Ambush Bay (1966)

This is one of those modest films about life in the Marine corps during War time. Directed by Ron Winston, it's depiction is that of a select group of specialized soldiers, sent on a top secret mission to destroy a specific target which threaten the U.S. Navy's amphibious assault. The movie stars tough guy Hugh O'Brian as 1st Sgt. Steve Corey. Mickey Rooney follows as Gunnery Sgt. Ernest Wartell, as an equally tough as nails non-com who is convincing as a career soldier. James Mitchum is interesting, though irritatingly naive as Pfc. James Grenier who joins the elite group at the last minute. Their mission is dangerous, indeed nearly impossible as they are required to land on a heavily guarded island held by the Japanese, traverse a dense jungle and to destroy their radar station controlling a hidden underwater mine field awaiting the unsuspecting Americans. Despite the minor flaws in the film, the acting is top notch and the drama is consistent with true war like Military action. The movie is easily recommended to war buffs and fans of the main stars. ****

For standards of movie making decades later, the movie has its flaws but if you look past that, the plot is good and so is the acting. I enjoyed the nostalgia look at war movies where it was made close / somewhat close to when it happened and present day mannerisms, colloquial expressions and revisionist haven't taken too much of a overriding theme.The actors in this movie are thin which to me reflects what a true soldier living on rations would look like, they don't use foul language in every sentence nor do they talk about sex. The plot shows Americans with dedication to duty, callous to the death around them and respect for each other except for the character, Pfc James Grenier, played by James Mitchum. As you watch the movie you go from disliking Grenier to rooting for him as all of the members of the mission are killed off.

*Spoilers below*"Ambush Bay" is the poster-child of how to make a war film based solely on clichés. Regardless, the result is a very entertaining look at espionage in the Pacific Theater.Days before MacArthur's fleet is to return to the Philippines, a squad of Marines is dropped on Mindanao with a risky assignment: penetrate enemy territory and contact a spy named Miyazaki who operates out of a Japanese rest camp. They spy has information vital to MacArthur's intelligence department. They are experts in the field of killing, except for Grenier (Jim Mitchum), a PBY radio man who was assigned to the team at the last minute when the original radio operator got sick. Grenier doesn't fit in with the veterans, especially the macho Sgt. Corey (Hugh O'Brian).The piece is clichéd from start to finish – in what movie have we not seen the characters, setting or mission before? Director Winston handles this nonsense seriously – so seriously, that despite the flaws, it's very easy to enjoy this movie, even in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way. O'Brian gives a passionate performance, even if his character is anything but original and personal. His Sergeant is virtually a superhero, as Sgt. Wartell (Mickey Rooney!) reveals to Grenier by describing a series of Corey's early exploits on Guadalcanal and Tarawa. Rooney looks to be thoroughly enjoying himself as he scales cliffs and mows down Japanese infantry by the dozen, although he looks way too old and simultaneously boyish to be a believable career marine. Although he gets third billing, Mitchum's is the most developed and believable character. He's a person any viewer can relate to: thrown into a situation beyond his control, Grenier is forced to adapt to ever-changing conditions – and fast – because his life may depend on it. He wants to do his job well, but doesn't have any natural talent, and therefore his peers look down on him with contempt. His performance never strikes a false note, and he even gets to lapse into some voice-overs to keep things fresh.The on-location photography is stunning from beginning to end. Had this film not been shot in the Philippines, any credibility would have been totally lost. The exteriors are appropriately lush and beautiful. Winston and cinematographer Emmanuel L. Rojas don't just take us into the steamy jungles; we get to venture into rice patties, across streams and down rushing, crystal clear blue rivers. I absolutely hate it when producers try to make ridiculous locations like North American forests ("The Green Berets") or rocky plains of Spain (1964's "The Thin Red Line") pass for Asian or South Pacific jungles. The technique just doesn't work. Kudos to Winston for choosing to shoot this film in the actual locations it is said to have occurred at.Although the movie runs nearly 2 hours, the time flies by. The pace is kept fluid in two ways. The characters are constantly on the go. The only reason they stop is rest, and we're treated to discussion revealing something of their character. For example, we don't get to know Corey as a person until late in the film when he develops a relationship with Tisa Chang's character. When the men aren't hiking or resting, they're engaged in some sort of combat with the enemy – patrols, tanks and indigenous cannibals constantly hamper their progress. Winston doesn't dwell on the supporting cast at all: most of them are non-essential characters that he kills off in a few early encounters with the enemy. We constantly ask ourselves "Who is going to get killed next?" This curiosity keeps us engaged right up until the climactic battle inside a fortified Japanese radio installation.All of that said, it's necessary to point out several technical flaws which make the proceedings difficult to take seriously. The members of the squad are introduced quite extensively as masters in the art of warfare, but by the half-way point, almost all of them have been killed by Japanese draftees. Their detailed introductions are a waste of viewer time and engagement, since Winston seems to want to kill all of them off as quickly as possible. The death of one key character, involving "baked potatoes", has got to be an example of some of the worst screen-writing I've witnessed. Some of the special effects (namely the destruction of a tank) are very below par, even for a low-budget film from 1966. Outdoor sets are used multiple times, to represent very different locations. The film's climax is packed with unlikely heroics, but by the time it arrives, viewers have dispensed with realistic expectations. The ridiculous baseball-style caps look like something a Green Beret or Navy SEAL might have worn in the 1960s, but are totally out of place in a World War II movie. I took flak for this comment elsewhere. I don't care if Baseball caps are the "headgear of choice" for Marine air crewmen - these are Marines on an important mission and the last thing they'll be wearing in a green jungle is a bright red cap which yells "HERE I AM! SHOOT ME!" Perhaps the unbelievable, overstated corny parts of "Ambush Bay" make it such an entertaining film; maybe it's more sincere performances of Mitchum and O'Brian that make it stand out from the deluge of "jungle patrol" stories out there. Whatever the reason, it's thoroughly enjoyable has been a favorite of mine since I caught it on cable as a kid. Now that it's available on DVD, a whole new audience may have opened up.

This terrible old war movie was "owned" by a local Tv station and they showed it at least once a month when I was a kid(before cable, only three stations to choose from!) I noticed how the same three Japanese soldiers kept getting killed throughout the entire movie! We were very lucky to ever win this war, since those "dead" Japanese would keep coming back to life! This could almost qualify this as a "Zombie" movie!