Review by Leofwine_draca

SURRENDER - HELL! is one of many American WW2 movies that headed off to the Philippines to shoot in the late 1950s and early 1960s. These low budget outings are invariably low-fi efforts, made in black and white and with a kind of grainy cheapness that works on occasion, bringing to mind the genuine newsreel footage of the Pacific War.

This particular outing is just about average for the genre. It's watchable but forgettable, fast-paced but only involving on a basic level. American star Keith Andes finds himself stranded in the Philippines in the face of the advancing Japanese army and decides to drum up some local support for the cause as the rest of his army has fled. To this end he enlists the help of some local villages and even a random tribe of headhunters to fight the Japanese, gorilla-style.

The film has a bit of everything. There's a little romance with some local colour and some cruelty from the Japanese, who enjoy shooting everything in sight. The action scenes are plentiful but rather crudely achieved and not always very convincing. It's mainly just two sides gunning each other until one wins. I had fun spotting a youthful Vic Diaz (a stalwart of Filipino cinema) in the cast.