The year is 1944.Just prior to General Douglas Macarthur's Philippines campaign, a small team of crack marines arrive on the islands. Their mission, to make contact with a Japanese spy who has vital information regarding the landing of American troops on the islands. The group is commanded by 1st Sergeant Steve Corey(HUGH O'BRIEN).Taciturn and rugged, Corey refuses to reveal the objective of the mission, much to the irritation of the young and naïve radio operator,PFC James Grenier(JAMES MITCHUM)who does not yet take war or their mission seriously.However,as members of the group ate killed in bloody skirmishes with the occupying Japanese, even Corey begins to doubt his judgement and Grenier finally begins to accept the brutal realities of war as well as the task that he must carry out.
I'll be straight to the point, AMBUSH BAY is certainly not the most spectacular war film, but it certainly is fun and satisfactory. I can't resist any of these "Dirty Dozen" style war film that were cranked out by United Artists in the late 1960s.I find the scenarios and situations created for their characters somewhat appealing, this is the case with this film. The storyline is fine, although it's nothing new, but the main selling point for the film is the 3 main characters, Steve Corey(played by HUGH O'BRIEN),Gunnery Sergeant Ernest Wartell(played by the late MICKEY ROONEY)and James Grenier(played by JAMES MITCHUM).All 3 are robust characters and are portrayed fantastically by their actors. A strong, as well as an intelligent script allowed both Corey and Grenier to have both meaningful and interesting backstories. Corey is the rough,tough,heartless warrior who's seen it all. He's the polar opposite to Grenier, who is the innocent young recruit, confused as to what's going on around him. His character narrates the film, which I thought was a great touch as his monologues are made up of some sharp dialogue. Under the pressure of the situation, he slowly makes the transition from boy to man which I found rather compelling. This is demonstrated brilliantly in the final scenes. Mickey Rooney's performance as Wartell was the one that stood out the most for me as he brings a little dash of comedic colour to an otherwise dark film. He regularly comes out with humorous wisecracks whilst remaining serious but positive. The scene in the jungle in which he stall a Japanese patrol using "Baked Potatoes"(or Hand Grenades)was quite amusing but sad at the same time. It is in this scene that Rooney's experience as a comedian shines through. The other characters,like the other Marines, were rather boring as they were killed off before they could really develop.
The action scenes are exciting and tense, they're nicely peppered throughout the whole film. They comprise of small skirmishes in the jungle and one battle at the Japanese base at the climax. Although they were well shot, I found them rather dry and most of them looked similar. The director could have raised the roof a little more with the final battle, maybe by including a few more deaths and explosions. That being said, I did find that sequence very exhilarating as Corey guns down oncoming Japanese soldiers with a Machine gun and bombards them with Hand Grenades in true action hero fashion. I was biting my nails as Grenier detonates the sea mines using the base's radio control system in the midst of the fighting, thus making the final battle even more taut. The film ends on a heart wrenching but uplifting note with Grenier,now hardened by his experience, sitting alone on the beach as General Macarthur's victory "I have returned" speech blasts out of the radio.
Director Ron Winston, who up until this film had worked only in TV, makes a staunch attempt at the film. Although it's boring in parts and drags on from time to time, AMBUSH BAY is an above average war drama and an engrossing character study of men in combat. It's definitely worth watching and is also an awesome way to kill a couple of hours on a dull Saturday afternoon.7/10.
I'll be straight to the point, AMBUSH BAY is certainly not the most spectacular war film, but it certainly is fun and satisfactory. I can't resist any of these "Dirty Dozen" style war film that were cranked out by United Artists in the late 1960s.I find the scenarios and situations created for their characters somewhat appealing, this is the case with this film. The storyline is fine, although it's nothing new, but the main selling point for the film is the 3 main characters, Steve Corey(played by HUGH O'BRIEN),Gunnery Sergeant Ernest Wartell(played by the late MICKEY ROONEY)and James Grenier(played by JAMES MITCHUM).All 3 are robust characters and are portrayed fantastically by their actors. A strong, as well as an intelligent script allowed both Corey and Grenier to have both meaningful and interesting backstories. Corey is the rough,tough,heartless warrior who's seen it all. He's the polar opposite to Grenier, who is the innocent young recruit, confused as to what's going on around him. His character narrates the film, which I thought was a great touch as his monologues are made up of some sharp dialogue. Under the pressure of the situation, he slowly makes the transition from boy to man which I found rather compelling. This is demonstrated brilliantly in the final scenes. Mickey Rooney's performance as Wartell was the one that stood out the most for me as he brings a little dash of comedic colour to an otherwise dark film. He regularly comes out with humorous wisecracks whilst remaining serious but positive. The scene in the jungle in which he stall a Japanese patrol using "Baked Potatoes"(or Hand Grenades)was quite amusing but sad at the same time. It is in this scene that Rooney's experience as a comedian shines through. The other characters,like the other Marines, were rather boring as they were killed off before they could really develop.
The action scenes are exciting and tense, they're nicely peppered throughout the whole film. They comprise of small skirmishes in the jungle and one battle at the Japanese base at the climax. Although they were well shot, I found them rather dry and most of them looked similar. The director could have raised the roof a little more with the final battle, maybe by including a few more deaths and explosions. That being said, I did find that sequence very exhilarating as Corey guns down oncoming Japanese soldiers with a Machine gun and bombards them with Hand Grenades in true action hero fashion. I was biting my nails as Grenier detonates the sea mines using the base's radio control system in the midst of the fighting, thus making the final battle even more taut. The film ends on a heart wrenching but uplifting note with Grenier,now hardened by his experience, sitting alone on the beach as General Macarthur's victory "I have returned" speech blasts out of the radio.
Director Ron Winston, who up until this film had worked only in TV, makes a staunch attempt at the film. Although it's boring in parts and drags on from time to time, AMBUSH BAY is an above average war drama and an engrossing character study of men in combat. It's definitely worth watching and is also an awesome way to kill a couple of hours on a dull Saturday afternoon.7/10.