American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950)

Directed by Fritz Lang
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Fox Movie Channel)

This Fritz Lang tropical adventure story set on a remote Philippine island benefits from authentic locations but is really hurt by the amateur acting of some of the locals. In many ways this presages his Indian epic that would follow about 10 years later. Here, our hero is Tyrone Power, an American GI stranded by MacArthur with a rag tag group of soldiers. At first they don't do much of anything, but gradually start a resistance to the Japanese. The second half features several intriguing set pieces, a doomed radio station and a soldier dying from a bayonet wound for instance, but ultimately the film lacks a cohesive plot and is also hurt by unnecessary narration.