Bataan

In 1942 the Japanese army moves into the Philippines. A small, cobbled-together American unit is given a single job: blow up a bridge and hold the crossing as long as possible. The point is to buy MacArthur time at Bataan. Once the Japanese start rebuilding the bridge, the unit is dealing with hunger, malaria and gunfire at the same time. And there is one thing they know: no relief is coming. The film was made in 1943 while the war was still on, and its ending was already fixed: Bataan had fallen. Against Hollywood's habit at the time, nobody here is saved and there is no victory; the story subtracts the men one by one. The mixed makeup of the unit was also a deliberate choice, and given that the American army was segregated in those years, the picture on screen did not reflect the reality. Tay Garnett directed, with Robert Taylor in the lead.