Bataan

Play trailer

Bataan

Released Jun 3, 1943

1h 55m

War

History

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

3 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

During Japan's invasion of the Philippines in 1942, Capt. Henry Lassiter (Lee Bowman), Sgt. Bill Dane (Robert Taylor) and a diverse group of American soldiers are ordered to destroy and hold a strategic bridge in order to delay the Japanese forces and allow Gen. MacArthur time to secure Bataan. When the Japanese soldiers begin to rebuild the bridge and advance, the group struggles with not only hunger, sickness and gunfire, but also the knowledge that there is likely no relief on the way.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Since it was basically a tale of defeat, the nervous producers emphasized heroism, but later, under criticism of fabricating the facts with mechanically packed incidents, MGM was forced to acknowledge "some melodramatic flaws and technical mistakes."

Rated: B-

Oct 30, 2006

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

An exciting flagwaving big box office Alamo-esque suicide mission World War II film.

Rated: B

Jun 2, 2006

Full Review

Steve Crum

Kansas City Kansan

MGM and the War Department teamed for this flag waving combat drama that influenced a number of future war movies.

Rated: B+

Oct 25, 2004

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

A classic WWII movie made only a year after the Bataan battle. While a war story not a documentary, it has very good action scenes and also stories of why each of us fight. Definitely worth a watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie was pure propaganda drivel. Except that there was actually a 31st Infantry Regiment, there was basically no basis of reality in the film at all. No bridge was counterattacked by 31st Infantry, especially with a worn-out bi-plane parked in the jungle. The Japanese did not mount an attack for ten minutes of shootout, then retire to the jungle like whooping Indians on an unsuccessful rush to the fort. While the presentation of white, black, Filipino, army and navy personnel seems cinema's first attempt at "diversity," they were for morale purposes, not for presenting the facts. Anyone interested in the factual events preceding and during the three month Battle of Bataan would be better served reading any of a dozen military accounts, most relevant, perhaps, "Bataan Our Last Ditch," Lt. Col. John Whitman. No other movie has ever been made about this fight.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is a little long, but the outstandingly intense battle scene at the end of the movie is without a doubt the best among all of the wartime films that I have seen. The fate of the of the characters in this movie is very accurate to the situation of the men that fought in Bataan; no hope for getting off the island alive.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of, if not "the" best of the unabashed Red Blooded American morale boosting/propaganda movies of WW2.. It's amazing what they could do on a sound stage!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The best thrilling and inspiring movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Could have been better... but Taylor very good. BTW, the MG had no cooling water It would have jammed very quickly.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Tay Garnett

Director

Robert Taylor

Sgt. Bill Dane

George Murphy

Lt. Steve Bentley

Thomas Mitchell

Cpl. Jake Feingold

Lloyd Nolan

Cpl. Barney Todd

Lee Bowman

Capt. Henry Lassiter

View more photos

Synopsis

During Japan's invasion of the Philippines in 1942, Capt. Henry Lassiter (Lee Bowman), Sgt. Bill Dane (Robert Taylor) and a diverse group of American soldiers are ordered to destroy and hold a strategic bridge in order to delay the Japanese forces and allow Gen. MacArthur time to secure Bataan. When the Japanese soldiers begin to rebuild the bridge and advance, the group struggles with not only hunger, sickness and gunfire, but also the knowledge that there is likely no relief on the way.

Director: Tay Garnett
Producer: Irving Starr
Screenwriter: Robert Hardy Andrews
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: War, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 3, 1943, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 11, 2008
Runtime: 1h 55m

Most Popular at Home Now