BATTLE AT BLOODY BEACH 1961
This WW2 film has Audie Murphy in the starring role. The action takes place on an unnamed island in the Philippines. Murphy, who had been working in the Islands at the time of the Japanese Invasion, was lucky enough to have escaped. He however was unable to save his wife in all the confusion. He is now helping the US supply various Philippine resistance groups with arms and ammo. These are landed at night by submarine. Murphy uses these trips to spend time looking for his lost wife who he is sure is still alive.
This time there is trouble right from the get go. When Murphy hits the beach to meet his underground contact, Gary Crosby, he is jumped by a pair of patrolling Japanese soldiers. There is a brisk bit of hand to hand before Murphy and Crosby dispose of the Japanese. They hide the corpses and hightail it into the hills to Crosby's jungle shack. That is where Crosby has his radio.
At the shack Murphy meets several members of Crosby's band of guerrillas. One of this group, Dale Isimoto, leads Murphy to a meeting with William Mims. Mims is an American leading his own bunch of men. They want Murphy to supply them with arms so they can fight the Japanese. This does not happen as Murphy discovers that Mims and his men are simply bandits robbing the locals.
Arriving on the scene now is a genuine guerrilla leader, Alejandro Rey. Rey's men and Mims bunch engage in a quick and bloody battle with Rey's men winning. With Rey, Murphy finds his wife, Dolores Michaels. While Murphy is happy as pie with the reunion, Michaels is not. Thinking Murphy had been killed in the invasion, Michaels and Rey have been doing a bit of horizontal Mambo. Michaels now loves Rey.
Rey brings in all the Americans who have been hiding in the hills so they can be lifted by the submarine. Murphy agrees to this and will give Rey the rifles etc that he brought. Murphy is somewhat surprised when Michaels tells him she is staying with Rey.
Anyways, before the civilians can be taken out to the sub a large force of Japanese interrupt the proceedings. The Americans hide out in a wrecked ship on the beach and manage to fight off the Japanese assault. The Japanese send for a couple of mortars and begin to plaster the ship killing off the Americans one by one. It is only the last minute arrival of Rey's men that rout the Nipponese and save the day. Michaels has now decided that she does still love Murphy and will leave with him.
This is at best an average war film. It suffers from some not so good acting by the supporting cast as well as slipshod editing and direction. Murphy, Michaels and Crosby are however decent and do their best.
The director, Herbert Colman had worked with Murphy on the western POSSE FROM HELL. Colman had been a second unit director on 5 Hitchcock films including VERTIGO, TO CATCH A THIEF and REAR WINDOW. The man would soon end up working on the TV series, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND.
The story and screenplay, which should have been better, was by Hollywood veteran, Richard Maibaum. Maibaum wrote the story or screenplay for, THE GREAT GATSBY, I WANTED WINGS, O.S.S., THE RED BERET, HELL BELOW ZERO, RANSOM, GOLDFINGER, DR NO, FROM Russia WITH LOVE, THUNDERBALL and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
Look close and you can see Ivan Dixon in an early role. Dixon would become famous as one of men in the 1960's TV hit, HOGAN'S HEROES.
This WW2 film has Audie Murphy in the starring role. The action takes place on an unnamed island in the Philippines. Murphy, who had been working in the Islands at the time of the Japanese Invasion, was lucky enough to have escaped. He however was unable to save his wife in all the confusion. He is now helping the US supply various Philippine resistance groups with arms and ammo. These are landed at night by submarine. Murphy uses these trips to spend time looking for his lost wife who he is sure is still alive.
This time there is trouble right from the get go. When Murphy hits the beach to meet his underground contact, Gary Crosby, he is jumped by a pair of patrolling Japanese soldiers. There is a brisk bit of hand to hand before Murphy and Crosby dispose of the Japanese. They hide the corpses and hightail it into the hills to Crosby's jungle shack. That is where Crosby has his radio.
At the shack Murphy meets several members of Crosby's band of guerrillas. One of this group, Dale Isimoto, leads Murphy to a meeting with William Mims. Mims is an American leading his own bunch of men. They want Murphy to supply them with arms so they can fight the Japanese. This does not happen as Murphy discovers that Mims and his men are simply bandits robbing the locals.
Arriving on the scene now is a genuine guerrilla leader, Alejandro Rey. Rey's men and Mims bunch engage in a quick and bloody battle with Rey's men winning. With Rey, Murphy finds his wife, Dolores Michaels. While Murphy is happy as pie with the reunion, Michaels is not. Thinking Murphy had been killed in the invasion, Michaels and Rey have been doing a bit of horizontal Mambo. Michaels now loves Rey.
Rey brings in all the Americans who have been hiding in the hills so they can be lifted by the submarine. Murphy agrees to this and will give Rey the rifles etc that he brought. Murphy is somewhat surprised when Michaels tells him she is staying with Rey.
Anyways, before the civilians can be taken out to the sub a large force of Japanese interrupt the proceedings. The Americans hide out in a wrecked ship on the beach and manage to fight off the Japanese assault. The Japanese send for a couple of mortars and begin to plaster the ship killing off the Americans one by one. It is only the last minute arrival of Rey's men that rout the Nipponese and save the day. Michaels has now decided that she does still love Murphy and will leave with him.
This is at best an average war film. It suffers from some not so good acting by the supporting cast as well as slipshod editing and direction. Murphy, Michaels and Crosby are however decent and do their best.
The director, Herbert Colman had worked with Murphy on the western POSSE FROM HELL. Colman had been a second unit director on 5 Hitchcock films including VERTIGO, TO CATCH A THIEF and REAR WINDOW. The man would soon end up working on the TV series, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND.
The story and screenplay, which should have been better, was by Hollywood veteran, Richard Maibaum. Maibaum wrote the story or screenplay for, THE GREAT GATSBY, I WANTED WINGS, O.S.S., THE RED BERET, HELL BELOW ZERO, RANSOM, GOLDFINGER, DR NO, FROM Russia WITH LOVE, THUNDERBALL and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
Look close and you can see Ivan Dixon in an early role. Dixon would become famous as one of men in the 1960's TV hit, HOGAN'S HEROES.