Fred Galang Movies
- 1970
This drama, based on Philippine tribal ritual and ceremony, tells the story of two defiant lovers from different castes who insist on being married. This creates friction between the families on both sides. The couple moves to the groom's family's home where the bride copes with years of constant humiliation. This forces them to move to her family's territory where the groom is felled by the axe of a clan member. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1968
An America Air Force pilot (Dennis Weaver) tries to fight the Japanese as they invade the Philippines. Despite his efforts and the help of a jungle nurse (Vera Miles), the country is overrun by the enemy forces as the stronghold of Corregidor falls. Producer-director Keith Larsen plays the role of Colonel Turner in this routine and uneventful war drama certainly earmarked for future television release. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Weaver, Vera Miles, (more)
Cornel Wilde produced, directed, and stars in this sincere, hard-edged look at World War II that doesn't flinch from the horrors of battle. The action takes place during a single American campaign to take an island held by the Japanese. Brief flashbacks to civilian life are the only escape from the gritty, dreary setting. The usual cliché characters are replaced by new ones, such as the captain (Wilde) who loves his wife but hates the war, the sergeant (Rip Torn) who gets sadistic pleasure out of battle, the minister's son (Patrick Wolfe) who keeps remembering the girl he left back home, and the Southern illiterate (Burr DeBenning) who finds a place for himself in the Marines. The screenplay (from a 1945 novel by Peter Bowman) avoids stereotypes yet doesn't make any of these men into fleshed-out characters. Still, the acting is solid and Wilde deserves commendation for taking a harsh, unromanticized look at the Big One, over thirty years before Steven Spielberg did it with Saving Private Ryan. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Rip Torn, (more)
- 1965
Long before Bo Derek, actor/director John Derek was playing Svengali with another movie-star wife, Ursula Andress. In Once Before I Die, Derek casts himself as a cavalry major and Andress as his mistress. Both captain and girl are marooned with a group of American marines in the Philippines. When the group is pinned down by Japanese aerial bombardment, Ursula is anxious to escape, and promises to service any man who helps her. The girl's machinations result in the death of practically every member of the group. The ads for Once Before I Die displayed a shot of a fetchingly underdressed Ursula Andress, lying invitingly on her back; alas, the only thing flat on its back was the film itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Derek, Ursula Andress, (more)
Fort Santiago in the Philippines, built in 1574, was called "Intramuros, the walled city of Manila." This action feature is centered around Intramuros and the events that occurred there in February of 1945. After Japanese troops were finally showing defeat in Manila, they retreated into the fortress with 10,000 Filipino captives. American Lieutenant Jim Sorenson (Jock Mahoney), whose wife is held inside the fort, is instructed to rescue the prisoners with his guerrilla forces. Lt. Sorenson finds help from a brave Filipino (Fernando Poe Jr.) who managed to escape the fortress himself. Intramuros/The Walls of Hell was a slightly different topic for Filipino director Eddie Romero, known more for his low-budget exploitation and horror pictures. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jock Mahoney, Michael Parsons, (more)
