Film Snail

6.1

Back to Bataan

PG-13·1945·95m

War

Drama

War

Drama

Summary

An Army colonel leads a guerrilla campaign against the Japanese in the Philippines.

Cast

John Wayne

Colonel Joseph Madden

Beulah Bondi

Bertha Barnes

Anthony Quinn

Captain Andres Bonifacio

Fely Franquelli

Dalisay Delgado

Richard Loo

Maj. Hasko

Philip Ahn

Col. Coroki

Alex Havier

Sgt. Bernessa

'Ducky' Louie

Maximo Cuenca

Lawrence Tierney

Lt. Cmdr. Waite

Leonard Strong

Gen. Homma

Paul Fix

Bindle Jackson

Abner Biberman

Japanese Captain

Vladimir Sokoloff

Señor Buenaventura J. Bello

Erville Alderson

Teacher (uncredited)

Spencer Chan

Japanese Man (uncredited)

W.T. Chang

Leader (uncredited)

Robert Clarke

Soldier (uncredited)

Roger Cole

Wainwright's Aide (uncredited)

Angelo Cruz

Cruz (uncredited)

Pat Davis

Aide (uncredited)

Tony Dell

Soldier (uncredited)

Abe Dinovitch

Singer (uncredited)

Marcello Estorres

Priest (uncredited)

Tommy Estrella

Second Guerrilla (uncredited)

Benson Fong

Officer Making Broadcast (uncredited)

Harold Fong

Prince Ito (uncredited)

H.W. Gim

Japanese Secret Agent (uncredited)

Edmund Glover

(uncredited)

Erick Hanson

Wainwright's Aide (uncredited)

Joseph Kim

Sgt. Osami (uncredited)

Pauline Lang

Minor Role (uncredited)

Jung Lim

Japanese General (uncredited)

Jimmy Lono

Filipino Priest (uncredited)

Leon Lontoc

First Guerrilla (uncredited)

Kenneth MacDonald

Maj. McKinley (uncredited)

Michael Mark

Señor O'Bordo (uncredited)

John Miljan

Gen. Jonathan Wainwright ('Skinny') (uncredited)

Andy Nocon

Minor Role (uncredited)

Ted O'Shea

Minor Role (uncredited)

Carmen Padilla

Marie (uncredited)

Ray Teal

Lt. Col. Roberts (uncredited)

Bill Williams

(uncredited)

Crew

Director

Edward Dmytryk

Screenplay

Richard H. Landau

Screenplay

Ben Barzman

Story

Æneas MacKenzie

Story

William Gordon

Reviews

John Chard

January 6, 2016

I send out 100 men, they find nothing. I send out ten men, they don't come back.

Is it churlish to complain about overt flag waving in war movies? Or to decry propaganda prose in the same? Back to Bataan is guilty as charged, yet such is the composition of Edward Dmytryk's film, and its focus on a part of the war we rarely have seen on film, it matters not.

We are in 1942, and after the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese, U.S. Army Col. Joseph Madden (John Wayne) stays behind to lead the local guerrilla resistance against the Japanese army. With that synopsis it isn't hard to figure out what sort of pic we are going to get, yet to purely consider this as a macho beefcake movie is a little unfair.

Sure it's bookended by blistering action, as Duke Wayne (very restrained turn actually) and Anthony Quinn cut a swathe through the RKO sound stages, but there's lots of intelligent human interactions here to mark it as being in the least knowing of the campaign.

It often grasps for the sentimental branch, while the racist barbs and portrayal of the Japanese does sting at times. But this is exciting and thoughtful stuff, boosted no end by Dmytryk's sturdy direction and Nicholas Musuraca's monochrome photography (a film noir lovers dream pairing!). Better than routine war movie. 7/10