How others will see it. Fans of war movies will probably be disappointed in Back to Bataan, which is short on stirring action and long on exaggerating the character traits of the vicious Japanese and the courageous Filipinos.
John Wayne is the lead, and major attraction, but his role dwindles as the film progresses, and his workmanlike performance lacks the charisma seen in his better films.
Military historians may perk up at the brief depiction of the famous Bataan death march, and at the shots of real American servicemen held captive for years by the Japanese. But overall, this stew lacks beef.
How I felt about it. While James Stewart risked his life as a pilot during World War II (he was eventually promoted to Brigadier General), John Wayne never left the safety of Hollywood. Yet Wayne also contributed to the American cause, since he made a series of widely-seen patriotic films that placed him in combat against the Japanese. The best of these was The Fighting Seabees, because it provides drama and comedy in larger doses than propaganda.
This is in contrast with Back to Bataan, which never for a moment forgets its purpose: to praise Filipinos for their devotion to the United States and their resistance to the Japanese. These two traits are exemplified by Mr. Bello (Vladimir Sokoloff), who would rather be hanged than to pull down the American flag. If you can believe this, it is easy to believe the eager pro-American heroism of schoolchild Maximo (Ducky Louie), and the sacrifices made by Fely Franquelli, actually a heroine though widely believed to be a traitor.
Curiously, the most reluctant hero is Anthony Quinn, the lead Filipino. Quinn has to be talked into heading the resistance by Wayne. His girlfriend is the most important spy in the Japanese government, a coincident too remarkable for anything outside of a film script.
Back to Bataan glosses over 1943 and 1944, when the Japanese hold on the Philippines was uncontested. The story resumes in 1945 with its liberation by American forces. Most of the movie concentrates on the birth of the resistance movement, which is orchestrated by two Americans, Wayne and Bondi. One suspects the actual movement was initiated and led throughout by Filipinos, who might have found this film galling in 1945. Today, they might simply laugh at it, the unintended Reefer Madness outcome of many propaganda films.