Michael Parsons Movies
Filmed on location in the Philippines Robert Aldrich's Too Late the Hero is set in the last months of World War II. Lackadaisical navy lieutenant Cliff Robertson, who happens to speak fluent Japanese, is ordered to go on a suicide mission to wipe out an enemy observation post. Robertson's equally unwilling partners in this venture are British captain Denholm Elliot and pugnacious cockney private Michael Caine. All three men prove to have unsuspected reserves of courage when the going gets toughest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Cliff Robertson, (more)
- 1970
In this adventure, a courageous teen sneaks into the Philippines so he can find his missing brother whose plane went down in the jungle. The brother he seeks is a renowned investigative reporter who had gone to the islands to expose a ring of drug smugglers. When an American embassy official learns that the younger brother is in the Philippines illegally, he rushes into the jungle to find him. Meanwhile, with the help of a native guide, the young man continues his search. He is undaunted by the smugglers, angry government agents, and headhunters who pursue them. When he finally does find his brother, he is shocked to learn that the reporter has joined the smugglers. Fortunately, the older brother explains that he had simply gone undercover to infiltrate their ring so he could write a more effective expose. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
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)
- 1966
Produced in the Philippines, this grim crime drama offers a dim view of Americans as it tells the story of a labor uprising sparked by an American mill owner who kills a labor organizer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Parsons, Valora Noland, (more)
In this WW II adventure set in the Philippines, Filipino guerrillas take on the last of the Japanese forces remaining on their islands. The Japanese have come to retrieve a gold bullion shipment and have taken over a convent. A rebel leader breaks into the convent and meets a beautiful American who is being protected by the nuns. Naturally they fall in love just before the final battle begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Bronwyn Fitzsimmons, (more)
- 1964
In this campy low-budget actioner, an Intepol agent heads to the Philippines to investigate the murders of two Americans whose corpses where found on an opium plantation. With the assistance of one of the victim's sisters he is led into the hellish religion of a charismatic, ruthless witchdoctor who has his followers help him smuggle guns and drugs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jock Mahoney, Margia Dean, (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)
In this WW II drama, a Yankee POW is busily gathering secret information near the island of Leyte to help General MacArthur prepare an invasion when he is captured by the Japanese who begin torturing him. Despite their cruelty, the soldier reveals nothing so they inform him that they will kill one innocent Filipino a day until he spills the beans. At the same time, an American paratrooper jumps on to the island and begins encouraging the Filipino rebels to organize a raid to free the POW. Unfortunately, the rebels lose and the executions continue. Just as the POW decides to speak up, he is killed by enraged Filipinos, an action that spawns a native revolt and inspires the rebels to launch another, more successful, attack. As the POW dies, he is able to fatally stab his tormentor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennings Sturgeon, Michael Parsons, (more)
Surely Benjamin Appel's novel Fortress in the Rice was more interesting than its static film adaptation Cry of Battle. Van Heflin plays a crusty soldier of fortune fighting with the Philippine partisans during World War II. James MacArthur co-stars as the wealthy, aimless son of a businessman who joins the partisan cause for a lark. He is toughened up by Heflin and romanced by local girl Rita Moreno. Life's just full of surprises, isn't it? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Heflin, Rita Moreno, (more)
