Intramuros

"Gateway to the Bloodiest Battle of the Philippines"

Nov 17 1965 Not Rated 1h 28m
Drama, War

In the final days of the battle of Manila during World War II, fanatical Japanese naval forces barricade themselves inside the walls of Intramuros, the ancient Spanish walled city of Manila. In a suicidal last stand, the Japanese hold many thousand Filipinos captive within the fortress, despite the incessant bombardment of United States artillery. An American war correspondent, Murray, arrives at the front line where a guerrilla unit led by American Lieutenant Sorenson makes contact with a young Filipino fighter, Nardo, who has escaped the fortress through a sewer passage. Nardo proposes a plan to rescue the prisoners through the tunnel.

Plot

This gritty, atmospheric war movie dramatizes a chapter of World War II history in which 10,000 Japanese soldiers, fearing execution if they surrendered, disobeyed their own superiors' orders and barricaded themselves in Manila's Intramuros section along with a thousand or so unfortunate civilians. The walled city-within-the-city was built by Spanish colonialists from 1590 onward. Leading Allied forces trying to wear the trapped Axis troops' resistance down is Jock Mahoney as a gruff American officer carrying a big load of guilt from a prior operation gone wrong. Shot in impressive chiaroscuro-lit black-and-white on location, this was a fairly rare U.S. coproduction at the time, though the Philippines would shortly become a hub for English- language exploitation movies (with co-directors Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon among the busiest creators of features designed for both local and overseas audiences). WALLS OF HELL must have been a bittersweet project for de Leon: during WW2 he was forced to make propaganda films by Japanese occupiers even as he secretly worked against them in the underground resistance. - Dennis Harvey

Written by

Ferde Grofé Jr., Cesar Amigo, Eddie Romero

Directed by

Gerardo de Leon, Eddie Romero

Cast

Jock Mahoney, Fernando Poe Jr., Michael Parsons

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

Philippines, United States of America

Production Companies

Hemisphere Pictures, Filigrana Films

Languages

, English

Awards

N/A

Scores
# of Votes
153
Average Rating
5.2 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA