Une fille dans la bataille

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 a WWII film that portrays a side of the war not normally focused on, the conflicts in the Philippines. The film overall proved to be quite interesting in both the historical and plot aspects. Specifically the plot was just not focused upon a love triangle, but also corrupted friendships and the theme of man vs. man. The film held many underlying themes that were projected both to better tell the story and also display the historical context of the film. The three lead actors (Van Heflin, James MacArthur, and Rita Moreno) rightfully portrayed their characters developing them throughout the movie. All in all Cry of Battle is one of the thousands of war films glossed over during the mid twentieth century, except it actually was a diamond lost in a pile of rocks.

"Cry of Battle" was released in 1963--the same year that "Spencer's Mountain" hit the big screen. Both star James MacArthur in a coming of age story, but it would be difficult to find two films so different from each other. Where "Spencer's Mountain" is filled to the brim with scenes about the virtues of family bonds and living in harmony with the land, "Cry of Battle" is nearly morally bankrupt. In fact, I am surprised the novel was chosen for filming.

Set during World War II, the film features MacArthur as the son (David McVey) of a wealthy businessman, trapped on a remote island of the Philippines. He is befriended by a creepy opportunist named Joe Trent (Van Heflin)--a man for whom he feels both revulsion and loyalty.

In refreshing contrast to the script, which is distasteful, is the performance of Rita Moreno as Sisa, a Filipina who is caught up in the tragedy of the war and the stormy relationship between the two men.

The final scenes try to resolve the moral ambiguity of the film, but end up being abrupt, unsatisfying and enigmatic.

I'm sure that the title of this film Cry of Battle was no accident and I'm sure many a piece of change was spent on admission to this feature because folks thought they were seeing a re-release of the more well acclaimed Battle Cry. That was a big budget studio effort which had Van Heflin as a Marine Colonel during the Pacific War.

Cry of Battle also starred Van Heflin as a less admirable character and my guess is that the American players who appeared here did this as a boost to the Phillipine movie industry. Heflin shares top billing with Rita Moreno and James MacArthur with a cast of Filipino players.

The premise of this film is borrowed a bit from the ending of Stalag 17. William Holden in that film tells Don Taylor in no uncertain terms that he is helping him escape because of anticipated rewards from Taylor's rich family. James MacArthur is the rich son of an American planter who like many Americans is stranded there after Pearl Harbor and the attack on Clark Field. He meets up with Van Heflin who is a merchant seaman similarly stranded. Heflin figures there might be a big reward in helping MacArthur out.

Teaching him the facts of life involves rape for Heflin, but he's got an instinct for survival and he teaches MacArthur. They join up with a newly formed band of Filipino resistance and meet the captivating Rita Moreno who's a survivor herself. The rival gets good and heated.

I'm sure flush from her Oscar in 1961, Rita Moreno could have gotten parts in bigger pictures than this. But I do believe the Americans were just helping the Phillipines get some American dollars in receipts by appearing here. She's quite the fetching girl temptress in this film.

Van Heflin has never played a more loathsome character in his career. Yet he actually makes this guy likable, not an easy thing to do playing a rapist. But he's that skilled a player, he never gave a bad performance.

Fans of Van Heflin, including myself, would do well to see this film and see just how wide a range of characters that man could play.

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.