Bataan (1943 film)
| Bataan | |
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Original promotional poster
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| Directed by | Tay Garnett |
| Produced by | Irving Starr |
| Written by |
Robert Hardy Andrews Garrett Fort(uncredited) Dudley Nichols(uncredited) |
| Starring |
Robert Taylor George Murphy Thomas Mitchell Lloyd Nolan Robert Walker Desi Arnaz |
| Music by |
Bronislau Kaper Eric Zeisl |
| Cinematography | Sidney Wagner |
| Edited by | George White |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; United States Office of War Information |
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Release date
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Running time
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114 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $958,000 |
| Box office | $3,117,000 |
Bataan (1943) is a war film about the defense of the Bataan Peninsula during World War II. It was made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Tay Garnett and produced by Irving Starr, with Dore Schary as executive producer. It starred Robert Taylor, Lloyd Nolan, Thomas Mitchell and Robert Walker.
The Battle of Bataan followed the Japanese December 1941 invasion of the Philippines and lasted from January 1 to April 9, 1942. The American and Filipino forces retreated from Manila to the nearby mountainous Bataan Peninsula for a desperate last stand, hoping for a relief force. However, the Allies were being driven back in all areas of the Pacific theater and none could be sent. After three months of stubborn resistance, the starving and malaria-ridden defenders surrendered and were forced to undertake the infamous Bataan Death March.
The US Army is conducting a fighting retreat. A high bridge spans a ravine on the Bataan Peninsula. After the army and some civilians cross, a group of eleven hastily assembled soldiers from different units is assigned to blow it up and delay Japanese rebuilding efforts as long as possible. The rear guard is a mixed lot, including:
They dig in on a hillside, setting up heavy machine guns in sandbag fortifications and then blow up the bridge, but their commander, Captain Henry Lassiter, is killed by a sniper, leaving Dane in charge.
One by one, the defenders are killed, while Ramirez succumbs to malaria. Despite this, the outnumbered troops doggedly hold their position. Malloy shoots down a Japanese airplane with his Tommy gun before being killed; also Dane and Todd blow up the partially rebuilt bridge, creeping up undetected to throw several Mk. 2 fragmentation hand grenades.
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Wikipedia