Too much of everything

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Best movie of this year hands down!

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

A squadron of 8 air fighters patrol New Guinea to prevent the Japanese from attacking Australia during WW2. They are based on the island and have seen many attacks. They have been phenomenally lucky with zero loss of life so far. Into this set-up arrives entertainer Kristine Miller (Jean) as part of a morale-boosting show. However, the rest of her entourage are grounded and never make it to the island, so she performs on her own. She gets close to the soldiers and is due to leave when another attack strikes.The film is a drama where we follow the camaraderie of the small unit as they stress out each day with the situation that they are in. The arrival of Miller provides relief but she is also drawn into the circumstances. I enjoyed this short film - it stays with you. The fighting action is relayed over the radio as the planes are in the air and it is done effectively. We also get a broadcast from Tokyo Rose. Is death on holiday?

Another reviewer said that this was a film for the radio generation, a generation that did serve in World War II that got its entertainment from the radio, a generation that got the words and used its imagination. That is partially the case, but Jungle Patrol if you look at the credits is from a play and the sets do not betray the stage origins of the product. It bears a strong resemblance to Ceiling Zero from before the war and Command Decision which is post war.When I wrote my review for Ceiling Zero I felt it was too stagy, that is not the same for Command Decision. But both of those films were A products from Warner Brothers and MGM respectively. 20th Century Fox did not invest too much in Jungle Patrol and it shows.It's one of the weirdest war films I've ever seen. A squadron of Army Air Corps planes and their pilots and support have had an incredible run of luck. Like a whole squadron of Memphis Belles, no one has been killed and they've run up quite a score of downed Japanese. They also get a surprise visit from a USO performer Kristine Miller who obliges with an impromptu show. More impromptu than normally as the rest of her troupe is delayed and grounded. The men are appreciative, but are somber bunch. This run of luck has to give out sometimes, the odds have to catch up.Such people as Arthur Franz and Richard Jaeckel went on to some solid careers as did others in the cast. The lack of star names gives the film a grounding in reality. Had it a few more production values I might rate it higher. Still it is a strange and haunting film worth a look.

This film is low budget and stage bound but it transcends its limitations and delivers an interesting little piece of offbeat drama. It's not really a fantasy but it has overtones of "Death Takes a Holiday" and "On Borrowed Time". The story centers around a small outpost of American pilots on an island north of Australia whose mission is to stop Japanese air attacks. One day a USO girl is mistakenly brought to the island. She proceeds to put on a one-girl USO show while waiting for a plane to take her where she is supposed to be. During the few days she there she gets to know the guys and they discover that they all have something in common, a strange, secret something that begins to look like destiny. The film ends oddly without explaining itself and the audience is left wondering what it was supposed to mean. Even with this weirdness you feel that it was memorable and worth seeing.

This film was geared to the radio generation.It's a flight action film where the combat "footage" is strictly verbal. The plot centers on an U. S. Army Air Force squadron stationed at a remote airfield somewhere in or near Australia during the latter part of WWII. The outfit has been invincible. They have shot down a fair amount of Japanese aircraft without loosing one pilot. If I remember correctly, they're flying P40's – a plane that was at its' best before the war. There is a romantic side to the plot, but I was too young to pay it much attention to it.A cast of feature and B actors give solid performances. Nearly all of them went on to extended careers in the movies and television. The radio reports from the air battles are vivid and well played. The 1948 audience had very little trouble visualizing the pitched combat. To most of us the pictures conjured up by the verbal descriptions were much more life like than anything that TV could offer at that time. "---------------- I repeat. They've got a plane, much better that the Zero!------------------------"Yes. We knew how to see the action!Some notes: 1948 gave us other military action films that survive today only on television. "Beyond Glory" with Alan Ladd is a story about a decorated Army Capt. who enrolls at West Point after the war. Look for an early Audie Murphy appearance. "Fighter Squadron" staring Edmond O'Brian & Robert Stack was also released during that peacetime year. Lots of P-47 combat film here.I would like to see all three on DVD.