Une fille dans la bataille

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.

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.

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 ****

Actress Rita moreno says it was an Awful film..in a recent interview (on youtube), and had to fly herself in between filming to attend the 1960/61 Academy Awards from Manilla, to Los Angeles, CA, for her previous film 'West Side Story'. She thought she had a 'slim chance' to win eventhough the industry Favorite Judy Garland was also nominated for 'Judgement at Nuremburg',,, but at the time was in the hospital. .

"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.