MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
Solidrariol
Am I Missing Something?
Brenda
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
classichollywoodbeauties
If you are a fan of 1940s actress Carole Landis this is a must-see movie. I'm thrilled that Fox has finally released it on DVD. Carole plays a showgirl who gets trapped with a group of soldiers in the Phillipines during World War 2. Her costar and love interest is the always terrific Lloyd Nolan. This drama has a really wonderful cast including Cornel Wilde, Elisha Cook Jr, and James Gleason. The groups tries to stay alive on a plantation when they get attacked by the enemy. Manila Calling has some great action and a few heart wrenching scenes. It's one of my favorite WW2 movies and one of Carole's best performances. TEN STARS!!!!! For years this movie was very hard to find but now Manila Calling is available on DVD from amazon and movies unlimited. I highly recommend it :-)
GManfred
It's great when a good picture shows up when you weren't expecting one - and this was a good picture. Can't tell if it was a strong 'B' or a weak 'A', but it was worth the 80 minutes I spent on it. It is a jingoistic, patriotic, support-the-troops World War II film that is thoroughly enjoyable. Lots of action throughout, and with lots of dead (as I lose myself in the heat of the moment) Japs, and with good jobs all around in the acting department. Stalwart Lloyd Nolan is the star of the picture, but when Carole Landis is on screen it's hard to take your eyes off her.Nolan leads a group of civilian engineers in the Phillipines trying to string wire prior to the arrival of Japanese forces. They wrest a ranch/farm from a garrison of Japanese soldiers as a base of operations and Landis arrives with another civilian purported to be her boyfriend - or maybe not. From there on things don't go well for the Americans, among them James Gleason as a caricature of an Irishman and Cornel Wilde as an assistant engineer.There are several good firefights and a rousing speech on the short wave by Nolan, and I gave the whole production a rating of 7. It was at least that good. This film is not available in any format and I bought a print from one of the many fly-by-night film copiers found in magazines and newspapers.
b_movies
During the late 60's & early 70's N.Y. WWOR CHANNEL 9 would run the same movie every day for a week (this was a long time before VCR's). I would watch it every chance I had, unfortunately it's not currently available in any format. This movie is where Steven Spielberg came up with the ever so "original" sniper praying to hit his mark. As I remember the soldiers were stationed in a barbedwire fenced compound which reminds me of the T.V. series Daktari. The "japs" would snipe at the Americans, and in turn the Scottish sniper would slip out and hunt the "japs". Other films of this quality; BATAAN, GUNG HO! (1943)
brandtre
Manilla calling chronicles the activities of a group of Americans, cut off and trapped in Luzon by the Japanese advance. They elected to hide in the mountains rather than surrender and go to Japanese prison camps. Lloyd Nolan plays a role as a tough guy with a soft heart. It has little hype and no revisionist history, an accurate account of how it was.