Thanks for the memories!

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

This is actually two plots as I remember it.I saw it in the days of antenna TV, when we were lucky if we could make out faces. Antenna TV was why it was necessary to make TV shows and movies (which would eventually go to TV) with very different looking actors, unless it was a plot device to cause confusion.It had a style to it. And I didn't become annoyed by the Ursula character, probably because while the title suggested her character was the forefront, she was actually just the backdrop.Her story about the soldier who may die a virgin, and other soldiers who are constantly near her, is the weaker story here, and is downplayed, despite the title.The strong story, which really became the forefront story, was the one about the loose cannon soldier.The loose cannon soldier dominates the story, especially in a scene where he gives an account of how he destroyed an enemy unit, and is ridiculed by those he gives the account to, until he shows them the proof.It probably would have been a much better film without Ursula in it, although she is talented, and does her best. The fact is that her part is just not really a part of the story here.

Yeah, the story is a mess and some of the performances are wacked-out but it has its moments. Has anybody mentioned that Ursula Andress looks grrrrrrrrreeeeat in a wet, white blouse? Derek's films, though lacking coherence, could be visually impressive and this one was ahead of its time with some psychedelic shots that would eventually become tiresome by about 1969. Ron Ely (from Amarillo, Texas) gives a pretty good performance and the U.S. Cavalry uniforms are well done But, Andress is such a dolt that you pray she'll meet a slow and agonizing death. After a low flying Zero strafes a polo match, leaving Filipino corpses strewn about, Miss Andress pouts and whines about needing to take her puppy with her on the long trek to Manila. Pretty boy singer Rod Lauren does his best James Dean and scores with Ursula while the rest of the gang takes out a Japanese tank. Talk about dereliction of duty! Ursula's charms then make him impervious to enemy bullets. As for Richard Jaeckel, I will just have to believe that he was a psycho from the word go."Once Before I Die," you won't understand it but you may love it!

Once Before I Die is far more entertaining than most recent WW2 films such as Steven Spielberg's anaemic "Saving Private Ryan". This film may be the cinematic equivalent of a car crash but I would prefer to see Ursula Andress strolling through battle fields with perfect hair and make-up than watch Matt Damon pollute the screen as a lost soldier. This may also be the first and last war film to contain a "Porkies" style subplot about a soldier trying to lose his virginity.John Derek is a hugely misunderstood director. Admittedly, he has made some of the most inept films in cinema history but at least he had the decency to fill his movies with large doses of gratuitous nudity and unintentionally hilarious scenarios. His films may be crap but they are rarely boring. Once Before I Die provides John with an opportunity to direct his lovely wife, Ursula Andress. The plot that John chose for his then wife is startling to say the least.Ursula plays Alex, a Swiss "refugee" stuck in the Philippines during WW2. When the Japanese attack, Alex's soldier boyfriend, Bailey (played by John himself), invites Alex to tag along with his battalion on their way to Manila. Unfortunately, Bailey accidentally drops a grenade while trying to steal Alex a teddy bear and leaves Alex to make a general nuisance of herself during enemy attacks. A major exception to this occurs when Alex makes herself uncharacteristically useful by deflowering a soldier while the rest of the battalion attack a Japanese tank with tree stumps.The film's storyline is undeniably ridiculous but it does compensate the viewer with surprisingly violent content for a movie made in 1965 and amusing visuals of Ursula prancing through the jungle like a slightly disheveled Bond girl. The combat scenes are reasonably well done but would have been more convincing if John Derek didn't superimpose faded images of Ursula over the action. The most bizarre example of this is the image of Ursula holding a glowing orb, which is superimposed over the opening air attack. The film also offers some beautiful photography and a visually impressive, if utterly confusing finale. The acting is hit and miss, with significantly more misses than hits, but Ursula is rather wonderful as Alex. It takes a special kind of genius to walk through a war zone in riding pants and high heeled boots without coming across as completely demented. Richard Jaeckel also scores points for his fantastically over the top portrayal of Custer, a deluded soldier.Once Before I Die is a treat for John Derek aficionados and fans of crappy film oddities. You definitely wont see another war movie like this ever again.

There was an interesting tension between Andress as the life force and the fate each of the men met after they became involved with her. Moths to the flame. I wish the film had made more of this theme (and been better in general).