Beachhead (1954)

I almost fell asleep watching 30 minutes or more of this jungle WWII romp. Now, you may find it egrossing, so don't pass this one up as it proves once again, just where would Hollywood be without World War Two?


Oscar nominee Tony Curtis "blends hard-hitting toughness with humor" (Los Angeles Times) as a Marine who must battle Japanese soldiers, private demons and fellow Marines in this "gripping" (Variety) World War II saga. "Bristling with suspense and rugged action" (The Hollywood Reporter), Beachhead is a classic war drama that delivers plenty of "emotion-stirring heroics" (Boxoffice).

Four Marines embark on a hazardous island mission to verify reports about a secret Japanese minefield. The intelligence comes from a French planter - who may or may not be an Allied spy - and his beautiful daughter. If their story is true, can the Marines outgun their enemies, make it through the treacherous jungle, and rendezvous with American forces in time to prevent disaster?


"On a Japanese-occupied island during World War II, only two soldiers remain alive after a mission attempt goes horribly wrong. Trapped on the island, they must escort a scientist and his daughter to the other side of the island where their ship awaits. They must battle nature, hard terrain, and advancing Japanese troops." Written by Jeremy Kirk


NOTES:

1 One of Tony Curtis' early starring roles is this war film of a detachment of Marines sent out to locate a planter and verify a message he sent concerning the location of Japanese minefields on the island.


2 Said one comment: "When I watched this on tv as a kid, my small adolescent mind thought this was a gritty depiction of real world combat. I watched this yesterday on TCM and saw the most outlandish scene ever appearing in a war movie. At it's conclusion, a Japanese destroyer blows up a PT boat. When Tony Curtis spies an oil slick in the water, he swims out and tosses a grenade in the general direction of the PT wreckage. I couldn't believe what happened next. The oil slick catches fire, travels a mile or so to the destroyer and blows it up!!! Incredible! The fact that we didn't laugh at this scene in the 50's is absolutely amazing to me . . ."

Beachhead
Original Release Date: Jan 1, 1954

Cast
Tony Curtis
Frank Lovejoy
Mary Murphy
Edvard Franz
Skip Homeier

Crew
Cinematographer: Gordon Avil
Composer: Arthur Lange
Producer: Howard W. Koch
Director: Stuart Heisler
Composer: Emil Newman
Editor: John F. Schreyer
Screenplay: Richard Alan Simmons
Producer: Aubrey Schenck

Gross:$1,400,000 (USA)