TankGuy
I really enjoyed this actioner, it starts off with an ear blasting bombing and the film is high on action for the rest of the movie. Other action includes more deafening explosions, shootouts and battle scenes which all make very heavy use of Gattling guns, springfield rifles and grenades.But at times there is a lot of dialogue and the film is very bleak, as with most war movies. There is a lot of quite frightening and harrowing scenes, some which include several characters dying of malaria or being killed in battle, for a 70 year old film, there is quite a lot of blood and gore. In the aftermath of a skirmish, many of the main characters are dead or wounded and one character is nearly completely covered in blood and the rest of the characters are nearly covered in their comrades or their enemys blood, very disturbing, now i know why its hardly on TV.At the end of the movie, every single character apart from Robert taylor, is dead. Taylor finds himself surrounded by enemy soldiers and in a state of frenzy begins machine gunning every soldier he can see. The film ends with a front view of the machine gun relentlessly firing out shots as a message appears on the screen. After this, the usual The End card appears.All in all, quite a brutal and hard hitting anti-war drama, but still one of the best. Highly recommended for war movie fans.
writers_reign
If you discount Robert Taylor, a contract artist, there's very little about this film that says MGM yet that was the studio responsible. Thomas Mitchell, aged fifty-one at the time was a tad long in the tooth even for a thirty-year man, Lloyd Nolan, who turned in arguably the best performance had strong ties to Paramount, George Murphy was a jobbing actor who followed the money, Robert Walker was just starting out and was not identified with any studio, likewise Desi Arnaz. Journeyman director Tay Garnett jobbed around though he did helm The Postman Always Rings Twice for MGM and so on. What we have here is our old-friend the Hollywood 'Bomber-Crew' movie in which a group of disparate people are thrown together due to circumstances beyond their control (in this case war) and told to just get on with it. Of it's type it's as good as any and better than some.
Terrell-4
This well-acted, tough World War II propaganda movie is an excellent example of the MGM style: Solid production values, some good acting...and a tendency to hit the message out of the ball park, and then hit it out again. And again. The story of a small group of soldiers fighting and dying to buy time for MacArthur to regroup around Bataan was, I suspect, a powerful movie when it came out in 1943. Now, it's a curious mixture of Hollywood theatrics mixed with some genuinely moving moments. At nearly two hours, it also goes on too long. For those who may believe that brave men can survive in propaganda war movies, read no further. It's early 1942 in the Philippines and Sergeant Bill Dane (Robert Taylor) with a mixed bag of semi-volunteers are given the assignment of blowing up a bridge which would otherwise be a primary crossing point for the invading Japanese army as it races south. They must also set up a defensive position across the chasm to keep the Japanese from rebuilding. Dane is a competent, no-nonsense Army lifer. The only other regular Army men he has is Corporal Jake Finegold (Thomas Mitchell), a wise old hand and long-time friend, and Corporal Barney Todd (Lloyd Nolan), a cynic who may have a history with Dane. The other ten men include an enthusiastic Navy corpsman, an engineer, an air force pilot, a medic and a supply corporal. The story line is simple. As we learn about these men and their histories, the Japanese pick them off one by one. And as they die, the dedication of the remaining men only grows stronger. We're left with the image of a row of graves barely visible as ground fog sweeps among them, with the rifles of the dead men thrust into the ground as headstone markers. Then the movement of Japanese soldiers creeping in for the final attack...with Sergeant Dane, exhausted and wounded, the last remaining man, rising to his feet, clutching his machine gun and blazing away at the charging enemy. "Come on, suckers," he screams, "come and get it! We're still here! We'll always be here!"The cast is small and gets smaller. Demographically, it matches Hollywood's idea of America. There's an Hispanic, a black, a Jew, a misfit, a young kid, a Philippine scout, a...well, you get the idea. Thomas Mitchell as Corporal Finegold plays his patented role of giving us some of the movie's messages. When early in the movie Dane bemoans how unprofessional his group of soldiers is, Finegold just says, "You can't always tell, sergeant. Some of those kids learn pretty quick and kinda good." Later, when Dane is discouraged and says, "I wonder how long these guys can stand up to this stuff," Corporal Finegold says to Dane (and to the theater goers), "Those kids signed up for this just like you and me. They'll get tired, sure. Things'll get tough, sure. But I don't think they'll put their tails between their legs and run anymore than you would." Robert Walker in his first credited film role plays the very young, gum- chewing corpsman. It's wise to remember that in propaganda movies it can be fatal to start dictating a letter home to your Mom. George Murphy plays the pilot who manages to get his bi-wing aircraft off but is wounded in the process. As with the other men, he chooses to die heroically. Even a conscientious objector who signed on as a non-combat medic winds up throwing grenades. Robert Taylor and Lloyd Nolan are particularly effective. I couldn't help but admire the professionalism of the movie. Yet knowing the men are going to get picked off, combined with the length of the movie, had me tensing every time someone decided to stand up, write a letter, peer over a sandbag, talk about his life back home or sing a spiritual. The tension is effective for the first hour, but after a while it got to be a strain. The one face-to-face fight towards the end of the movie, when Japanese soldiers camouflaged to look like brush and bushes begin to move toward the remaining men, and the men respond first with machine guns and then with bayonets, was a relief. It also was a brutal look at hand-to-hand combat. It's hard to beat war propaganda that lets us see average men and women gladly dying for a cause nobler than their own lives. At that level, the movie works. Bataan may be dated, but if you enjoy older war movies you might like this one.
Michael O'Keefe
BATAAN is one of my very favorite war movies and is based on an actual endeavor in the Phillipines. Sgt. Bill Dane(Robert Taylor) leads a small platoon of thirteen devoted men in the mission of blowing up a pivotal bridge, the Japanese need to prolong their war efforts. The Japanese do not take their bridge being blown up lightly. Realistic WW2 combat scenes as a few brave men fight for survival in the South Pacific. Great ensemble cast featuring: George Murphy, Lloyd Nolan, Thomas Mitchell, Robert Walker, Desi Arnaz, Barry Nelson, Phillip Terry and Tom Dugan. One of my favorite scenes is when the enemy invades as a group of 'walking shrubs'. Plus the energy of Arnaz as he finds Tommy Dorsey on the radio. The finale is memorable as Taylor is berserk with desire to defend himself surrounded by the enemy. Thanks to AMC and TCM for showing this classic as much as they do.
