Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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Bataan
THE STORY OF A PATROL OF 13 HEROES
During Japan's invasion of the Philippines in 1942, Capt. Henry Lassiter, Sgt. Bill Dane and a diverse group of American soldiers are ordered to destroy and hold a strategic bridge in order to delay the Japanese forces and allow Gen. MacArthur time to secure Bataan. When the Japanese soldiers begin to rebuild the bridge and advance, the group struggles with not only hunger, sickness and gunfire, but also the knowledge that there is likely no relief on the way.
- Original title
- Bataan
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
John Chard
Mar 22, 2020 · via TMDB
One of the 1940s best war movies. World War II and it's the Bataan peninsula. 13 members of the US armed forces, with Filipino volunteers, have been hastily assembled to blow up a bridge and delay Japanese attempts to rebuild it for as long as possible. As the Japanese close in from the surrounding jungle, the men must also battle with their own wills to have any hope of survival. Lets get the complaints of others out the way first. Yes this is a studio shot production, yes there is model work involved, and yes this is unashamedly a flag waving, chest thumping, rally call of heroism. Based around actual events, this is a fictionalised telling that also has no shame in being disparaging towards the Japanese in the film. Now are these things really a problem? This is after all 1943, a time when the US was struggling in the Pacific conflict. A loose copy of John Ford's 1934 film The Lost Patrol, Bataan served as a moral booster for the public back home. The message is clear, this may be tantamount to a suicide mission, because, well, war is indeed hell, but sacrifices are necessary to achieve the bigger freedom objective. Nicely directed by Tay Garnett {The Postman Always Rings Twice} and tightly scripted by Robert Hardy Andrews {The Cross of Lorraine}, the film stars Robert Taylor, George Murphy, Thomas Mitchell, Robert Walker, Desi Arnaz & Lloyd Nolan. Violent and brutal for its time {the hand to hand bayonet sequences are brilliantly realised}, Bataan is also notable for portraying a racially integrated fighting force having to come together for the greater good. This group of men are a mixed bunch, different backgrounds, different races and different classes. But they are in the same boat as the Japanese start to pick them off one by one, and not only that, but Malaria is in the camp as well. The tension is racked up, the atmosphere stifling, we the viewers are witness to a unique show of heroism as we live with these men during their last soul sapping days. The cast do really well when one considers they are in fact playing disposable characters. Taylor in particular is effective as the tough Sergeant forced into command of the group. While some scenes such as a moodily staged camouflaged Japanese approach are truly memorable and linger long in the memory. The end also is terrific, one which puts one in mind of Sam Peckinpah watching and nodding approvingly. High on suspense and beating a real brave heart, Bataan is up with the best that the war genre of film has to offer. Belyng its budget restrictions it achieves its aims and then some. 8.5/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Robert Taylor
Sgt. Bill Dane
George Murphy
Lt. Steve Bentley
Thomas Mitchell
Cpl. Jake Feingold
Lloyd Nolan
Cpl. Barney Todd
Lee Bowman
Capt. Henry Lassiter
Robert Walker
Leonard Purckett
Desi Arnaz
Felix Ramirez
Barry Nelson
F.X. Matowski
Phillip Terry
Matthew Hardy
Alex Havier
Yankee Salazar
Tom Dugan
Sam Malloy
Donald Curtis
Lieutenant
Bud Geary
Infantry Soldier
Cedric Gibbons
Art Direction
Edwin B. Willis
Set Decoration
A. Arnold Gillespie
Special Effects
Tay Garnett
Director
Dore Schary
Executive Producer
Bronislau Kaper
Original Music Composer
Douglas Shearer
Recording Supervision
Mga Anghel Na Walang Langit
Lekce
Schindler's List
The Pianist
The Great Dictator
Saving Private Ryan
Casablanca
Das Boot
Japan's War in Colour
Judgment at Nuremberg
Rome, Open City
The Bridge on the River Kwai
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Adventures of Werner Holt
Who's Singin' Over There?
The Last Emperor
Gandhi
The Violators
Enemy at the Gates
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
The Elementary School
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God Does Not Believe in Us Anymore
The Diary of Anne Frank
The English Patient
Monsieur Batignole
Valkyrie
Paradise Now
Walk on Water
Escape to Victory
The Assault
Aimée & Jaguar
The Great Love
Jakob the Liar
Sirius
Why We Fight: Prelude to War
Sunshine
Up Periscope
Force 10 from Navarone
Golgo 13: The Professional
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
13 Rue Madeleine
South Pacific
Riders in the Sky
The Eve of St. Mark
White Clouds
The Shamrock Spitfire
Godzilla
The Most Beautiful
Enter the Ninja
Leningrad
Zone Troopers
The Fighting Chefs
Tiltil
Enchanted
Ang Kapitbahay
Pegasus Bridge
Navigator: Lt. Col. Ken Murray
Balikbayan Box
Letters from the Blitz
Empire of the Sun
Greyhound
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Guns of Navarone
A Bridge Too Far
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Midway
Devotion
Rescue Dawn
The Scarlet and the Black
Valkyrie
Pearl Harbor
Objective, Burma!
Overlord
Battleground
The Bridge at Remagen
Midway
Flyboys
They Were Expendable
Fixed Bayonets!
The Sea Chase
Merrill's Marauders
Emperor
Operation Pacific
Attack Force Z
Blood on the Sun
Jun 3, 1943
