American Guerrilla in the Philippines

Moviecut—American Guerrilla in the Philippines

source: American Guerrilla in the Philippines

While it seems that the premise of this film was based on actual events in the Philippines, it comes across as a good actioner and little more. The movie is enhanced with location filming and, being only 5 years removed from the end of WWII, many of the people in this film served during that conflict. SPOILER: While the end of the movie is pure Hollywood, the cavalry, in the form of the U.S. Army and General MacArthur, riding to the rescue saved the real band of guerrillas, it makes for a tidy, yet abrupt ending to the movie. END SPOILER. For the poster that said the movie was to get the American public ready for Korea, your history is a bit off. The Korean War started in June of 1950, over 3 months before this movie was released and by the time it came out, we were very much involved; the amphibious landings at Inchon, South Korea came in September of 1950. This was not a propaganda movie per se, it was a look back at a time when Filipinos and Americans fought together to defeat the Japanese.

As an ex-military person, the discrepancy of rank in this movie is very glaring to me. Chuck Palmer is an Ensign (the lowest navy officer rank), but wears silver clusters (the rank of a Lt. Commander). At one point he is talking to an army Major and mentions that, although he is in the navy, they are of the same rank (the navy equivalent of an army major is a Lieutenant). It's an interesting movie to watch when you're up at 2 am and can't sleep. But, overall, I think this is a very sanitized version of the guerrilla fight in the Philippines during World War 2. If you've just tuned into the film at some parts, you'd think you were watching a documentary. An interesting trivia note: Jack Elam is the narrator in this film, but he also has a cameo in which he plays a con artist who bilks the locals of money in order to "buy guns and ammunition to fight the Japanese".

It's not really about what I thought of the film - I note military and naval experts have commented on various inaccuracies. This is more a comment on an aspect of the film, which I saw many years ago in b/w, and got a greater insight into when seeing the Canadian commentator Elwy Yost's programmes on cinema history in the 1970's. How many viewers realise that the reason the heroine (the Filipino hero's wife) is cast as a Frenchwoman? This is not to make the story more romantic, or as a tribute to 'our gallant wartime allies' or even because the actress might be French, but because in those days to comply with the Hayes Code, the heroine, if she gets the white hero in the end (or vice versa!) has to be white!

It's because it simply isn't very good, not painfully bad exactly, just a meanderingly paced time filler is all. Adapted by Lamar Trotti from a novel by Ira Wolfert, it stars Tyrone Power, Tom Ewell and Micheline Presle. The plot focuses on Chuck Palmer (Power) & Jim Mitchell (Ewell) who are stranded in the Philippine Islands waiting for Gen. Douglas MacArthur's return. As the impending surrender to the Japanese is unappealing to the guys, they attempt to escape the Islands. Only to be thwarted at every turn. So digging in they set about building a communications station to aid the guerrillas in the war effort. But the Japanese are closing in. First time viewers should not be fooled by some of the advertising catch phrases that proclaim this to be a rousing spectacle, or a great Pacific adventure. It's a sedate character driven story that's more concerned with flag waving jingoism than any adherence to action entertainment. Which would be fine if Trotti's script wasn't so unimaginatively bland. It's nicely shot at the actual locations by Harry Jackson, and Power is as ever, watchable; working from actual military experience helps of course. But with Ewell and Presle out of their depth {the former out acted by ants in one of the film's rare suspenseful moments} and the romantic sub-plot as tiresome as it pointless, this only serves to be a huge disappointment as a picture, and a blot on the directors CV. 4/10

Had BACK TO BATAAN and BACK TO BATAAN not been made, then I assume that American GUERILLA IN THE PHILIPPINES would probably be a better remembered film. That's because it's an excellent movie in just about every way, but the earlier John Wayne and Robert Taylor films about the Philippines during WWII were very outstanding films and tend to overshadow this Tyrone Power flick. While the plot is not identical to these other two films, there are many similarities. All three document the heroic efforts of the Philippino partisans as well as that of Americans stuck in this land during the war. About the only noticeable difference was that the Power film was in color and I really think for this subject matter, black and white actually worked better--looking more like what you'd expect a WWII film to look like. Plus, the other two films are just a little more exciting and involving--but this isn't to say this Power film is bad--it just isn't quite as involving. Still, among the many, many WWII films, this one is a bit better than average and well worth a peek. And, yes, I also noticed the line that said a Navy Ensign is equivalent to an Army Major! I'm surprised that Power, with his WWII experience, would have said such a stupid line. An ensign is most closely equivalent to an Army Lieutennant--a much lower rank.

This movie had a rush release just weeks before American soldiers get serious in Korea. A very good feel from this war drama about American fighters stranded in the Philippine Islands waiting for Gen. Douglas MacArthur's return. Guerrilla warfare helps sustain against the invading Japanese in 1942. Some very nice scenery and interesting war action. Top direction from Fritz Lang and potent acting from Tyrone Power and Tom Ewell.

One of the few remaining Lang films that I hadn't seen and that was at all accessible, I finally caught up with this color war film on AMC. Though not amongst the directors finest works, it was certainly worth a watch, with Tyrone Power leading a group of Navy enlisted men on a circuitous journey across the islands, at first in the hopes of making their way to safe Australia but eventually settling for becoming part of an American guerrilla warfare effort. The film is notable for not presenting the Japanese in as brutal a light as was common at the time -- though they certainly are "the enemy" in every way, and the film definitely has a rah-rah go America feeling to it at times, particularly the ending. The use of color is outstanding as I've found it always to be with this director despite his favoring black and white, and the performances are all quite solid. The problems lie mostly in the central third of the film as the guerrilla mission gets going; there's a little too much repetition here, and the romance between Power's ensign Palmer and Micheline Presle's Jeanne Martinez doesn't really seem necessary nor is it well thought out; overall the film feels a little too long and verges on tedious. But the final shootout is pretty well done and I certainly wasn't bored, even if this is a far from typical Lang effort that does not show him at his best.

I caught this movie on the Fox Movie Channel last week. A shame that the DVD is not available as this one would be a keeper. If you like WWII era movies this one is a good one. It documents insurgency activity against the Japanese during the war. A rag-tag group of people including some Americans separated from the rest of their detachment lead locals in a courageous and sometimes complex scheme to keep the enemy unaware of their activities. This was an easy movie to get into and one I would add to my collection if available. It is in color as well and features some spectacular shots.