L'évasion la plus longue

McClure and company, at the time of the Vietnam war, manage to tell an optomistic story during a time without much good news. As others have probably mentioned, the song "500 Miles" (covered by the Kingston Trio and others) was popularized by this film.

This war-action-drama movie is personally memorable and I'm sure it is too for many Filipinos, especially the WWII veterans. I saw this on television when I was a child with the whole family in the early 1970s re-run and remember liking it so much not only because it was filmed in the Philippine countryside but also because of its historical theme, and the action scenes too. It was also a delight seeing Hollywood actors on-screen with Filipino actors, including the little Vilma Santos. A theatrical release would have been a hit too.It would be great to see it again on DVD as a grown-up. A 40th anniversary DVD release and TV re-run would be perfect in 2007. Howabout that?

I have always enjoyed watching the film "The Longest Hundred Miles" since I was a kid. I have recently seen the film and noted some veteran Filipino actors who played Japanese soldiers. At the end of the film the cast did not include them. I was quite disappointed since these were two highly respected actors. The first Japanese general who invaded the church was played by Vic Silayan. He has appeared in numerous films in the Philippines and in the U.S. including " No Man is an Island" and " Night of the Cobra Woman ". Silayan also co-wrote a book about Filipino cinema that reflected all his work.

The second Japanese general who pursued the contraption bus in the film was played by Vic Diaz. Much like Vic Silayan he has appeared in a lot of Filipino and American movies like " Impasse " and " Daughters of Satan ". Diaz was known for his smooth talk and persuasiveness on screen.

I feel these two actors have been overlooked during "The Longest Hundred Miles ". This is my salute to Vic Diaz and vic Silayan for their excellent work.

i was stationed at clark ab philippines in the air force at the time, they took 35 of us to use as extras in the film. it was a great experience getting to meet and work with the actors and also got to meet katherine ross during the three days we were there. we were portrayed as the prisoners of war in the first part of the movie. i have a copy of the movie on VHS, just recently made a copy for a doug mcclure fan in perth Australia..i was 20 years old at the time... great time a long time ago..this was filmed in south luzon out in the middle of nowhere, we slept on old army cots in a thatch hut. they had a party for us every nite we were there with the actors being our host. our trip from clark to the location and back was kinda hairy as we were on a phillipine air force c47 and landed on a grass strip in the middle of a palm forest..the take off (short strip) was interesting also barely missing the tops of the palm trees..lots of san miguel beer also..good times in our younger days.....kenny smith

This World War II TV movie opens with a Japanese single-engine plane flying in the Philippines. The pilot broadcasts the "news" to the people below (civilians and POWs), that "the Americans have surrendered." The war is over, he proclaims. Japan has been successful.

Of course, that was a lie. But it is a true picture of the type of propaganda that Japan used throughout the war. The Japanese army and navy put a great deal into these efforts to demoralize and deflate the people. Weakened enemies would speed up their conquest of the Pacific Ocean nations. Later broadcasts from Japan that became known by the Americans and Allies as "Tokyo Rose," were similar propaganda efforts. These were aimed to demoralize and weaken the Allied troops..

After this opening, the movie plot then picks up on the ground where hundreds of POWs are being marched off by Japanese soldiers. So, this was probably set in late December of 1941, before the Japanese had overrun the entire islands.

Most people know the entry of the U. S. in WW II after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. But that was not its sole target to begin its siege of the Pacific. The very next day, Japanese ships, planes and troops attacked the Philippines with a fury. The Philippines and USA were allies. And, military command for the South Pacific was there, under Lt Gen. Jonathan Wainwright. So, this was a key objective of the Japanese forces. The embattled and bombed Allied forces on Bataan surrendered on April 9, 1942. By that time the U. S. and Filipino forces had lost 25,000 killed, 21,000 wounded, and 100,000 captured.

Of course, few believed the Japanese propaganda. Not the Allied force, nor the people of the islands. Indeed, the underground fighting and resistance to the Japanese by the Filipinos equaled that of the French underground and its efforts against the Nazi invaders in Europe.

Well the bulk of this story is about the break away from the POW march by one American GI, and his subsequent efforts to escape that soon include a missionary priest, some orphan children, and a Navy nurse who had been in hiding. It's a fair story as they make their way across their island over 100 miles to a pickup site the nurse knew of for people fleeing the Japanese. Doug McClure is okay as the American corporal, Steve Bennett, and Katharine Ross is okay as Lt. Laur Huntington. Ricardo Montalban plays the missionary, Father Sanchez. He and several of the children are part of the best of this film.

While some may find the film slow, especially with the fast action of so many modern movies, I urge anyone who starts the film to stick with it. It has quite a surprising and very meaningful ending. And, it's interesting to realize that more than 20 years after the end of WW II, the American public, and indeed, people in Europe and around the globe, were still very much interested in the war and movies about it. Interest in WW II would wane slowly through the end of the century. But in 1967, this TV movie was tied with another, "The Doomsday Flight," for the highest rated TV movie of the year.