Grito de batalla

For some unknown reason, Joe, 3rd mate on a merchant ship, is given a spot promotion to 2nd Lt, and given a squad of Philippinos with orders to attack a Japanese sugar processing plant. This is the last we hear of the plant.

Tagging along, again for unspecified reasons, is the snot-nosed scion of an unseen mogul who falls in love with the heroine. The heroine, alas, is something of an opportunist, and ends up in bed with Joe just because. Naturally, the green-eyed monster makes an appearance.

The only thing this film has to do with war are the 17 or so Japanese soldiers who occasionally make their appearance. Most of this movie deals with the angst felt by the snot-nosed kid in his never-ending attempts to pry the heroine away from Joe.

I found this film to be a grand waste of time.

"Cry of Battle" is definitely a different sort of war movie. Clearly, it's NOT the sort of film you would have seen during WWII and even in 1963, it was pretty adult and modern in its sensibilities.

When the film begins, David is living with his rich family in the Philippines when WWII breaks out. He's nearly killed by a group of thugs--after all, law and order have disintegrated. But he's fortunately saved by some Filipino insurgents--men who have taken to the countryside to fight a guerilla war against the invaders from Japan. However, one of these benefactors, Joe (Van Heflin) is a completely amoral sort of guy. Sure, he'll fight and kill the enemy but David is horrified to find out that he's also just raped a local girl! David naturally hates him but is forced to stick with him due to the war. Over time, they fall in with another group of rebels and David's naivete about these people and war is challenged, as he finds Joe isn't the exception to the rule...there are many others with severely challenged moral compasses...to say the least. Can David manage to remain morally pure while also becoming a man who must kill? And what of his lady, Sisa (Rita Moreno)?

I am a bit surprised that Van Helfin agreed to play such a sleazy character. As a supporting actor, of course he had to play jerks now and then...but a rapist? It certainly is one of his more challenging portrayals!

Overall, a very good but strange war film...and seeing James MacArthur (Danno from "Hawaii 5-O") playing the lead makes it all the more interesting...and jarring!

Disney movie veteran James MacArthur does a real about-face in this impossibly tough war-drama about a young American man in the Philippines during World War II who is forced to grow up quickly after being unceremoniously placed into battle against the Japanese. Silvery black-and-white cinematography, some intriguing ideas, but mostly a grating, ungainly picture which MacArthur's youthful finesse can't quite elevate. Van Heflin, as a hard-drinking soldier who's also a rapist and murderer, gets stuck with the worst scenes, though Irving Lerner's direction is good and there are gripping sequences for fans of this genre. ** from ****

This is an action packed drama that occurs during WWII.

The story is a moral dilemma that men in war often have to face. There are always local civilians in about any war.

Van Heflin plays a low life punk who happens to be in the U. S. Navy, and who gets a chance to be more.

James McArthur plays a well to do son of a rich plantation owner, who gets a chance to be less.

It is also a chance for McArthur's character to be "more".

As "Joe", Heflin has every chance to behave as a human towards the people of another country. Instead, he abuses them in every way, but with the motivation of it being for his own pleasure.

Joe is a hedonist, though not a sadist. It's one of the few "evil men" roles Heflin played on film. Joe is a bit like Heflin's villain in "Gunman's Walk", but actually isn't quite as evil as that character, but Joe does more terrible things by virtue of being totally without regard to other people.

There is also probably a prejudice Joe has against Asians, but we never really know if he wouldn't do the exact same thing if given a chance against Europeans.

Unfortunately, Joe is given command and stewardship by an officer who respects his "bravery", a huge mistake.

That's one of the hidden motifs of this story.

The main theme is how other characters react to Joe. As "David", McArthur finds he is the catalyst who is challenged to "do the right thing" in regards to the crimes Joe commits.

David has many chances to turn Joe in for his crimes, but tries to be a "comrade".

In watching this, we think we would "do the right thing" immediately, but in a war, one finds it hard to turn in a comrade for crimes of passion and lack of restraint.

The other characters are depicted quite well. This is an excellent drama, and teaches us to "do the right thing" before too many wrong things happen. David's indecision costs some lives, and he regrets it. It's a movie to learn from.

This movie will not be a favorite of those who thrill to color and glitter. It is a Black/White film but this goes well with the story as it was set in an era when B/W films were common and expected.

The actors were not in a very glamorous or beautiful setting until near the end. Depicting the typically poor Filipino lifestyles and modes of living of those times, it is historically true-to-life in costume, food and customs.

There is the contrast of a good man, innocent in his lack of worldly experience, and a bad man who was shown as a typical, although a bit stereotyped, sailor who did not care for anyone but himself. A girl is raped (Rita Moreno) by the bad man near the end of the movie although this is shown in the best of taste, no details are shown. It also leads up to the dramatic ending and leaves the viewer with a keener sense of satisfaction that justice was done. However, even though this and the earlier rape of Pinang were shown with a great degree of good taste, quite unbelievably so for rapes, but to an adult mind they are clearly understood. This permits the movie to be shown to all ages and it could be somewhat useful in juvenile development.

Viewers with adult understanding do not come away lacking and young minds are not affected by it because they only see a girl being carried away or crying afterwards and nothing more than this. Actual violence to the girl is not shown nor is language given that is offensive to young ears. These scenes are done in a way that no one is disappointed by a story lacking in important details.

The times for the setting were rough times. The actual language was no doubt rough and vulgar, to some degree, but this was not made part of the story because the story stood on its own merit and did not require such sensationalism. A study in appropriateness is thus shown to the viewer and nothing is lost.

The actors were marvelous. As a linguist and traveler to the Philippines, I know that the language used is authentic; Rita Moreno is admirable in her use of the language because her native Spanish is a large part of the language heard a few times in the movie.

The Filipino actors are among the best the Philippines had to offer at that time and still are 100% believable in their roles. One comes away feeling that the viewer is sharing part of real life where nothing is artificial or ill-construed to gain viewer interest or merely to fill space in the allotted time for the movie. In fact, there is nothing extraneous in the story and viewers benefit best by making sure to not miss a single word so that get full impact. A satisfying and complete understanding of the story is the result.

This movie is highly recommended for younger viewers as well as older ones because it comes off well in teaching children and young adults that the world is composed of both good and bad people and that good does indeed overshadow evil, especially in the end.

I found that the movie was thoroughly enjoyed by both Asians and non-Asians. No one who enjoys a good story, well put together and well-done, is left lacking. In fact, some don't mind seeing it again not long afterwards. It is somewhat historical but mostly it is believable and this is pulled off by the story itself combined with the superb work of the actors.