“BATAAN”

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 53, Issue 32517, 15 December 1944, Page 5

“BATAAN”

MIGHTY WARTIME DRAMA PROGRAMME AT REGENT 6 SAGA OF HEROISM UNDER FIRE Thirteen men in a fever-infested jungle, fighting in an heroic fight-to-the-finish, stand against Japanese hordes, provide stark drama and many thrills in “Bataan,” saga of heroism under fire, which will show on Saturday and Monday at the Regent Theatre.

The story deals with thirteen “expendables” assigned to blow up a bridge and' fight a delaying action to cover the evacuation of the Army of Bataan. Human relationships between the men, whose assignment dooms them to certain death, prov ide a drama within a drama, as one by one the soldiers fall victim to bullets and imalaria until Robert Taylor, the last of the gallant patrol, stands in his own grave fighting to the last. Tay Garnett directed with skill and stressed the . stark realism of the gripping story. The setting is a jungle battlefield. Unusual in that there is no feminine love interest, the story deals entirely with human relationships of strong men under fire. Taylor has what is unquestionably the most dramatic role of his career as the hard-bitten sergeant. The players represent a literal crosssection of America and the Philippines.

TO-NIGHT ONLY

•DOUBLE FEATURE'

“Ridin’ On A Rainbow,” and “Melody- and Moonlight,” -will show tonight only at the Regent Theatre.