Lost Battalion (1962)

Director: Eddie Romero

Writers: Eddie Romero, Cesar Amigo

Composer: Les Baxter

Starring: Rosi Acosta, Arsenio Alonso, Bruce Baxter, Joe Dennis, Diane Jergens, Johnny Monteiro, Renato Robles, Leopoldo Salcedo, Joe Sison, Jennings Sturgeon

More info: IMDb

Tagline: 200 Men and one girl trapped in a ring of steel!

Plot: During World War II, a guerilla leader named Ramon (Salcedo) contacts a group of American refugees pinned down by the Japanese in the Philippines. With his vast knowledge of the jungle, he hopes to get them to a waiting submarine, but it won't be easy. As the group makes its way across enemy lines, they rescue a woman (Jergens) from bandits, but the heroic deed threatens to slow their progress.

My rating: 3/10

Will I watch it again? No.

A few weeks ago I stopped watching this about halfway through, having fallen asleep twice.  Last night I had to start from the top because I couldn't remember a damn thing about it. I fell asleep twice.  This is dreadfully dull.  It's not that the acting is bad (it's fine I suppose) or the score is ill-fitting (Baxter's music is rousing and works like it should) but it's the story and pacing.  It's 83 minutes long but should be half that.  Scenes linger past their sell date and there's too much walking and things going nowhere fast.  There's a little action but not enough to keep you going.  In all seriousness, I should pop this in when I'm having trouble sleeping.  It's proven to work, at least for me.