Back to Bataan (1945)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

Ben Barzman (screenplay) and
Richard H. Landau (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

31 May 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

The US Army's defense of its Philippines colony and the allied Malay countries/colonies behind it counted...

Plot Keywords:

Guerrilla | Philippines | Japan | Captain | Independence

Cast

John Wayne	...	Col. Joseph Madden
Anthony Quinn	...	Capt. Andrés Bonifácio
Beulah Bondi	...	Bertha Barnes
Fely Franquelli	...	Dolici Dalgado
Richard Loo	...	Maj. Hasko
Philip Ahn	...	Col. Coroki
Alex Havier	...	Sgt. Bernessa (as J. Alex Havier)
'Ducky' Louie	...	Maximo Cuenca
Lawrence Tierney	...	Lt. Cmdr. Waite
Leonard Strong	...	Gen. Homma
Paul Fix	...	Bindle Jackson
Abner Biberman	...	Japanese Captain
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Señor Buenaventura J. Bello

Also Known As:

The Invisible Army

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (certificate #10576) | UK:PG | Finland:(Banned) (uncut) (1954) | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1954) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

As the script for the movie was being written, the battle for Bataan was still being fought. The screenwriters were constantly updating the script based on the latest news from the front.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Miss Barnes asks Col. Madden if, after he avenges the hanging of Senor Bello, he would erect a sign in his honor quoting a Filipino poem that mentions several kinds of trees, including a cypress. Madden and his men do so, but the on the sign the word cypress is erroneously spelled "Cyprus", like the Mediterranean island.

Quotes:

Maximo Cuenca: [a poor student dying in his teacher's arms after heroic action] Miss Barnes, I'm sorry I never learned how to spell "liberty".
[dies]
Bertha Barnes: [tearfully] No one ever learned it so well.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Into the Breach: 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) (V)

What's Vet's Day without John Wayne?

John Wayne and Anthony Quinn star in this important story about the Philippine resistance in WWII.

Sure, you won't see the excitement of Pear Harbor or the Battle of Midway, but what you will see is a film dedicated to the Philippine heroes and patriots. There is a lot of history here, including the infamous Bataan Death March. The resistance fought the Japanese until the Americans returned to Leyte.

After over 100 westerns, this was one of Wayn'e first war films. Beulah Bondi was superb as a teacher/nurse working in the villages.

A great story of heroes that have not gotten their due.