GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

disdressed12 this is one grit filled action packed war film.the the fighting scenes are well done.the acting is very good,all around.the movie really flows very well,i thought.it also really captures the essence of how brutal the Japanese were,in several scenes.everything looks authentic and realistic.in think the filmmakers were going for a high degree of realism here,and for the most part succeeded.it's one of those movies where you can help but feel uplifted.you may even feel like cheering.it's that kind of movie.yet it isn't maudlin or sappy.it's a very brisk paced ninety five minutes.would i watch it again?absolutely.i'd watch it again in the near future.for me,Back to Bataan is a 7/10

screenman Big John Wayne stars in this pacific actioner surrounding the defence of the Phillipines. He's fairly young and the solid larger-than-life character he quickly became is just on the cusp of development here.Anthony Quinn lends his ambiguous racial identity to the Phillipinos, playing the mythical grandson on their former hero.It's an old movie, so the violence and cruelty is a measure of what censors of the time (1945) would allow. Lots of people back home had sons and husbands fighting the Japs, imprisoned or returning and it probably wouldn't do to show them how bad things could actually get. Quite honestly; I've yet to see any movie that adequately portrays Japanese brutality with the kind of frankness that we see in some of the more recent movies about the Nazis. It's long past time that this was done, even at the risk of ruffling a few Nipponese feathers.This movie gives a Hollywood take on the conflict. Allied prisoners interned by the Japanese are released full-bodied, fresh-faced and clean-shaven. Likewise the jungle fighters look as though they're on the way to a parade ground. Some set-pieces are stagy to say the least.It's filmed in B&W which gives the movie a nice 'period' feel. The budget seems to have been pretty limited by usual standards. Even so, it still makes for an adequate watch if you've nothing better to do.I personally like old movies. So the £2 I paid at the local supermarket represented something of an investment. I only wish they'd turn out more of 'em.

wes-connors During World War II, the Japanese wrest control of the Philippines from the United States, but stalwart Colonel John Wayne (as Joseph "Joe" Madden) doesn't see things the "Jap" way. With help from Filipino officer Anthony Quinn (as Andres Bonifacio), US troops fulfill their promise to the Filipinos, and save their colony for democracy. Fiancée Fely Franquelli (as Dalisay Delgado) makes Mr. Quinn's love life interesting as she seems to be favoring the enemy. Scene stealing schoolteacher Beulah Bondi (as Bertha Barnes) and little "Ducky" Louie (as Maximo) help play tug of war with your heart. The ending would have you stand and salute.**** Back to Bataan (5/31/45) Edward Dmytryk ~ John Wayne, Anthony Quinn, Beulah Bondi, Fely Franquelli

JimSDCal John Wayne is mostly known for the westerns he starred in, like "Stagecoach" and "The Searchers" but during the WW II era he made some good war pictures. This is one of them. It is the story of American and Filipino resistance to the Japanese' occupation of the Phillipines during WW II. Wayne plays Col. Joe Madden, an American who stays behind when the US evacuates the Pacific islands at the start of the war and heads a band of guerrillas comprised of both American soldiers and patriotic Fillipinos. One of men under Madden is Andres Bonifacio, the grandson of a famed Fillipino leader, who must accept that the woman he loves is giving aid to the enemy through radio speeches requesting that the island people submit to Japanese rule. This movie, directed by Edward Dymitryk, is based on actual events, which occurred on the island chain, and the reality of the struggle to free the Philipines from the Japanese is very compelling. So, it gets a grade of B+ and a strong recommendation. It is one of John Wayne's best movies.