Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

JohnHowardReid Filmed entirely on location in the Philippines with (as a Foreword is careful to point out) the co-operation of the Philippines Government and its armed forces (many of the leaders of which took an active part in the war-time guerrilla movement), American Guerrilla in the Philippines may have been a bit of a trail-blazer in its time but, seen today, it is not much different from many other films dealing with these events, such as No Man Is An Island. This one, however, has been lensed on a lavish scale, although - aside from its shoot-out climax - the action scenes are not all that spectacular. All the same, Lang's pre-occupation with violence is evident in many scenes (the killing of Anzures, the Japanese interrogation of Torena and Miss Presle, the Japanese commander shooting a peasant who offers him a pack of American cigarettes) and his cynicism also comes to the fore in such episodes as the scene with Carleton Young as a nonchalant officer or the sequence in which Jack Elam and his confederates plunder the natives. In other respects, Lang's direction is capable, although camera movement and frame composition are not particularly imaginative aside from some isolated shots (the boat nearly capsizing with Power at the tiller, the Japanese soldier advancing almost into the lens of the camera before being shot back). The playing is little more than adequate, but it's interesting to see Tom Ewell, who is high up in the billing here in his second attempt at a Hollywood career (the two Willie and Joe films plus Abbott and Costello Lost in Alaska followed, after which he dropped out of sight again until his triumphant return a few years later in The Seven Year Itch). Actually, Ewell is comparatively subdued, as his part here calls for naturalistic comedy rather than exaggerated slapstick - the former certainly tones in better with the over-all mood of the film. In her first color movie (and what was to be her second last English-language role), Micheline Presle looks very glamorous. Robert Barrat appears briefly in his accustomed part of General MacArthur. Power is his usual self. Some of the indigenous players, particularly Miguel Anzures and the unidentified actor who plays the Japanese commander, are very effective. I am glad that Lang has the Japanese soldiers speak Japanese instead of fractured English (Hollywood's usual device in these circumstances). The film was an unusual assignment for writer-producer Lamar Trotti, but he has brought off both the screenplay and its production with his usual capability. Though the plot is to some extent stereotyped (a fault that occurs in the original novel and has unfortunately become more obvious due to the large number of imitations the film has inspired), at least the dialogue avoids many of the usual Hollywood cliches (having the Japanese dialogue untranslated is an advantage here). The film has been realized on an extensive budget. Both production credits and production values are first class.

Spikeopath It's because it simply isn't very good, not painfully bad exactly, just a meanderingly paced time filler is all. Adapted by Lamar Trotti from a novel by Ira Wolfert, it stars Tyrone Power, Tom Ewell and Micheline Presle. The plot focuses on Chuck Palmer (Power) & Jim Mitchell (Ewell) who are stranded in the Philippine Islands waiting for Gen. Douglas MacArthur's return. As the impending surrender to the Japanese is unappealing to the guys, they attempt to escape the Islands. Only to be thwarted at every turn. So digging in they set about building a communications station to aid the guerrillas in the war effort. But the Japanese are closing in.First time viewers should not be fooled by some of the advertising catch phrases that proclaim this to be a rousing spectacle, or a great Pacific adventure. It's a sedate character driven story that's more concerned with flag waving jingoism than any adherence to action entertainment. Which would be fine if Trotti's script wasn't so unimaginatively bland. It's nicely shot at the actual locations by Harry Jackson, and Power is as ever, watchable; working from actual military experience helps of course. But with Ewell and Presle out of their depth {the former out acted by ants in one of the film's rare suspenseful moments} and the romantic sub-plot as tiresome as it pointless, this only serves to be a huge disappointment as a picture, and a blot on the directors CV. 4/10

virginia Even as a non-movie war buff, I really enjoyed this movie. As a Filipino who lived in the Philippines for 16 years, 6 of which was in the province and the rest in the States, I really identify with the movie. It shows the beautiful scenery of the country and the rustic huts which are still being used to this day. It displays the villager life quite authentically as I recognized the national costume, (barong Tagalog and filipiniana), a typical nipa hut, the way people typically wash their clothes, and the huts on stilts.Tyrone Powell stars as the dashing war hero who gets blown off his PT boat and leads his motley crew to Australia. In the process, he gets caught up with the Filipino guerilla movement against the Japanese, trying to duck the Japanese whenever the village is invaded. It is an interesting portrayal of trying to make do with Asian countryside resources to make a viable radio to contact general MacArthurs troops. He meets the heroine who later becomes widowed and the two fall in love in the midst of the war. The ragtag crew gets caught in a last stand at a sturdy church, when General MacArthur arrives in the nick of time, making for a feel good movie, I found it exciting, easy to get into and located in a typical local Filipino flavor even featuring the typical native dance tinikling. I loved this movie, it will not disappoint. Maybe they could have portrayed the Japanese high rankers as a little bit more cruel, the way my mom used to describe to me, and they could have shown some Japanese as young kids who had no choice and were just homesick and were in a war they never wanted to be in. But other than that, an excellent war movie. The difference between movies in the 1950's and 2000's clearly show in terms of excellent acting and inspiring cinematography.

OldAle1 One of the few remaining Lang films that I hadn't seen and that was at all accessible, I finally caught up with this color war film on AMC. Though not amongst the directors finest works, it was certainly worth a watch, with Tyrone Power leading a group of Navy enlisted men on a circuitous journey across the islands, at first in the hopes of making their way to safe Australia but eventually settling for becoming part of an American guerrilla warfare effort. The film is notable for not presenting the Japanese in as brutal a light as was common at the time -- though they certainly are "the enemy" in every way, and the film definitely has a rah-rah go America feeling to it at times, particularly the ending. The use of color is outstanding as I've found it always to be with this director despite his favoring black and white, and the performances are all quite solid. The problems lie mostly in the central third of the film as the guerrilla mission gets going; there's a little too much repetition here, and the romance between Power's ensign Palmer and Micheline Presle's Jeanne Martinez doesn't really seem necessary nor is it well thought out; overall the film feels a little too long and verges on tedious. But the final shootout is pretty well done and I certainly wasn't bored, even if this is a far from typical Lang effort that does not show him at his best.