Verrat im Dschungel

A few years earlier, Gary Cooper starred in the very entertaining LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER--an adventure film about an uprising in Afghanistan and the actions of the British army to crush this rebellion. In this case, the film cast made some sense, as Gary Cooper's accent could be explained away by his being a Canadian. But here, we once again have him playing a very similar role as a soldier in the American army but he is surrounded by British actors. They never really explained how the very-British Reginald Owen and David Niven were American soldiers! But, despite this silly casting, the film is highly entertaining and worth seeing--provided you ignore the strange accents. In addition, like LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER, there was a local tribal insurrection that must be eliminated by training loyal locals to fight to ensure the peace. In the case of this film, it is set in the Philippines and based on the very brief Moro uprising towards the beginning of the 20th century. It's the sort of adventure film you can enjoy provided you have only modest expectations--in other words, this isn't deep or philosophical, but more like a traditional Cowboy and Indian movie set in a tropical setting.

Adventure and military movie set after the US capture of the Philippine Island during the Spanish-American War (1898) , set in 1906 the Island of Mindanao, there takes place an uprising of Moro tribesmen spreading terror and massacre . After most of islands are evacuated only a small group of Army officers is left to lead the Filipino soldiers against rebels . Along the way a sympathetic trumvirate : Gary Cooper , Broderick Crawford , David Niven attempt to save Philippine patriots from savage insurgents at a fort . Love and danger, the two strongest challenges to a soldier's heart . With the savage rhythm of jungle drums beating in his brain , a devil-may-care soldier faces the crises of his life beside the girl he loves. Always outnumbered never outfought . With the screen's most romantic adventurer ¡.

An overwhelming and adventurous movie with mighty thrills and particularly fine interpretation from Gary Cooper and Broderick Crawford. Henry Hathaway and producers attempted to make a similar film to "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" 1935 but set in Philippines , copying likeness elements as terror of the fanatic Muslims to be wrapped in pig skin , and equally starred by a trío of brave soldiers . It includes an enjoyable relationship among three protagonists : Gary Cooper/David Niven/Broderick Crawford Including an exciting and breathtaking finale when Cooper comes to rescue of the heavily besieged fort . Gary Cooper is nice , as always, as a heroic doctor called Bill Canavan who is not afraid to fight . Support cast is frankly good such as : Andrea Leeds , Vladimir Sokoloff, Reginald Owen , Kay Johnson, Russell Hicks, among others. This moving and patriotic film was initially titled Revolt of Manilla, Black of Manilla, and The Last Frontier. It was shot on various locations in California : Chatworth, Kernville, Point Magu and Hunt Salto Canyon.

The picture released thru United Artists was well directed with dash by Henry Hathaway. He was a good professional with a long career of spendour in Hollywood , as he directed all kinds of genres with penchant for Western : "When West was young, Man of the Forest, Go West Young Man, Brigham Young, Gundown ,North to Alaska, Sony of Kathy Elder, How the West was won, Nevada Smith, Five Card Stud, True Grit, Shoot out" and Adventure movie : " The lives of a Bengal Lancer, Souls at Sea , The Racers , Legend of the Lost , Sundown, Spawn of the North, Prince Valiant, Circus World, The Last Safari and this The Real Glory" . The yarn will appeal to adventure films enthusiasts and Gary Cooper fans .

THE REAL GLORY is a terrific follow-up to the adventure classic LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (1936) which saw the previous pairing of star Gary Cooper with director Henry Hathaway. THE REAL GLORY is a 'Boy's Own' style adventure romp through the jungles of the Phillipines following the Spanish-American War. Cooper leads a small band of American soldiers and medical personnel as they train a police force to fight back against vicious Moro pirates who terrorize and prey upon the local villagers. Cooper and co-star David Niven are the perfect Hollywood mix of heroism, gallantry and self-sacrifice. Director Hathaway fills THE REAL GLORY to the brim with rousing action sequences, desperate derring-do and the kind of buckle-swashing that heavily influenced modern classics like Spielberg's RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. An absolutely top-notch film in every department. This is escapist entertainment as only Golden Age Hollywood could produce. If you like 'GUNGA DIN/RAIDERS' style filmmaking then this is a must-see. A perfect Saturday night popcorn film.

With the American troops retreating from the Philippines due to the strength of the Moro uprising and leaving the locals open to massacre, they leave a few men including Gary Cooper, David Niven and Broderick Crawford behind to train the natives how to defend themselves. The Moro are though determined to lure everyone to the jungle where they can attack them.

Like many gung ho adventures created largely for propaganda purposes in thirties and forties this plays fast and loose with the truth generally in favour of the Americans. Interesting the film was banned in 1942 given that it showed the Moro as blood thirty savages who became allies in WWII.

All this aside, this is a stirring quite brutal gung ho adventure with plenty of high drama, a cholera epidemic, a frightened commanding officer and a number of impressive action packed set pieces. This and Cooper, Niven and Crawford our fearless go getters out to save the locals and battle the blood thirsty savages, what more could one ask for.

Back in 1999 I made a long planned journey to the Far East and the Phillipines was one of the stops. I learned two things there and they are key to understanding The Real Glory. The first is they are very proud of the fact they are the only Christian nation in the Far East. The second is that they gained their independence in 1898, but suffered American occupation until 1946.

The southern Phillipines are where the Moslem Moros reside and if we hadn't been there, they would still have a lovely religious war with the Christian northern islands. But we were also occupiers and it is part of an occupying army that new American officers Gary Cooper, David Niven, and Broderick Crawford arrive at a post in one of those southern Moslem dominated islands.

The events in this film take place in 1906, four years after the Filipino resistance was crushed. Our three American officers are assigned to a place where the local Osama is running roughshod over the populace and waging a nasty, brutal war on the Americans with tactics not unlike we see in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I can't say too much more about the plot of this film, it gets down right silly at times. But someone should screen this for this president and the one who'll succeed him. If the key to installing fear in Moslem hearts is as simple as Gary Cooper discovers, we'll beat them without any further ado.

Maybe one day someone will make a good film about the Phillipine resistance and our occupation. There's quite a story there, at different points in time, America is shown in a good or bad light. It's sad that this is the only film I can think of about the USA in the Phillipines.