Back to Bataan Page #2

Synopsis: The US Army's defense of its Philippines colony and the allied Malay countries/colonies behind it counted on its island fortress of Corregidor on Luzon -and a few others- but loses it in the 6 May 1942 Japanese combined forces attack. Colonel Joseph Madden is among the escaping survivors who are ordered by general Douglas McArthur to organize a guerrilla. As he finds many native Filipinos inclined to resist the occupier's vision of returning to the South Asian fold under a paternalistic empire which doesn't hesitate to 'spank the unruly', but is mainly civilian, unprepared, inept in military matters, Madden appeals to the legendary anti-US freedom fighter Andres Bonifácio's homonymous grandson Captain Andrés Bonifácio, who is luckily rescued from a POW dead march, to inspire the resistance -once his own fighting spirit is rekindled- with him in a still very unsure war, retaliated by bloody, ten to one repression. When the Japanese realize the people side against them, they stage fake i
Genre: Drama, War
Director(s): Edward Dmytryk
Production: Turner Home Entertainment
 
IMDB:
6.7
APPROVED
Year:
1945
95 min
177 Views


- Let's have it.

- You're going out, Joe.

- Where?

- To organize general guerrilla resistance.

And leave my Scouts?

You can't do that to me, Skinny.

I've spent most of my life...

The President just ordered

Gen. MacArthur to Australia.

Well, then, I guess I can leave the Scouts.

I don't have to tell you what

the boys of Bataan have gone through.

They've been bothered

especially with planes.

They've pinned us down

until we're helpless.

We've been combing them out of our hair.

Anything you can do

to relieve the pressure.

We'll do the best we can.

- Haven't got much time.

- What about men?

You'll have to take pot luck.

There're a few men in the hills already.

A scattering of scouts

and Philippine troops who were cut off.

ROTC boys we couldn't equip,

and a few civilians.

Here's a map reference to a small group

near the town of Balintawak.

You'll leave by PT boat at midnight.

That doesn't give me time

to get back to my men, does it?

No, it doesn't.

- I have my sergeant with me...

- Sure, take him along.

And one thing more.

You have a source of information

you'll have to guard at all costs.

- It comes over Radio Manila.

- Radio Manila?

Yes, it's the girl, Dolici Dalgado.

I know the stuff she's broadcast is poison,

but it would've gone on the air anyhow.

- She's doing more harm than Jap guns.

- Harm?

It was a tip from her that kept

your reserve company of scouts...

out of action and saved the whole front.

Last night, she warned us

about Yamashita's arrival.

- That'll be good news to a friend of hers.

- Joe...

nobody knows about this

except you and me...

now that Gen. MacArthur's gone.

- It'll have to stop there.

- Yes, sir.

And the way to make contact with her

is set out in your orders.

It's vital that the guerrilla movement

be organized in case...

You won't have any trouble.

- They're a great people.

- They are, sir.

- So long.

- So long, Skinny.

Be seeing you.

To His Excellency, Gen. Homma,

soon to be conqueror of Bataan.

Thank you.

If the Chief of Intelligence can spare

his beautiful companion for a moment...

I will talk with her.

I have heard you on the radio,

Miss Dalgado.

I am deeply impressed

by your good sense.

Thank you, Your Excellency.

You may be the instrument...

of sparing your people

much unpleasantness.

- I have worked hard for that end.

- You must continue.

The liberation of the entire Philippines

is now merely a matter of days.

- Let us hope so.

- In all confidence, Miss Dalgado...

we Japanese look upon you Filipinos...

as nephews and nieces.

You have been out

of our East Asia family for too long.

We are waiting to embrace you,

to welcome you back into the fold...

providing you behave yourselves.

- We shall be very good, Your Excellency.

- I'm certain you will.

But remember, we are kindly...

but not indulgent.

We shall not hesitate

to spank the unruly ones.

Thank you, Miss Dalgado.

The third, or American period

of occupation...

began with the Battle of Manila Bay...

and will be terminated

by a grant of independence...

July 4, 1946.

These are the main phases of our history.

What, then, was Spain's contribution

to the Philippines?

Maria?

The Spanish brought us the holy faith,

the Blessed Virgin, and the saints.

Quite right, Maria.

The Spaniards brought us Christianity.

And, now, what would you say

America gave the Philippines?

- Soda pop.

- Hot dogs!

- Movies.

- Radio.

Baseball!

Perhaps the first of my pupils

has a better answer.

Senor Bello.

America taught us that men are free,

or they are nothing.

Since then, we have walked

with high heads among all men.

Thank you, Senor Bello.

At first, Filipinos did not feel that way.

They resisted the American occupation.

And then what happened? Theresa?

- We were beaten.

- We were not.

Americans cannot beat Filipinos.

My brother, Ramon

licked every American in the USA...

at 118 pounds.

Facts, Maximo. We must stick to facts.

I seem to recall that Ramon lost his fight

for the championship.

We was robbed.

Perhaps, Maximo, I should ask you

about a Filipino who was not beaten.

What were the last words

of Gen. Del Pilar...

to those who left him behind?

"I am..."

"I am surrounded by fearful odds...

"that will overcome me

and my gallant men.

"But I am well pleased with the thought...

"that I die fighting for my beloved country.

"Go you into the hills

and defend it to the death."

- Is this everybody?

- Yes, sir.

I was told I'd find

some Philippine Scouts among you.

Cpl. Cruz, 26th Cavalry,

Philippine Scouts, reporting, sir.

Good, Corporal. Anyone else?

- Where are you men from?

- Mostly from Balintawak, sir.

Ever handle guns?

- Just bolos?

- Our fathers used them well.

How well I know.

I guess you understand we're taking on

a job that would be tough for trained men.

We're gonna blow up a gasoline dump

on a Japanese airfield...

50 miles the other side of Balintawak.

There will be from 400 to 500 Japs

on the field.

- How many?

- 400 or 500.

A mere trifle, like we say.

We'll start tonight after dark.

That ought to put us at the airfield

by dark tomorrow night.

Between now and sundown,

Sgt. Bernessa will give you instructions.

Listen to him carefully

and do exactly as he says.

- Take over, Sergeant.

- Yes, sir.

Things look rough?

A little rough.

In that case, smell this stew.

Go ahead, smell it.

Ever smell anything better than that

in your life?

Never.

In that case, taste it.

Why, it's a masterpiece, Bindle.

You taste there

the fruits of two days' panhandling.

All of which goes to prove

that nothing is wasted.

People could look at me and say,

"Bindle Jackson, hobo."

But without 20 years' experience on the

road, could I make up a mulligan like that?

- Never.

- Now, if I could only shoot.

Colonel, strictly from a point of view

of scientific curiosity...

what would you say our chances are?

- Of blowing up the dump or getting back?

- Both, especially the latter.

- Fair.

- Fair?

You wouldn't say good?

Not if you want me to tell you

what I think.

Very interesting, isn't it?

Not, come to think about it, that I have

any seriously pressing engagements.

- Colonel, did you have a good life?

- Fine life, Bindle.

Especially here on the islands.

- And you?

- I can't complain.

You know,

that's the worst part about war.

You meet somebody,

you get to know them...

wham, you never see them again.

You see something,

but you never know how it ends.

Be nice to know right now

how all this is going to end, wouldn't it?

It certainly would.

You will bow to the Japanese officer

as representative of His lmperial Majesty!

Lower!

Fellow Orientals, the hand

of His lmperial Majesty, the Emperor...

has put an end to your domination...

by an exploiting and arrogant

American race.

It will next put an end

to a system of education...

designed to impress upon you

a sense of inferiority.

Senor Bello...

step forward, please.

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Ben Barzman

Ben Barzman (October 12, 1910 – December 15, 1989) was a Canadian journalist, screenwriter, and novelist, blacklisted during the McCarthy Era and best known for his screenplays for the films Back to Bataan (1945), El Cid (1961), and The Blue Max (1966). more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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    "Back to Bataan" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 Oct. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/back_to_bataan_3413>.

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