Review: Bataan

Based loosely on fact and based partly on “The Lost Patrol” (cribbing footage from it at times too), this WWII film features Robert Taylor as the leader of a multi-racial band of soldiers facing insurmountable odds against the Japanese in a situation not too dissimilar from “The Alamo”. Lloyd Nolan is the irritable corporal whom Taylor may or may not recognise from a previous military engagement. Thomas Mitchell is the veteran separated from his unit and joining up with Taylor’s band of soldiers. Robert Walker is the young and naïve Navy musician who may be in over his head. Also in this ragtag platoon that ominously number thirteen are Desi Arnaz as a private, George Murphy as an air force pilot who is to play a key part in events if he can get his downed plane repaired, Roque Espiritu as the resident Phillipino soldier, Kenneth Spencer (quite good) as the token black soldier, and Lee Bowman as an inexperienced captain who was in charge until the more battle-hardened Taylor showed up.

 

Pretty well-received war flick from 1943, directed by Tay Garnett (“The Postman Always Rings Twice”, “The Fireball”, “The Valley of Decision”) and scripted by Robert D. Andrews (“The Walking Dead”, “Before I Hang”). I wasn’t as enamoured with it, finding it cheap-looking, stage-bound and visually unconvincing. The action scenes get much praise elsewhere, but I could never get past the cheap look in order to find the action effective.

 

That’s not to say that the B&W cinematography is a problem. It looks like an A-grade cinematographer is working on a B-grade assignment at best. Indeed, in addition to the excellent Bronislau Kaper (“Gaslight”, “Song of Love”, “Them!”, “Mutiny on the Bounty”) music score and some good performances, the cinematography by Sidney Wagner (“Dragon Seed”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice”) is one of the strongest assets of the film. Wagner’s pretty much polishing a turd, not that the film itself is a turd, just the whole thing looks so obviously set-bound that Wagner deserves credit for trying to class it up. I do, however, feel that the overreliance on close-ups was a little too obvious an attempt at hiding the budget.

 

There’s nothing new here story-wise, but the script is not the problem, nor are the performances. Robert Taylor isn’t my favourite movie star, but he’s well-cast and surprisingly good here in a strong, sturdy performance. Alongside his shockingly hardened turn in “The Last Hunt”, this is his best performance by a long shot. A pre-“Strangers on a Train” Robert Walker looks shockingly young and really does show promise playing a naïve and eventually scared Navy kid who means well, but has no idea what he’s in the middle of. Desi Arnaz is one of many entertainers who turned up in war films of the 40s and 50s, and is neither Frank Sinatra nor is he the worst. Thomas Mitchell is always good value and is fine here, but one has to wonder how lax the military were during WWII that a guy his age and his (out of) shape could possibly end up fighting in a war. By far the standout here is Lloyd Nolan, in a John Cassavetes-ish performance circa “The Dirty Dozen”, playing the most interesting and complex character in the film. He’s unpredictable, seemingly hiding something, and just shy of being a selfish prick. He’s the one you’re gonna remember here more than anyone else.

 

A watchable WWII film, but due to its cheap production values, I was never truly drawn in to the story. The artifice was all too apparent to me, it looked like play acting and although I understand we’re talking about 1943 filmmaking, I couldn’t quite suspend disbelief. Subsequent WWII stories, even those from the same era, hold up a lot more successfully than this one. It’s much better than the overrated “Story of G.I. Joe”, however. Interesting ending manages to find a way to be heroic/patriotic yet downbeat at the same time.

 

Rating: C+