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War movies can be a tricky recipe to pull off because they've been done so often and fall into clichés sooo easily. This film was saved by bravura and sincerity. It's a good film. What at first may seem like a generic Duke vehicle quickly exposes itself as a small ensemble drama on an epic stage.

Part of the appeal of this film is to watch it with history in mind. It tackles a lesser known part of WWII history, the war and guerilla movements in the Philippines. This film is totally unselfconscious in how it deals with the war, in one scene it features real Bataan POWs marching in a parade and introduces them documentary style with a narrator, and it hired Filipino extras and actors for important roles. This is what really touched and surprised me, how it elevated and glorified Filipino nationalism, culture, and history (Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifácio are frequently quoted and reverently referred to throughout the film); and, in an age where African American actors still were unfairly stereotyped and Asian actors almost nowhere to be found in Hollywood films, this treated Pinoy characters as equals and as heroes. This openmindedness on the part of the filmmakers was refreshing, but very reflective of the US fighting men's appreciation of the contributions of the Filipino people.

The film is passionate about the people it portrays. It's common for wartime films to be full of propaganda and overly zealous, but this film is more touching and intimate in its approach. Patriotic speeches actually have meaning and tears behind them, swelling music doesn't feel manipulative, no doubt because it was filmed with so many soldiers and civilians involved and in 1945, these people had just gone through all this and everything is done with a real and raw memory. It feels like it's built on real stories and people, and the actors seem to know they're not dealing with run of the mill cutout characters. There's a sincerity inherent in all of their performances because of the immediateness of the subject matter. John Wayne is less gruff than usual (and even downright dashing). Anthony Quinn's confused young man: brooding heartbrokenly when he's away from his informant fiancée, tender when he's around her, not sure how to fulfill what many feel is his destiny, and his own personal journey is lovely. Beulah Bondi (as a teacher evacuee who helps the men out) teary eyed when she thinks of her students; the motley crew mix of American GIs and Pinoy volunteers who surrounds the two officers, casual and down to earth. It's a tight cast in a friendly fight to upstage the others, and you'd better believe they milk every scene for what it's worth.

The film moves along quickly and realistically. Instead of complicated plot movements and intricate bloated twists, the story seems like it was taken from any number of jungle war experiences which makes it fascinating and unpredictable, like real history. Director Edward Dmytryk, later blacklisted, paid no heed to Production Code regulations for violence, and filmed scenes that were fairly explicit (for the time) in their portrayal of cruelty and violence inflicted on soldiers and civilians in an attempt to realistically dramatize some of the atrocities that occurred during the war which lends the film an air of impending danger and gravitas.

From before the era of ambiguous and complex war stories (which is how I usually prefer my war flicks to be served), this one of the best "classic" war films I've ever seen. (If you like this, check out "An American Guerilla in the Philippines" which was shot on location by the great Fritz Lang in 1949/50 and very similar in many regards.)

Back To Bataan is certainly one of the best war films ever made. John Wayne portrays Colonel Madden very well. This movie also shows that War Is Hell. Through very believable suspense, war sequences, it almost made you believe you were in the war and you could picture what it was like among the men who were actually there. When the camera was on the actor's face, you could tell whether he was scared, jumping with joy or angry. I urge all war movie buffs to check this one out, it's well worth your time. ****out of ****.

While this film is a tad heavy from time to time with propaganda elements, in many ways this war film stands well above the usual crowd of jingoistic American war films. Now I am NOT being critical saying the films are "jingoistic", as this was positive propaganda that slightly exaggerated the truth in order to unify the country against the Japanese. After all, we were at war and Japan had conquered most of the Pacific. But films made during the war often sacrificed reality in order to deliver the message--such as in AIR FORCE when a B-17 bomber almost single-handedly wipes out half the Japanese planes!! Fortunately, beneath the occasionally heavy-handed patriotism, the film itself was a very good representation of the war in the Philippines. This, combined with excellent action scenes and better than average acting make this a film worth seeing. In particular, other than IN HARMS WAY, this is John Wayne's best WWII film, as his acting is a little less "bigger than life" and more realistic. Also, if you liked this film, I also strongly recommend BATAAN (starring a surprisingly macho Robert Taylor). This film focuses on the fall of Bataan and BACK TO BATAAN is a great companion piece as it focuses not only on this but its reconquest. Top notch entertainment and a decent history lesson to boot!

The only thing that distinguishes "Back to Bataan" from scores of other routine war films is its historical theme, which remains an uncommon and important one. Few young Americans today have even heard of the Filipino and American disaster at Corregidor and the Bataan Death March that followed, during which numerous sick and hungry prisoners of war were beaten and killed by their Japanese guards. Although the movie accurately portrays the spirit of Filipino resistance to the Japanese, the individual characters from John Wayne down are cut from the usual Hollywood cardboard. Even the real American survivors of Japanese imprisonment, filmed here some months after their liberation during the invasion of the Philippines, are shown, supposedly right after they got out of the Japanese prison camp, freshly shaved and with neatly trimmed hair. Similarly, the guerrilla force led by John Wayne looks little the worse for wear even after two and half years of jungle warfare (whixh seem like about a week in this movie).

The Japanese lynching of the school principal is well handled. The man has not set out to be a hero, but put under the gun, literally, he is simply unable to haul down the American flag. The invaders hang him as an example.

Despite its weaknesses, "Back to Bataan" is still watchable and even enjoyable as a different view of World War II, especially if you're a high-schooler who hasn't yet become too cynical about Hollywood war movies. John Wayne and Anthony Quinn are their usual solid selves, and Beulah Bondi (as a naive but tough American matron)is an unusual asset in this kind of action film.

My father, who is now in his late eighties, was one of those Philippine Scouts (of the US Army) who defended the Bataan peninsula as part of the USAFFE (US Armed Forces Far East) from early January to 9 April 1942. He was an Aid-Man in Company C, 12th Medical Bn. (Philippine Scouts), and witnessed combat at the Battle of Abucay Hacienda (around 11-13 January 1942), which is on Bataan, while supporting the 57th Infantry Regt. (PS). Later, as a Runner for the 12th Medical Bn., he came into contact with those US Army nurses at Hospital No.s 1 and 2, who were portrayed by Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake, and others in "So Proudly We Hail" (1943). He survived about five days walking sixty-five miles on the "March of Death," being packed with about 100 other PoWs into a rail car designed to hold maybe forty men on the last forty-mile stretch to the prison camp, and then eight months in the Hell of Camp O'Donnell, or "Camp O'Death." My Dad loves this movie because it is so moving in many ways. As a result, we, his Baby Boomer children, are also big fans of this film, and will be for the rest of our lives.