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Once Before I Die (1966)
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Overview
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Release Date:
December 1966 (USA)
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Plot:
WW-II 1941: Shortly after Pearl Harbor the Japanese attack the Philippine islands. A group of Polo playing...
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Plot Keywords:
Philippines
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Beautiful Woman
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WWII
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Jungle
User Comments:
What movie have the others been watching
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Ursula Andress | ... | Alex |
 | John Derek | ... | Bailey |
| Richard Jaeckel | ... | Lt. Custer |
| Ron Ely | ... | Soldier (as Ronald Ely) |
| Rod Lauren | ... | Captain |
| Vance Skarstedt | ||
| Allen Pinson | ||
| Greg Martin | ||
| Renato Robles | ||
 | Fred Galang | ||
| Andres Centenera | (as Andress Centenera) | |
| Rod Francisco | ||
| Nello Nayo | ||
| Mario Taquibulos | ||
| Eva Vivar |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
The 26th Cavalry (Philippines: English title)
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Runtime:
97 min
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Soundtrack:
Once Before I Die
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I first heard about the film, in a book by Danny Peary called Guide For the Film Fanatic. The question he seemed to ask was, How someone like John Derek could have made such a good film? Having seen this film on TV, I have to agree with him.
While John Derek may have made many bad films, and I can't say they were all bad, because I have not studied his work. However, I wonder if those other reviewers who hated this film so much just hated John Derek.
When I watched this film, I couldn't help but feel that Derek was influenced by the Polish Films of the 1950's by Wajda, particularly CANAL. While filmed in color, this film has that despair of war. Considering that most of television, and some movies portrayed World War II as something heroic, this film was ahead of its time. It shows war as very ugly, almost a warning about the Viet Nam conflict that the US was just getting involved with. I also enjoy his shots of other people who inhabit the scenes, as if they have stories to tell themselves, particularly the native population of the Phillpines. It is a use of the camera I believe called 'foregrounding', something that was used in the Cuban film THREE JULIAS, which I think was made later. Another person, not on IMDb, mentioned that he felt this film had an influence on Appocolypse Now, especially if you see the Redux version.
His use of Freeze Frames was ahead of it's time, though occasionally it looks cheesy, and may have helped keep the budget down. Also, with John Derek as the star of the film, he does have some surprises in the story, something that has been copied in later films, which I will not name. Finally the Use of Mrs. Andress in the film, may have helped get more financing for the movie. While some of you might look at her as only eye candy, I would suggest that her performance and presence does not distract from this film, and is not wrong. The final image of her on the screen, with the beautiful song, is a haunting image.