Too much of everything

That was an excellent one.

So much average

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

BATTLE AT BLOODY BEACH 1961 This WW2 film has Audie Murphy in the starring role. The action takes place on an unnamed island in the Philippines. Murphy, who had been working in the Islands at the time of the Japanese Invasion, was lucky enough to have escaped. He however was unable to save his wife in all the confusion. He is now helping the US supply various Philippine resistance groups with arms and ammo. These are landed at night by submarine. Murphy uses these trips to spend time looking for his lost wife who he is sure is still alive.This time there is trouble right from the get go. When Murphy hits the beach to meet his underground contact, Gary Crosby, he is jumped by a pair of patrolling Japanese soldiers. There is a brisk bit of hand to hand before Murphy and Crosby dispose of the Japanese. They hide the corpses and hightail it into the hills to Crosby's jungle shack. That is where Crosby has his radio.At the shack Murphy meets several members of Crosby's band of guerrillas. One of this group, Dale Isimoto, leads Murphy to a meeting with William Mims. Mims is an American leading his own bunch of men. They want Murphy to supply them with arms so they can fight the Japanese. This does not happen as Murphy discovers that Mims and his men are simply bandits robbing the locals.Arriving on the scene now is a genuine guerrilla leader, Alejandro Rey. Rey's men and Mims bunch engage in a quick and bloody battle with Rey's men winning. With Rey, Murphy finds his wife, Dolores Michaels. While Murphy is happy as pie with the reunion, Michaels is not. Thinking Murphy had been killed in the invasion, Michaels and Rey have been doing a bit of horizontal Mambo. Michaels now loves Rey.Rey brings in all the Americans who have been hiding in the hills so they can be lifted by the submarine. Murphy agrees to this and will give Rey the rifles etc that he brought. Murphy is somewhat surprised when Michaels tells him she is staying with Rey.Anyways, before the civilians can be taken out to the sub a large force of Japanese interrupt the proceedings. The Americans hide out in a wrecked ship on the beach and manage to fight off the Japanese assault. The Japanese send for a couple of mortars and begin to plaster the ship killing off the Americans one by one. It is only the last minute arrival of Rey's men that rout the Nipponese and save the day. Michaels has now decided that she does still love Murphy and will leave with him.This is at best an average war film. It suffers from some not so good acting by the supporting cast as well as slipshod editing and direction. Murphy, Michaels and Crosby are however decent and do their best.The director, Herbert Colman had worked with Murphy on the western POSSE FROM HELL. Colman had been a second unit director on 5 Hitchcock films including VERTIGO, TO CATCH A THIEF and REAR WINDOW. The man would soon end up working on the TV series, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND.The story and screenplay, which should have been better, was by Hollywood veteran, Richard Maibaum. Maibaum wrote the story or screenplay for, THE GREAT GATSBY, I WANTED WINGS, O.S.S., THE RED BERET, HELL BELOW ZERO, RANSOM, GOLDFINGER, DR NO, FROM Russia WITH LOVE, THUNDERBALL and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.Look close and you can see Ivan Dixon in an early role. Dixon would become famous as one of men in the 1960's TV hit, HOGAN'S HEROES.

Audie Murphy was actually a better actor than he was usually given credit for--he did excellent work in "The Red Badge of Courage" and his own biography, "To Hell and Back"--but you couldn't tell by this low-rent war picture. Murphy pretty much walks through the picture, although co- star Alejandro Rey tries to breathe some life into it. The sloppy direction, poor script, overacting by Gary Crosby (as usual), tired performance by a tired-looking Dolores Michaels and its overall cheesiness combine to make this picture definitely one of Murphy's lesser efforts. A burst of not particularly well done action at the end can't really save it. The ending is predictable, trite and not even remotely believable. Overall, pretty much of a dud.

Small-scale story of individuals caught up in a giant war, as opposed to a big WWII blockbuster. Low-budget black and white movie, but that's OK since it is not a blockbuster. However, the combination of low budget, poor script and below-average direction prevents this film from being worthwhile. It appears to have been filmed very quickly, maybe in a matter of days or a couple of weeks.Audie Murphy has a lot of screen "presence" and he elevates what is otherwise not much here. Dolores Michaels is great as always and very watchable. Her leading-lady talent is far above this insignificant movie. Alejandro Rey is watchable as he again elevates one of his many B-movie roles and TV appearances (he had a remarkable ability to do this).The cheap California island location filming is surprisingly adequate as a substitute for the real would-be scene of the action.Can't really recommend this, but the movie's stars outshine the material and are individually fine.

(There are Spoilers) WWII movie involving a love triangle that takes placed on a Japanese occupied island in the Philippines. Since the fall of the Philippines in the spring of 1942 to the Japanese Army US contractor and foodstuff and ammunition supplier Craig Benson, Audie Murphy, has been trying to find out if his wife Ruth, Dolores Michaels, is either alive or dead. Sneaking onto the island to make contact with his US Army contemporary Sgt. Sackler, Gary Crosby, Craig is told that there are a number of guerrilla units in the area. Craig and his Philippine guide, provided to him by Sgt. Sackler, Blanco (Dale Ishimoto) hook up with this group of guerrilla's lead by an American named M'Keever, Williams Mims.It turns out that this M'Keever is nothing but a black market hustler who's playing both sides, the Japanese Army and Filipino guerrillas, down the middle and only want's the guns and supplies that Craig would supply to him and his men in order to sell them to the highest bidder. Attacked by M'Keever and his men when he got wise to him Craig and Blanco are then rescued by a real group of Philippine guerrillas lead by their handsome and charismatic leader Julio Fontana, Alejandro Rey. It's later found out to Craig's shock and surprise that his wife Ruth is part of Fontana's guerrilla unit and not only that she's also in loved with him.One of the few WWII movie's that authentic, not made in Hollywood, WWII war hero Audie Murphy ever made has him in hot water almost as soon as he lands on the island. With the Japanese attacking both Craig and the people, mostly American civilians, that he's assigned to bring back with him on a US submarine to Australia. Audie, or Craig Benson,is very troubled over his wife leaving him for another man, Julio, but the fact that he was thought to have been killed in the fighting against the Japanese in Battan/Carrigador two years earlier didn't mean that Ruth, whom at the time he was married to for about a week, betrayed or deserted him.With the US submarine delayed in it being spotted by a Japanese cruiser off shore Carig and Sgt. Sackler and about a dozen American and Filipino's hide out on an old battered and run aground ship waiting for either to be rescued by the US Navy or die fighting the Japanese Army.The Japanese, after they were first repulsed in very heavy fighting, in the person of Let. Lloyd Kino give the Americans an hour to surrender with Craig, who's a civilian combatant and not in uniform, to be shot if he surrenders or not; or else face a barrage of murderous Japanese artillery and mortar fire that would tear them and the ship that their hiding in apart.Earlier during the heavy fighting with the Japanese Sgt.Sackler dived into the ocean and in him trying to get to a nearby island for help and is attacked and killed by a shark. Picking up the ball, in so many words, and running with Craig goes on foot into the jungle to seek help from guerrilla units that are said to be in the area. Later when the Japanses are just about to overrun the ship and kill everyone on it, including Craig's estranged wife Ruth, Craig comes riding to their rescue with a full Philippine guerrilla company who put the Japanese attacker out on their heels and running for their lives. Heart-lifting ending with Ruth deciding to go back with Craig to the US submarine and the safety of friendly Australia instead of staying with Julio in his battle to liberate his people from the Japanese. For a while you would have thought that being with Jullio for some two years in the Philippine jungles would make Ruth forget about Craig, whom she thought was dead anyway. It's when Ruth was reunited with Craig and seeing just what a kind as well as the both modest, which Audie Murphy was in real life, and heroic person that he really was how in all sincerity could she let someone like him, who's just too good to be true, ever get away from her!