''Cry of Battle'' is a 1963 American

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

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

based on the 1951 novel '' Fortress in the Rice'' by

Benjamin Appel Benjamin Appel (September 13, 1907 – April 3, 1977), was an American novelist specializing in detective and crime fiction, sometimes from a radical perspective. Appel was born in New York City to Louis Appel and Bessie (née Mikofsky) and gre ...

, who was a journalist and special assistant to the U.S. commissioner for the Philippines from 1945-46. The film stars

Van Heflin Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American theatre, radio and film actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. H ...

James MacArthur James Gordon MacArthur (December 8, 1937 – October 28, 2010) was an American actor with a long career in both movies and television. MacArthur's early work was predominantly in supporting roles in films. Later, he had a starring role as ...

, Rita Moreno and

Leopoldo Salcedo Leopoldo Salcedo (March 12, 1912 – June 11, 1998) was a Filipino film actor dubbed as "The Great Profile" who specialized in portraying dramatic heroes. Early life Salcedo was born in Cavite. His father was of Spanish descent whose family i ...

. Set during the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Japones sa Filipinas''; ja, 日本のフィリピン占領, Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the ...

, the

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

was ''To Be a Man''.

Plot

The film begins on December 8, 1941 with the Japanese attacking the Philippines. Dave McVey Jr., the son of a rich American businessman with extensive holdings in the Philippines, is attacked by murderous

bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

s. He is rescued by Careo, a Filipino patriot who has put together a group of anti-Japanese Filipino guerrillas. Carero hides Dave with an elderly Filipino and his granddaughter, who teach Dave Tagalog. Careo returns again to tell Dave that his father has left the Philippines, but Dave is joined by a fellow American, Joe Trent, a rough merchant sailor who was third mate on a cargo ship that was sunk by the Japanese. Joe's ship was part of a merchant line owned by Dave's father. Joe figures that Dave's father will reward him for keeping his son safe. Joe gets drunk and rapes the teenage granddaughter. When the girl starts screaming, Dave has no choice but to flee with Joe. They meet a band of armed Filipinos led by Atong and the English-speaking woman Sisa. The quick-thinking Joe tells the band that if they bring them to Colonel Ryker, an American officer in charge of a guerrilla unit, Ryker will reward them. Ryker tells Dave that the Japanese would probably give him a comfortable existence and might repatriate him to the United States because of his father's extensive business dealings with Japan. Dave replies that his father's connections to Japan were from before the war and he would rather fight with the guerrillas. The group joins Ryker's unit in fighting the Japanese. Joe is promoted to lieutenant and is to accompany a Filipino captain on a raid against a Japanese-held sugar refinery and railway. Joe brings Dave, Atong, Sisa and a group of their original band on the mission. After the captain is killed, Atong kills one of his own men over the captain's pistol. Joe makes Atong give the pistol to Dave. Not wishing to complete their mission, Joe sends Dave and Sisa into a village to ask the locals for food. As they are negotiating, Joe's band massacres the villagers to steal their rice, with Joe shooting Atong during the raid. Sisa quickly switches her loyalties to Joe.

Cast

as Joe Trent * Rita Moreno as Sisa *

as David McVey *

as Manuel Careo * Sidney Clute as Col. Ryker * Marilou Muñoz as Pinang * Oscar Roncal as Atong * Liza Moreno as Vera * Michael Parsons as Capt. Davis * Claude Wilson as Matchek *

Vic Silayan Victor Payumo Silayan (January 31, 1929 – August 30, 1987), commonly known as Vic Silayan, was a Filipino actor who is best known for his roles in ''Kisapmata'' (1981) and ''Karnal'' (1983). Personal life He was born in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, ...

as Capt. Garcia

Production

Producer Joe Steinberg had a wealthy brother named Harry Stonehill in the Philippines who assisted with the financing of the film. He hired his friends

Irving Lerner Irving Lerner (March 7, 1909, New York City – December 25, 1976, Los Angeles) was an American filmmaker. Biography Before becoming a filmmaker, Lerner was a research editor for Columbia University's Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, getting h ...

to direct and Bernard Gordon to write the screenplay. Gordon saw the opportunity to use the screenplay as a comment on American attitudes toward

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

people and attitudes about masculinity, explaining the film's working title of ''To Be a Man''. In the film, Dave asks Joe if raping his host's granddaughter made him feel like a man. Joe responds that fighting when necessary and having a woman when possible meant feeling like a man. Joe also initiates Dave into manhood by using his winnings in a poker game to give Dave a night with a prostitute. In Dave's first battle, he captures a panicked Japanese soldier, and Joe grabs Dave's hands and holds his rifle with bayonet, which he thrusts into the prisoner. The film was shot in the Philippines. The visas were held up as the script was deemed offensive to Filipinos with vice-president

Emmanuel Pelaez Emmanuel Neri Pelaez (November 30, 1915 – July 27, 2003) was a Filipino public servant and politician who served as the 6th Vice President of the Philippines from 1961 to 1965. Early life and career Pelaez was born in Medina, Misamis (now ...

stating that the script "makes them the object of condescension and contempt" and was an "insult to the Filipino people" Rita Moreno's scenes were shot around her travel to Hollywood to accept the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Supporting Actress for ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

''. A Filipino designed her dress for the awards ceremony, which

Edith Head Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. Head is cons ...

voted the most original of the night. The designer returned to the Philippines the next day. Moreno's planned nude bathing scene in the film attracted a great deal of publicity. She eventually filmed the scene wearing a dress.

In popular culture

''Cry of Battle'' and the 1961 film '' War Is Hell'' were playing as a double feature at the

Texas Theatre The Texas Theatre is a movie theater and Dallas landmark located in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. It gained historical significance on November 22, 1963, as the location of Lee Harvey Oswald's arrest over the suspicion he was the ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

on November 22, 1963. After fatally shooting

President John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until assassination of Joh ...

and Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit earlier that afternoon,

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

sneaked into the theater without paying while ''War Is Hell'' was on the screen. After box office cashier Julia Postal was informed by shoe store employee John Brewer that a man had entered the theater, she called Dallas police. Despite attempting to shoot the arresting officer, Oswald was arrested. Oswald was fatally shot two days later by club owner Jack Ruby while being transferred to another jail.

Notes

External links

* * * * {{Irving Lerner 1963 films 1960s adventure drama films 1960s war drama films Allied Artists films American independent films American war drama films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films directed by Irving Lerner Films set in 1941 Films set in the Philippines Japanese occupation of the Philippines films Pacific War films American World War II films Films shot in the Philippines Films scored by Richard Markowitz 1963 drama films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films