Battle at Bloody Beach
Battle at Bloody Beach | |
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![]() Original film poster | |
Directed by | Herbert Coleman |
Written by | Richard Maibaum Willard W. Willingham |
Produced by | Richard Maibaum |
Starring | Audie Murphy Gary Crosby Dolores Michaels |
Cinematography | Kenneth Peach |
Edited by | Jodie Copelan |
Music by | Henry Vars |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 83 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Battle at Bloody Beach, (aka Battle on the Beach in the UK and Australia),[1] is a 1961 drama directed by Herbert Coleman and starring Audie Murphy who had previously worked together in Posse from Hell. The film also features Gary Crosby and introduces Alejandro Rey. Battle at Bloody Beach is only the second Audie Murphy movie set in World War II, after his autobiographical To Hell and Back.[2] The film was shot on Santa Catalina Island[3] by Robert Lippert's Associated Producers Incorporated and was released by 20th Century Fox.[4] The film was produced and co-written by Richard Maibaum along with frequent Audie Murphy collaborator Willard W. Willingham.[5][6][7]
Plot
Craig Benson (Audie Murphy) is a civilian working for the Navy helping arm and supply guerrilla insurgents in the Philippines. His main purpose, however, is to find his wife Ruth (Dolores Michaels), from whom he was separated by the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.
Coming ashore Benson kills two Japanese soldiers who have ambushed his contact Sgt. Marty Sackler (Gary Crosby). The two initially meet a band of dubious guerrillas who act as bandits lead by a renegade American M'Keever (William Mims) who desires the weapons Benson brought but concealed. Realising M'Keever is a dead loss, the two fight but actual guerrillas led by Julio Fontana (Alejandro Rey) and an American boxer trapped in the Philippines Tiger Blair (Ivan Dixon) defeat M'Keever's bandits and kill him.
Benson agrees to arm Fontana's guerrilla band and meets a group of American civilians he will evacuate to Australia including his wife Ruth (Dolores Michaels) who believed him killed and is romantically involved with Fontana.
Cast
- Audie Murphy as Craig Benson
- Gary Crosby as Marty Sackler
- Dolores Michaels as Ruth Benson
- Alejandro Rey as Julio Fontana
- Marjorie Stapp as Caroline Pelham
- Barry Atwater as Pelham
- E. J. André as Dr. Van Bart
- Dale Ishimoto as Blanco
- Lillian Bronson as Delia Ellis
- Míriam Colón as Nahni
- Pilar Seurat as Camota
- William Mims as M'Keever
- Ivan Dixon as Tiger Blair
- Sara Anderson as Mrs. Thompson
- Kevin Brodie as Timmy Thompson
- Lloyd Kino as Japanese lieutenant
See also
References
- ^ "BATTLE ON THE BEACH (1961)". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 28. p. 113. ProQuest 1305828545.
- ^ Battle at Bloody Beach at Audie Murphy Memorial Site
- ^ p. 171 Larkins, Bob & Magers, Boyd The Films of Audie Murphy McFarland, 1 May 2016
- ^ McGee, Mark Thomas Talk's Cheap, Action's Expensive – The Films of Robert L. Lippert BearManor Media
- ^ "Miss stapp signed". Los Angeles Times. Jun 22, 1961. ProQuest 167915846.
- ^ Dexter, Maury (2012). Highway to Hollywood (PDF). p. 122.
- ^ Larkins, Bob; Magers, Boyd (2009). The Films of Audie Murphy. McFarland. p. 169. ISBN 9781476609270.
External links
- Battle at Bloody Beach at IMDb
- Battle at Bloody Beach at the TCM Movie Database
- Battle at Bloody Beach at AllMovie
- Battle at Bloody Beach at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Review of film at Cinema Retro
- 1961 films
- 20th Century Fox films
- CinemaScope films
- American war drama films
- Audie Murphy
- Films set in the Philippines
- Pacific War films
- American black-and-white films
- 1960s English-language films
- Films with screenplays by Richard Maibaum
- 1960s war drama films
- 1961 drama films
- 1960s American films
- World War II film stubs
- War drama film stubs