Hollywood simply did not make enough of these great color, letterbox format, Pacific Theater, WW II films! Director Ron Winston did a fine job with this one which is one of the best I've seen. Baby Boomers, in particular, will be hot on this one.
A young James Mitchum, (talented brother of Robert and John Mitchum), holds the starring role here over Hugh O'Brian and Mickey Rooney. Mitchum plays Private Grenier, a smart-aleck rookie U.S. Marine who has gotten himself shanghaied into a top secret special operation in the Phillipines during the Japanese occcupation. All the other marines, about a dozen of them, are highly-trained and experienced specialists in their respective fields. Mitchum, the radio guy, was grudgingly brought along as a last-minute replacement for the regular top communications specialist who came down with illness just prior to this imperative guerilla operation.
They are secreted to the island by float-plane at night. Soon after entering the jungle, the Captain of the operation is killed during a desperate scuffle with some Japanese soldiers at their campfire. Hugh O'Brian, playing the Lieutenant, takes over command and he doesn't much like Mitchum, viewing the Private as trivial and immature. Mitchum is eventually told the purpose of the operation: A Phillipine guide will take them across the jungle island to the Japanese base where their contact person, a covert Allied agent, will provide information that is critical to MacArthur's immanent Allied re-invasion of the Phillipines. Thus, it will eventually fall on Mitchum, the most important member of the team in terms of duty, to convey this critical intelligence by radio.
In yet another early confrontation with a small platoon of Japanese infantry, who are also equipped with a very cool little army tank, more Marines are killed and this also sets the Japanese hot on their trail through the jungle. Just before their destination is reached the Marine's native guide, the only person who knew who the identity of the contact agent, is killed -- Hugh O'Brian is forced to sneak into the Japanese-infested village and ferret out the contact agent at great risk. I'll have to stop here to avoid a SPOILER! One of the best features of this movie is the superb filmscore, composed and conducted by Richard LaSalle. It's one of those atmospheric sixty-ish scores reminiscent of those fine soundtracks previously conveyed by Hugo Friedhofer and Les Baxter. It really adds to the suspense and to the ambiance of this fine film.
The abundance of tropical flora, great locations and sets, the super cinematography, and, the great casting additionally support the superb quality of the movie. Compare this film to yet another of these singular film treasures: "Never So Few" It's all really just first-class. If you enjoy World War II films, especially those concerning the Pacific Theater, you'll love this terrific 1966 entry. My highest recommendation!
A young James Mitchum, (talented brother of Robert and John Mitchum), holds the starring role here over Hugh O'Brian and Mickey Rooney. Mitchum plays Private Grenier, a smart-aleck rookie U.S. Marine who has gotten himself shanghaied into a top secret special operation in the Phillipines during the Japanese occcupation. All the other marines, about a dozen of them, are highly-trained and experienced specialists in their respective fields. Mitchum, the radio guy, was grudgingly brought along as a last-minute replacement for the regular top communications specialist who came down with illness just prior to this imperative guerilla operation.
They are secreted to the island by float-plane at night. Soon after entering the jungle, the Captain of the operation is killed during a desperate scuffle with some Japanese soldiers at their campfire. Hugh O'Brian, playing the Lieutenant, takes over command and he doesn't much like Mitchum, viewing the Private as trivial and immature. Mitchum is eventually told the purpose of the operation: A Phillipine guide will take them across the jungle island to the Japanese base where their contact person, a covert Allied agent, will provide information that is critical to MacArthur's immanent Allied re-invasion of the Phillipines. Thus, it will eventually fall on Mitchum, the most important member of the team in terms of duty, to convey this critical intelligence by radio.
In yet another early confrontation with a small platoon of Japanese infantry, who are also equipped with a very cool little army tank, more Marines are killed and this also sets the Japanese hot on their trail through the jungle. Just before their destination is reached the Marine's native guide, the only person who knew who the identity of the contact agent, is killed -- Hugh O'Brian is forced to sneak into the Japanese-infested village and ferret out the contact agent at great risk. I'll have to stop here to avoid a SPOILER! One of the best features of this movie is the superb filmscore, composed and conducted by Richard LaSalle. It's one of those atmospheric sixty-ish scores reminiscent of those fine soundtracks previously conveyed by Hugo Friedhofer and Les Baxter. It really adds to the suspense and to the ambiance of this fine film.
The abundance of tropical flora, great locations and sets, the super cinematography, and, the great casting additionally support the superb quality of the movie. Compare this film to yet another of these singular film treasures: "Never So Few" It's all really just first-class. If you enjoy World War II films, especially those concerning the Pacific Theater, you'll love this terrific 1966 entry. My highest recommendation!