Cry of Battle (1963)

Director:

Irving Lerner

Writers:

Benjamin Appel (novel)
Bernard Gordon (writer)

Release Date:

9 October 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Action | War | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Lustiest Saga of the South Pacific

Plot:

During World War II, the spoiled son of a wealthy businessman finds himself involved in the guerrilla movement fighting against the Japanese, and finds romance and adventure. |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film | Based On Novel

Cast

Van Heflin	...	Joe Trent
Rita Moreno	...	Sisa
James MacArthur	...	David McVey
Leopoldo Salcedo	...	Manuel Careo
Sidney Clute	...	Col. Ryker
Marilou Muñoz	...	Pinang
Oscar Roncal	...	Atong
Liza Moreno	...	Vera
Michael Parsons	...	Capt. Davis
Claude Wilson	...	Matchek
Vic Silayan	...	Capt. Garcia
Oscar Keesee		(as Oscar Keesee Jr.)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hal Bowie
Francisco Cruz

Also Known As:

Officers and Men (USA) (DVD box title)
To Be a Man

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | Philippines

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Company:

Petramonte Productions

Trivia:

This was the movie playing on a double-bill at the Texas Theater when Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested there on 22 November 1963 for the murder of a police officer and assassination of President John F. Kennedy, The other half of the double feature, War Is Hell (1963), was the movie playing during the arrest.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fade to Black (1980)

Corrections in film and trivia.

I was the producer of "Cry of Battle". The production name, Petramonte,is Stein(stone)berg(mountain) in Spanish. The rape scene was with Van Heflin trying to rape Pinang, played by the Phillipina actress, Marilou Munoz, not Rita Morena. For Trivia: I shot around Rita Morena so that she could fly back to LA for the Acedemy Award. She got an Oscar that year, returned and continued shooting. The working title was "To be a man". The book called for an young adult. Making the David McVey character younger with James MacArthur, it was better contrast as a much younger man. We shot a number of days using jitneys (old cars used as buses) horse drawn carts in crowded streets. This was that start of the Japanese attack. All of that work and footage went into the trash can and we ended up with a simple line about the date.