The Steel Claw (1961)

Director:

George Montgomery

Writers:

Ferde Grofé Jr. (writer)
George Montgomery (writer)

Release Date:

6 October 1961 (Denmark)

Genre:

War | Drama

Tagline:

It Tears Your Nerves to Shreds!

Plot:

A Marine stationed in the Philippines loses a hand in an accident and is discharged from the Corps. When the Japanese invade the Philippines...

Plot Keywords:

Rescue Mission | Train | Outrigger Canoe | Snake | Shark

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

George Montgomery	...	Capt. John Larsen
Charito Luna	...	Lolita Smith
Mario Barri	...	Santana
Paul Sorensen	...	Sgt. Frank Powers
Amelia De La Rama	...	Christina
Carmen Austin	...	Rosa
Ben Perez	...	Dolph Rodriguez
John MacGloan	...	Commander
Joe Sison	...	Himself
Pedro Faustino	...	Farmer, Lolita's Uncle
Oscar Keesee	...	Lolita's Cousin (as Oscar Keesee Jr.)
Al Wyatt Sr.	...	Sergeant (as Al Wyatt)

Runtime:

USA:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Company:

Ponderey Productions

Offensive

Despite that there was one female guerrilla in the movie who was taken seriously as a fighter, I found this shameful and offensive.

Plot: a recently disabled boozing loser American officer in the Phillipines takes a break from being rude to prostitutes to go into the jungle and ask a guerrilla leader to help him rescue a general who has been captured by the Japanese. The movie is about that journey, the dynamics between the American and the guerrillas, and his relationship with yet another prostitute who wears high heels in the jungle and follows him around like a puppy, in some weird male fantasy subplot with no connection whatsoever to the main plot or to reality (where prostitutes usually hate their johns and sometimes vomit after having to touch them).

But what really offends in this movie is the 1930's-era attitude that all these natives need is a white imperialist American telling them what do to. Forget that they are well armed, well-experienced, well-organized, and know the terrain. No, no, no, the Big Awful White Guy has to explain the simplest of tasks to them. Five minutes into the core of the movie, I wanted to climb in there, take a rifle, and frag him myself. This is exactly the reason, I thought, why everyone else in the world hates Americans, and after seeing this horrible bit of imperialist propaganda, I don't blame them. Unlike the world of reality, where this guy surely would have been fragged, the natives end up loving him and making him honorary big chief or some other thing not seen since the height of British condescension to people in African and India. Shameful, shameful stuff.