Bataan (1943) on Netflix
On the Bataan Peninsula, thirteen soldiers drawn from different units are ordered to blow up a bridge and delay the Japanese advance. Sergeant Bill Dane is among the men.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb7.0/103,012 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1942, Japan's invasion of the Philippines sends the United States Army into a fighting retreat across the Bataan Peninsula. A wooden trestle bridge on stone pillars spans a ravine, and after the Army and some civilians have crossed it, thirteen soldiers hastily assembled from different units are given the job of destroying it and slowing Japanese rebuilding efforts as long as possible. Captain Henry Lassiter leads the group, and Sergeant Bill Dane is among the men. They dig in on a hillside, and no relief is expected. The men face hunger and sickness, and the Japanese advance on them.
Cast
Show all 13 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Bataan (1943)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Executive producer Dore Schary deliberately cast African-American actor Kenneth Spencer in Bataan's mixed fighting force, black, Asian, Latino and Irish soldiers, at a time when the U.S. military was segregated, and was criticized by studio executives for it. He even kept the character's identity from writer Robert Andrews to avoid racial dialogue.
- Bataan's depiction of an integrated fighting force kept the film from being shown in parts of the American South.
