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Back to Bataan (1945)

 -  Drama | War  -  31 May 1945 (USA)
6.5
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Ratings: 6.5/10 from 1,892 users  
Reviews: 26 user | 12 critic

The US Army's defense of its Philippines colony and the allied Malay countries/colonies behind it counted on its island fortress of Corregidor on Luzon -and a few others- but loses it in ... See full summary »

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(screenplay), (screenplay), 2 more credits »
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Title: Back to Bataan (1945)

Back to Bataan (1945) on IMDb 6.5/10

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
...
Capt. Andrés Bonifácio
...
Bertha Barnes
Fely Franquelli ...
Dalisay Delgado
Richard Loo ...
Maj. Hasko
Philip Ahn ...
Col. Coroki
Alex Havier ...
Sgt. Bernessa (as J. Alex Havier)
'Ducky' Louie ...
Maximo Cuenca
...
Lt. Cmdr. Waite
Leonard Strong ...
Gen. Homma
...
Bindle Jackson
Abner Biberman ...
Japanese Captain
Vladimir Sokoloff ...
Señor Buenaventura J. Bello
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Storyline

The US Army's defense of its Philippines colony and the allied Malay countries/colonies behind it counted on its island fortress of Corregidor on Luzon -and a few others- but loses it in the 6 May 1942 Japanese combined forces attack. Colonel Joseph Madden is among the escaping survivors who are ordered by general Douglas McArthur to organize a guerrilla. As he finds many native Filipinos inclined to resist the occupier's vision of returning to the South Asian fold under a paternalistic empire which doesn't hesitate to 'spank the unruly', but is mainly civilian, unprepared, inept in military matters, Madden appeals to the legendary anti-US freedom fighter Andres Bonifácio's homonymous grandson Captain Andrés Bonifácio, who is luckily rescued from a POW dead march, to inspire the resistance -once his own fighting spirit is rekindled- with him in a still very unsure war, retaliated by bloody, ten to one repression. When the Japanese realize the people side against them, they stage fake ... Written by KGF Vissers

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

The Story of the "Invisible Army of the Philippines" (original poster) See more »

Genres:

Drama | War

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

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Release Date:

31 May 1945 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

The Invisible Army  »

Filming Locations:

 »

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(RCA Sound System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Japanese tanks were portrayed by both US Army's m3 Stuart's light tanks and m4 Sherman medium tanks. See more »

Goofs

When the Australian radio officer types the message he's receiving from the Phillippines, he spells the word "organization" using the American spelling, with a "z". An Australian would use the British spelling - "organisation", with an "s" - although it is possible he simply wrote "z" because he was quickly transcribing the Morse Code signal sent by the Americans. See more »

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.
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Connections

Referenced in Mean Streets (1973) See more »

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User Reviews

 
An All-Too- Rare Look at Filipino Resistance
29 May 2006 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

The only thing that distinguishes "Back to Bataan" from scores of other routine war films is its historical theme, which remains an uncommon and important one. Few young Americans today have even heard of the Filipino and American disaster at Corregidor and the Bataan Death March that followed, during which numerous sick and hungry prisoners of war were beaten and killed by their Japanese guards. Although the movie accurately portrays the spirit of Filipino resistance to the Japanese, the individual characters from John Wayne down are cut from the usual Hollywood cardboard. Even the real American survivors of Japanese imprisonment, filmed here some months after their liberation during the invasion of the Philippines, are shown, supposedly right after they got out of the Japanese prison camp, freshly shaved and with neatly trimmed hair. Similarly, the guerrilla force led by John Wayne looks little the worse for wear even after two and half years of jungle warfare (whixh seem like about a week in this movie).

The Japanese lynching of the school principal is well handled. The man has not set out to be a hero, but put under the gun, literally, he is simply unable to haul down the American flag. The invaders hang him as an example.

Despite its weaknesses, "Back to Bataan" is still watchable and even enjoyable as a different view of World War II, especially if you're a high-schooler who hasn't yet become too cynical about Hollywood war movies. John Wayne and Anthony Quinn are their usual solid selves, and Beulah Bondi (as a naive but tough American matron)is an unusual asset in this kind of action film.


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