Bataan Reviews

This tough, uncompromising film, extremely well handled by director Garnett, tells the story of a group of determined soldiers fighting on Bataan, knowing that they face certain death as they attempt to delay the advancing Japanese troops. Based on the heroic defense of the Philippines in early 1942, the film shows soldiers from all parts of America, as well as Filipinos fighting for their own soil. Taylor gives a rugged and inspiring performance as the grim but kind-hearted Sergeant Dane, who commands the small group in a rear-guard action, protecting MacArthur's ragged army as it limps away down the narrow peninsula, where it would make its stand for three harrowing months. One by one, the soldiers are brutally picked off (not unlike the forlorn members of John Ford's 1934 film THE LOST PATROL) until only a handful are left. Although the film was clearly shot within the confines of a studio set, the use of miniatures is effective and the hand-to-hand combat scenes are startling and brutal. One of MGM's better war films.