Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Executscan Expected more

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

david-86864 What is there to add regarding this cinematic failure? It has a lot to dislike, including it's terribly written script; vacant, dull and useless film space, and lack of convincing combat. Without a doubt, it is one of Audie Murphy's worst choices -- to act in this horribly boring, low budget flick.Just why do well known actors do this? Maybe Audie was in dire need of the little cash this part provided him. I tell myself, had I known him personally, that I could have taught him how to manage his finances and to resist gambling. He could have been amazingly well situated, free from the need to pick up the spare change such cheap diversions earned him; but, we must not forget, he fought an inward battle as well with PTSD, which can halt a man's perspective of his entire history: past, present and future. He will do anything to attempt to rid himself of his thoughts when he's alone.Still, we continue to hold Audie Murphy dear, and are always willing to give him praise and honor no matter his choices. Why? Because he truly was a hero. An inwardly torn one, for sure, yet still a notable figure.Had someone in his life known more, maybe that person could have helped him, saved him from his own destructive thoughts and behaviors. Unfortunately, so little was truly understood of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in those days, which, even today, men and women, victims of having experienced life in harm's way, continue to battle within themselves.After working nearly thirty years in a VA hospital, I've seen men return home with it. Relationships suffer, insomnia takes a toll, and poor habits and addictions latch hold. Withdrawing from the world may also set in. Whatever the symptom, these men deserve our lasting respect and honor.

moonspinner55 I've often wondered how WWII action flicks played with audiences of the early 1960s--did movie-goers still feel patriotic about them or was there a sense that it was time to move on from stories pitting Americans against the ruthless Japanese? Here, married Audie Murphy sails the Pacific searching for his missing spouse, eventually finding her on an island in the Phillipines along with a band of Americans and Polynesians being threatened by the relentless Japanese army. In Audie's absence, his Mrs. has taken up the guerrilla fighter's cause--and with thin-but-swarthy soldier Alejandro Rey!--but when they're surrounded by bloodthirsty Japs, the group must put aside their differences long enough to survive. Typical war movie, though with the added pleasure of some campy action and not-bad black-and-white cinematography. Murphy was never much of an actor, but here his stolid manner is a relief from all the hysteria. The director shows absolutely no sympathy for the dead or the dying (on either side), but the central romantic situation is handled with surprising skill and the climactic battle, though hurt by choppy editing, is nevertheless involving. ** from ****

bkoganbing Battle at Bloody Beach was one of Audie Murphy's attempts to get away from the western casting where he did so well and should have stayed in his career. It bears some resemblance to John Wayne's Back to Bataan and Tyrone Power's An American Guerrilla in the Phillipines in subject matter.But the latter had the advantage of great color cinematography and was shot in the actual scenes of the Phillipines. This particular cheapie was done on Catalina, it looks like it was done over a couple of long weekends.The plot as it were has Murphy as an American running supplies to the Filipino insurrectionists and discovering his wife, Dolores Michaels believing he was dead, having taken up with Filipino guerrilla Alejandro Rey both politically and personally. That leads to some tense moments as Murphy leads some refugees away from the oncoming Japanese.The battle itself is the climax as Murphy with Gary Crosby and assorted help mows down row after row of charging Japanese. Now why the Japanese commander didn't size up the situation and wait for some artillery before getting all his troops slaughtered in a charge is a mystery to me. I'll be willing to bet that somewhere in the financing of this film was Gary's father who was always doing things like that for his sons. Good thing Bing had the sense to keep his name off the credits if he did.

aimless-46 Although only 45 years since it was made, almost everyone associated with the "Battle AT (not of) Bloody Beach" (actors-writers-directors) has been dead for a while now. It is unlikely that this project was given a prominent spot in any of their obits.I'm one of the unlucky few who paid to see this in a theater during its original summer of 1961 release. This type of low budget black and white junk was typical Saturday matinée fodder-although I think "Battle At Bloody Beach" was weak even by those standards. As a ten year-old who loved to play army the title was a real draw. We were driven to the theater by my friend's uncle who had us laughing the whole trip with funny variations on the title. The trip to the theater was a lot more entertaining than the movie. There is a beach, Catalina Island impersonating a small island in the Philippines during WWII, but there is no blood-just some fake looking combat and "day for night" filming. The middle (65% of the total running time) of the movie showcases a long hike by an assorted group of civilians from one side of the island to the other. The Japanese invaded the Philippines and other territories as part of their plans to create what they called a Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. Basically the idea was to expel foreign economic and military interests and to set up governments agreeable to Japan's plans for the region. Japan's industrial development was dependent on these areas for raw materials like oil, rubber, and iron ore. The Japanese are essentially faceless and behave moronically (tactically and otherwise), about the same treatment Japan got in propaganda films made during the war. There is a plot of sorts. Sgt. Marty Sackler (Gary Crosby) of the U. S. Army is living on a Japanese occupied island supplying Filipino insurgents with weapons to resist the Japanese occupation. Craig Benson (Audie Murphy), a civilian, comes to the island by submarine to set up a resistance network. He is also looking for his wife Ruth (Dolores Michaels) who he had to leave behind when he evacuated the place at the start of the war. Meanwhile she has fallen for Alejandro Rey who seems to be some kind of revolutionary insurgent. This is an incredibly lousy film which is rarely shown, so it should be easy to avoid. If you are forced to watch just be glad you are not a 10-year-old who just blew part of his meager allowance for a ticket.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.