''Back Door to Hell'' is a 1964 Filipino-American

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

concerning a three-man team of United States soldiers preparing the way for

Gen. MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army (United States), General of the Army for the United States, as well as a Field Marshal (Philippines), field marshal to the Phil ...

's World War II return to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

by destroying a Japanese communications center. It was produced on a relatively small budget and received lukewarm reviews. John Hackett wrote the script on the boat from the US to the Philippines.

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

was writing the script to ''Flight to Fury'' at the same time. Hellman, Nicholson and Hackett also made the film back to back with ''

Flight to Fury ''Flight to Fury'' is a 1964 film starring Jack Nicholson, Fay Spain and Dewey Martin. The film was directed by Monte Hellman and filmed back to back with ''Back Door to Hell'' in the Philippines in 1964. Nicholson was one of the writers of the ...

'' (1964).

Plot

Three American servicemen land in the Philippines and request the aid of a group of guerillas in the fight against the Japanese. The Japanese secret police learn of this and hold the children of the village hostage, threatening to kill one of them every hour until the Americans are handed over, but the Americans and guerilla fighters rescue the children and capture some Japanese prisoners after a difficult battle. When Lt. Craig hesitates and does not shoot two escaping Japanese, Jersey says that he is cracking under pressure. The Americans unsuccessfully interrogate the prisoners for information about beach defenses and troop movements but Paco, leader of the guerillas, successfully obtains the information through torture. Lt. Craig is distraught that the prisoners are then executed by the guerillas. The bandit leader Ramundo offers information about Japanese positions and movements in exchange for the Americans' radio. When the Americans are unable to give it to him immediately because they still need it to send information about the Japanese positions and movements, Ramundo angrily shoots the radio and flees. The Americans sneak into a Japanese shortwave station but Burnett is killed after transmitting the information through

Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...

. Paco provides cover fire so that Jersey can carry Burnett's body away but then Paco is shot and killed as well. Ships of American troops arrive to fight the Japanese but Lt. Craig and Jersey sorrowfully remember the dead along with Maria and the other guerillas.

Cast

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

as Lt. Craig *

as Burnett * John Hackett as Jersey * Annabelle Huggins as Maria * Conrad Maga as Paco * Johnny Monteiro as Ramundo * Joe Sison as Japanese Capt. * Henry Duval as Garde * Ben Perez * Vic Uematsu

Production

Robert Lippert Robert Lenard Lippert (March 31, 1909 – November 16, 1976) was an American film producer and cinema chain owner. He was president and chief operating officer of Lippert Theatres, Affiliated Theatres and Transcontinental Theatres, all based in ...

had been impressed by Jack Nicholson's '' Thunder Island'' so gave Nicholson and his friends Monte Hellman and John Hackett $160,000 and $400 a week salary to make two films on location in the Philippines. The three men and Hellman's wife and child travelled 28 days by ship via Hawaii, Hong Kong and Japan with the three working on the screenplays to both films on the voyage. ''Back Door to Hell'' was a rewrite on one of Lippert's existing screenplays. Popular singer

had a substantial part in the film, and co-financed it. The film, directed by

Monte Hellman Monte Hellman (; born Monte Jay Himmelbaum; July 12, 1929 – April 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. Hellman began his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC TV, and made his directorial debut with the ho ...

, was shot on location in the Philippines, giving it a particularly authentic look. The same plot was reused in

Ib Melchior Ib Jørgen Melchior (September 17, 1917 – March 14, 2015) was a Danish-American novelist, short-story writer, film producer, film director, and screenwriter of low-budget American science fiction movies, most of them released by American Inter ...

's ''

Ambush Bay ''Ambush Bay'' is a 1966 American war film directed by Ron Winston and starring Hugh O'Brian, Mickey Rooney and James Mitchum. It was filmed on location in the Philippines. Plot Prior to the 1944 American Philippines Campaign (1944–45), invasi ...

'' (1966) with a larger Marine patrol destroying a

minefield A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

prior to the American and Filipino invasion of the Philippines.

Notes

External links

* * * * * original film trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhwQG--b_Uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Back Door To Hell 1964 films American black-and-white films Pacific War films Films directed by Monte Hellman Films set in 1944 Films set in the Philippines Japanese occupation of the Philippines films Films shot in the Philippines Japan in non-Japanese culture 1960s English-language films