Ambush Bay
Encyclopedia
Ambush Bay is a 1966 war film
filmed on location in the Philippines
that was produced by Aubrey Schenck
and released through United Artists
.
scout
s is landed by a PBY Catalina
with the mission of contacting an intelligence agent who has crucial information. Each Marine is not only experienced but has a special skill with the exception of the radio operator, PFC
Grenier (James Mitchum).
Grenier, an air crew radioman
with only six months in the Corps is taken off the PBY's air crew when the original radio operator suddenly became medically unfit for the mission. He is given the sick Marine's radio and camouflage
jacket to carry on his first ground combat mission. He serves as a narrator to the audience.
After meeting up with their guide (Manual Amado), the patrol commander Captain Alonzo Davis (Lieutenant Colonel
Clement J. Stadler who had been awarded the Navy Cross
and who also acted as the film's technical advisor
) is killed while ambushing a small group of Japanese soldiers, and First Sergeant
Corey (Hugh O'Brian, recognized as one of the youngest Drill Instructor
s to have served in the USMC) takes command.
Pvt. George George and Pfc. Henry Reynolds are killed while taking out a Japanese tank and patrol. And Cpl. Stanley Parrish is killed by a guerrilla trap soon after. As they walk on, Amado is shot by a Japanese officer while scaling a small hill. The marines let him die to keep their presence secret. Grenier is eventually told by Gunnery Sergeant
Wartell (Mickey Rooney) that they were sent to recover some important information from a contact in a tea house whose radio was destroyed, thus explaining the radio's importance to the mission.
Grenier's inexperience and incompetence arouses anger amongst Corey and the other members of the patrol. His only friend is easy going but professional Gunnery Sergeant Wartell who acts as a mediator between the hard no nonsense 1st Sgt Corey and Grenier, explaining each one to the other and the audience. Rooney provides the only comedy relief in the film when his character is captured and interrogated by a group of careless Japanese soldiers.
The surviving squad members eventually arrive at the tea house but, unfortunately, Amado was the one who was supposed to meet the contact as he was the only Filipino in the group. Desperate,
the group sends Corey to met the contact, Miyazaki a Filipino-American woman from Long Beach, California. While sneaking out of the camp with Miyazaki, Corey crashes into a waiter and the two run across a straw bridge then blow it up with a grenade, escaping from the soldiers. Meanwhile, a large skirmish with a Japanese patrol has killed Cpl. Alvin Ross and Platoon Sergeant William Maccone, shot the radio up beyond repair, and wounded Gunnery Sergeant Wartell. Wartell, knowing he will slow the survivors down, tells the reluctant Corey to leave him behind. When they leave, he plants grenades under himself and is captured by the Japanese soldiers. After toying with them a bit during his interrogation he sets off the grenades, taking them all out in the blast. Leaving Corey and Grenier the only surviving marines. The explosion is heard by the survivors and they sadly track on.
Corey and Grenier learn from Miyazaki that the Japanese are expecting the invasion fleet and have placed a mine field powerful enough to destroy the entire fleet in the water around the invasion sites. Arriving at a friendly Filipino village, Corey and Grenier are able to escape a Japanese patrol by boat. But Miyazaki is killed by a officer she seduced to buy the guys some time. At last discovering the principles of mission accomplishment, altruism
, and self sacrifice through observation, Grenier becomes a squared away Marine. He and his First Sergeant infiltrate the enemy base to remotely detonate the minefield with the Japanese radio transmitter. As Corey provides a one man army diversion, Grenier is able to detonate the mines by radio control. Grenier then steals a radio and goes to tell Corey of their success, only to find Corey dead of blood loss from wounds he got while holding off the Japanese. Grenier escapes to the coast and radios for pick up. Leaving him the sole survivor of the mission. The movie ends with Grenier looking at the ocean while he listens to General Macarthur speech as he awaits pick up.
. Marine Lieutenant Colonel
Clement J. Stadler also acted as a technical advisor
for All the Young Men
, Hell to Eternity
, The Outsider
, and The Lieutenant
television series.
A novelisation of the film's screenplay was written by Jack Pearl.
During filming, Mickey Rooney became ill with a fever. Whilst he was hospitalized in Manila, his wife Barbara Ann Thomason was killed by her lover in a murder-suicide.
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
filmed on location in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
that was produced by Aubrey Schenck
Aubrey Schenck
Aubrey Schenck was a film producer from the 1940s through the 1970s. In the 1930s, Schenck, a nephew of Joseph and Nicholas Schenck, was a practicing attorney in New York City. He wrote a story and submitted it to 20th Century Fox, with whom he had business and legal connections, and they agreed...
and released through United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
.
Plot
Prior to the 1944 American invasion of the Philippines a hand picked team of U.S. Marine Corps amphibious reconnaissanceAmphibious reconnaissance
The concept of amphibious reconnaissance, or commonly amphib recon, are used primarily in conjunction with ground and naval reconnaissance concerning the littoral area bordering coastal or maritime areas of interests...
scout
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
s is landed by a PBY Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
with the mission of contacting an intelligence agent who has crucial information. Each Marine is not only experienced but has a special skill with the exception of the radio operator, PFC
Private First Class
Private First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...
Grenier (James Mitchum).
Grenier, an air crew radioman
Radioman
Radioman was a rating for United States Navy and United States Coast Guard enlisted personnel, specializing in communications technology.-History of the rating:...
with only six months in the Corps is taken off the PBY's air crew when the original radio operator suddenly became medically unfit for the mission. He is given the sick Marine's radio and camouflage
Military camouflage
Military camouflage is one of many means of deceiving an enemy. In practice, it is the application of colour and materials to battledress and military equipment to conceal them from visual observation. The French slang word camouflage came into common English usage during World War I when the...
jacket to carry on his first ground combat mission. He serves as a narrator to the audience.
After meeting up with their guide (Manual Amado), the patrol commander Captain Alonzo Davis (Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Clement J. Stadler who had been awarded the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
and who also acted as the film's technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
) is killed while ambushing a small group of Japanese soldiers, and First Sergeant
First Sergeant
First sergeant is the name of a military rank used in many countries, typically a senior non-commissioned officer.-Singapore:First Sergeant is a Specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First Sergeants are the most senior of the junior Specialists, ranking above Second Sergeants, and below Staff...
Corey (Hugh O'Brian, recognized as one of the youngest Drill Instructor
Drill instructor
A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer or Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in the armed forces or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. In the U.S. armed forces, they are assigned the duty of indoctrinating new recruits entering the military into the customs and...
s to have served in the USMC) takes command.
Pvt. George George and Pfc. Henry Reynolds are killed while taking out a Japanese tank and patrol. And Cpl. Stanley Parrish is killed by a guerrilla trap soon after. As they walk on, Amado is shot by a Japanese officer while scaling a small hill. The marines let him die to keep their presence secret. Grenier is eventually told by Gunnery Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant is the seventh enlisted rank in the United States Marine Corps, just above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, and is a staff non-commissioned officer...
Wartell (Mickey Rooney) that they were sent to recover some important information from a contact in a tea house whose radio was destroyed, thus explaining the radio's importance to the mission.
Grenier's inexperience and incompetence arouses anger amongst Corey and the other members of the patrol. His only friend is easy going but professional Gunnery Sergeant Wartell who acts as a mediator between the hard no nonsense 1st Sgt Corey and Grenier, explaining each one to the other and the audience. Rooney provides the only comedy relief in the film when his character is captured and interrogated by a group of careless Japanese soldiers.
The surviving squad members eventually arrive at the tea house but, unfortunately, Amado was the one who was supposed to meet the contact as he was the only Filipino in the group. Desperate,
the group sends Corey to met the contact, Miyazaki a Filipino-American woman from Long Beach, California. While sneaking out of the camp with Miyazaki, Corey crashes into a waiter and the two run across a straw bridge then blow it up with a grenade, escaping from the soldiers. Meanwhile, a large skirmish with a Japanese patrol has killed Cpl. Alvin Ross and Platoon Sergeant William Maccone, shot the radio up beyond repair, and wounded Gunnery Sergeant Wartell. Wartell, knowing he will slow the survivors down, tells the reluctant Corey to leave him behind. When they leave, he plants grenades under himself and is captured by the Japanese soldiers. After toying with them a bit during his interrogation he sets off the grenades, taking them all out in the blast. Leaving Corey and Grenier the only surviving marines. The explosion is heard by the survivors and they sadly track on.
Corey and Grenier learn from Miyazaki that the Japanese are expecting the invasion fleet and have placed a mine field powerful enough to destroy the entire fleet in the water around the invasion sites. Arriving at a friendly Filipino village, Corey and Grenier are able to escape a Japanese patrol by boat. But Miyazaki is killed by a officer she seduced to buy the guys some time. At last discovering the principles of mission accomplishment, altruism
Altruism
Altruism is a concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions, though the concept of 'others' toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. Altruism is the opposite of...
, and self sacrifice through observation, Grenier becomes a squared away Marine. He and his First Sergeant infiltrate the enemy base to remotely detonate the minefield with the Japanese radio transmitter. As Corey provides a one man army diversion, Grenier is able to detonate the mines by radio control. Grenier then steals a radio and goes to tell Corey of their success, only to find Corey dead of blood loss from wounds he got while holding off the Japanese. Grenier escapes to the coast and radios for pick up. Leaving him the sole survivor of the mission. The movie ends with Grenier looking at the ocean while he listens to General Macarthur speech as he awaits pick up.
Production
Television director Ron Winston made his feature debut with the film. It was also the motion picture debuts of then 19 year old Tisa Chang and Peter MastersonPeter Masterson
Peter Masterson is an American actor, director, producer and writer.Masterson often worked with his cousin, writer Horton Foote. Acting from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s,including 1975's The Stepford Wives as Walter Eberhart, since then he has concentrated mostly on directing and producing...
. Marine Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Clement J. Stadler also acted as a technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
for All the Young Men
All the Young Men
All the Young Men is a 1960 Korean War feature film starring Alan Ladd and Sidney Poitier dealing with desegregation in the United States Marine Corps.-Plot:...
, Hell to Eternity
Hell to Eternity
Hell to Eternity is a 1960 World War II film starring Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, Vic Damone and directed by Phil Karlson. This film biopic is about the true experiences of Marine hero Pfc...
, The Outsider
The Outsider (1961 film)
The Outsider is a 1961 biopic film about Ira Hayes, who was a Native American who fought in World War II in the United States Marine Corps and was one of the Marines who Raised the Flag on Iwo Jima. The film stars Tony Curtis as Hayes.-Cast:*Tony Curtis...
, and The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant is an American television series, the first created by Gene Roddenberry. It aired on NBC on Saturday evenings in the 1963-1964 television schedule. It was produced by Arena Productions, one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's most successful in-house production companies of the 1960s. Situated...
television series.
A novelisation of the film's screenplay was written by Jack Pearl.
During filming, Mickey Rooney became ill with a fever. Whilst he was hospitalized in Manila, his wife Barbara Ann Thomason was killed by her lover in a murder-suicide.