk under the pressures of war. (He had other good roles in Olivia de Havilland's TO EACH HIS OWN and Ray Milland's THE LOST WEEKEND).

The jungle setting (although filmed on the studio lot) is impressive with its exotic foliage and adds to the realism. The hand to hand combat scenes are well staged, as are the final moments of the film.

All in all, a gripping war film that more than holds its own with contemporary stories like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

Has to be appreciated in the context of its time--when flag-waving patriotism was at its peak and lines like "Those dirty Japs" were not considered politically incorrect.