Cry of Battle (1963)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

"Cry of Battle" is definitely a different sort of war movie. Clearly, it's NOT the sort of film you would have seen during WWII and even in 1963, it was pretty adult and modern in its sensibilities.When the film begins, David is living with his rich family in the Philippines when WWII breaks out. He's nearly killed by a group of thugs--after all, law and order have disintegrated. But he's fortunately saved by some Filipino insurgents--men who have taken to the countryside to fight a guerilla war against the invaders from Japan. However, one of these benefactors, Joe (Van Heflin) is a completely amoral sort of guy. Sure, he'll fight and kill the enemy but David is horrified to find out that he's also just raped a local girl! David naturally hates him but is forced to stick with him due to the war. Over time, they fall in with another group of rebels and David's naivete about these people and war is challenged, as he finds Joe isn't the exception to the rule...there are many others with severely challenged moral compasses...to say the least. Can David manage to remain morally pure while also becoming a man who must kill? And what of his lady, Sisa (Rita Moreno)? I am a bit surprised that Van Helfin agreed to play such a sleazy character. As a supporting actor, of course he had to play jerks now and then...but a rapist? It certainly is one of his more challenging portrayals! Overall, a very good but strange war film...and seeing James MacArthur (Danno from "Hawaii 5-O") playing the lead makes it all the more interesting...and jarring!

I normally review films with a positive bent, but make exceptions from time to time. This is one of them. Only a few people have commented on "Cry of Battle," and I wonder if any of them saw the same movie I did. I don't see how it can be considered a war movie at all. There are two short scenes with any shooting between the "good" guys and the Japanese. There isn't much intensity about evading capture. And the one supposed mission to knock out a Japanese warehouse never comes to pass on film. So, most of this film is about crime. Van Heflin, one of the stars, is a rapist, a racist and a murderer. Most of the "good" guys that he and James MacArthur tag along with are bandits taking advantage of the war. They rob, pillage and kill their own people. Some may argue that this shows a part of reality that is seldom shown about war, especially in the Philippines. Was there really such a situation with all bad eggs doing no good? There have been a number of good films made about resistance fighting in the Philippines during WWII. They show the struggles, the persecution of the Filipinos by the Japanese, and the heroic efforts of the people. This film shows none of that, and only alludes to one true resistance group fighting the enemy. The plot is weak to start with, and the characters and acting for the most part are all quite bad. MacArthur is fighting mad about Van Heflin's rape of a young Filipina. In the next scene he's almost forgotten about it. Van Heflin spends much of his time getting drunk on the local coconut liquor. In the movies based on true stories about the Philippines, the few Americans and the Filipinos themselves were rightly scared, wary of the Japanese and too alert to go on frequent drunks. And, just think of all those other war movies we have seen that show Americans getting drunk while trying to elude the enemy and save their lives. Is it any wonder why there aren't any? The only way I can see that this film relates to a war movie is that it bombs out. Or, maybe the filmmakers just wanted to make a movie about ugly and dumb Americans.

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 ****

I'm sure that the title of this film Cry of Battle was no accident and I'm sure many a piece of change was spent on admission to this feature because folks thought they were seeing a re-release of the more well acclaimed Battle Cry. That was a big budget studio effort which had Van Heflin as a Marine Colonel during the Pacific War.Cry of Battle also starred Van Heflin as a less admirable character and my guess is that the American players who appeared here did this as a boost to the Phillipine movie industry. Heflin shares top billing with Rita Moreno and James MacArthur with a cast of Filipino players.The premise of this film is borrowed a bit from the ending of Stalag 17. William Holden in that film tells Don Taylor in no uncertain terms that he is helping him escape because of anticipated rewards from Taylor's rich family. James MacArthur is the rich son of an American planter who like many Americans is stranded there after Pearl Harbor and the attack on Clark Field. He meets up with Van Heflin who is a merchant seaman similarly stranded. Heflin figures there might be a big reward in helping MacArthur out.Teaching him the facts of life involves rape for Heflin, but he's got an instinct for survival and he teaches MacArthur. They join up with a newly formed band of Filipino resistance and meet the captivating Rita Moreno who's a survivor herself. The rival gets good and heated.I'm sure flush from her Oscar in 1961, Rita Moreno could have gotten parts in bigger pictures than this. But I do believe the Americans were just helping the Phillipines get some American dollars in receipts by appearing here. She's quite the fetching girl temptress in this film. Van Heflin has never played a more loathsome character in his career. Yet he actually makes this guy likable, not an easy thing to do playing a rapist. But he's that skilled a player, he never gave a bad performance.Fans of Van Heflin, including myself, would do well to see this film and see just how wide a range of characters that man could play.