Back Door to Hell

I am not a great fan of Monte Hellman's films, but they were a witness of the seventies period. This small budget war flick is worth seeing for the directing skills, and the early perfomance of Jack Nicholson. For the rest, it's just another war film, taking place in the Philippines during WW2. Predictable, with no real unforgettable scenes, the short length provides more intensity in this plot which is not that surprising. The result is a sharp and tense story, with enough action scenes to entertain. And Monte Hellman, no matter my taste, is an iconic film maker from the seventies, this movie not his most famous though, but still worth viewing.

I'm 62 yrs old and had thought I'd seen every b&w WWII film made in the USA. I saw this film today for the fist time. I was completely surprised by the performance of Jimmie Rogers and several of the Filipino actors. Not enough attention has been paid to the sacrifices made by the Filipine people during WWII. I think this film had a certain raw elegance that rises above the sometimes stilted dialog and,thus,deserves more air-time.

I remember Jimmie Rogers as a singer in the 1950's. I was surprised and impressed with his acting in this film. He played the young soldier thrust into a position of leadership by world events and, like so many other young men (me among them), tried his best. He was thoughtful and serious, but not ponderous as he tried to lead other young men through the moral/ethical mine field that war represents. Also,this film is worth your time just for the opportunity to see a very young Jack Nicholson at work. I must also add here that I am definitely a sucker for black & white films. I think Ted Turner should be drawn and quartered. for colorizing the classics!

Finally, all of the Filipine actors had decent, meaningful dialog and were shown to be the resourceful, dedicated and very effective fighters that they,in fact, were. Joe Bradley Virginia Beach, VA

Three US soldiers come ashore on a Philippine island to do intelligence work in preparation for the big US invasion to retake the islands from the Japanese. Led by Jimmie Rogers as sensitive Lieutenant Craig with pacifist leanings, with Jack Nicholson playing a communications expert with a lot of philosophical observations, and John Hackett as Jersey the tough realist among them, they meet up with the local resistance led by Paco (Conrad Maga), who have been fighting the Japanese for the last few years and have grown cynical about the Americans ever coming back. This film is a direct contrast to the John Wayne movie Back To Bataan in which the Americans were seemingly idolized as they were led by the Duke himself. Maga tells Rogers that he (Maga) is in charge if they are to work together. Rogers, Nicholson, and Hackett have to find out where the Japanese defenses are as the invasion is about to happen, and the film hikes us through the jungles and highlands in pretty sharp black and white, with some authentic flourishes about interrogation of captured Japanese soldiers and another ragtag guerrilla band that is looking to make a profit out of the war. The details are what make this well worth checking out, as the film dodges any of the obvious heroics it could have exploited. Get through the opening credits and you see that it was directed by Monte Hellman (Two Lane Blacktop) and he delivers a war film with enough action as well as some semblance of authenticity giving us a multi-faceted story.

Hollywood has frequently (and variably) dealt with the WWII Pacific conflict: this is another such film, for which 'indie' director Hellman managed to secure the backing of a major studio, Twentieth-Century Fox (though the end result being just 69 minutes long, it was clearly sold as a 'programmer'). Anyway, Hellman's talent for introspection is even more evident (in an otherwise slightly-plotted effort) than before, with the emphasis on characterization (pertaining especially to the initial-distrust-which-develops-into-mutual-respect between the different races involved)...though the action, whenever the film resorts to it, is sufficiently well-handled.

Jack Nicholson co-stars as one of a trio of American soldiers who arrive by raft to the Philippines in anticipation of the imminent Allied invasion of Japan. Though good as always, and already displaying his chameleon-like abilities, the role (joker, radio operator and Japanese interpreter all rolled into one!) does not allow him to shine like he did in the simultaneously-shot FLIGHT TO FURY (1964), another Hellman collaboration. The chief reason for this has to do with the fact that the central figures here are Nicholson's conscientious superior (a youthful-looking but undeniably effective Jimmie Rodgers) and the dehumanized leader of the rebel army (imposingly played by Gerald Maga).

The third member of the outfit, then, is blood-thirsty John Hackett (who co-wrote the film!), while the locals also number among them a strong-willed girl who became attached to Maga after he lost his family during the early days of the war. The two units clash over the treatment to be accorded some Japanese officers they capture, but soon they are fighting them side by side: the Americans' radio having been rendered useless in a skirmish, the trio then decide to infiltrate the enemy camp in order to send word back home that their mission is accomplished. Caught in the act, however, Nicholson succumbs to a hail of bullets and, when the two groups eventually reconvene, the girl tells Rodgers that Maga has fallen as well!

Though reasonably impressive as a cinematic exercise, the general tone proves rather too low-key for the film to be properly gripping as a whole. Besides, the overall pace is decidedly leisurely (consequently feeling longer than its running-time would suggest!), while the overly familiar situations that unfold throughout do not exactly help make it a distinguished example within such a prolific genre.

World War II has probably been the most focused-on topic in cinema. Practically every genre has depicted the six-year global conflict. There's no shortage of famous movies about it - I recently saw "A Bridge Too Far" - but there are also the lesser known movies. Monte Hellman's "Back Door to Hell" is an example. It depicts some US troops (one of them played by a young Jack Nicholson) scoping out the Japanese-occupied Philippines to prepare for a US invasion. Joining up with some locals who are waging a guerrilla war against the occupiers, the US troops soon find out that this is no time to play fair.

It's no masterpiece, but still a good focus on how it's hard to be the "good guy" in a desperate situation. I understand that all sides flouted the Geneva Conventions during WWII. And it turned out to not even be the last war ever fought.

Anyway, interesting movie.