Bataan (1943) is a war film about the defense of the Bataan Peninsula at the start of World War II. It was made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Tay Garnett and produced by Irving Starr, with Dore Schary as executive producer. It starred Robert Taylor, Lloyd Nolan, Thomas Mitchell and Robert Walker.

Historical background[link]

The Battle of Bataan followed the Japanese December 1941 invasion of the Philippines and lasted from January 1 to April 9, 1942. The American and Filipino forces retreated from Manila to the nearby mountainous Bataan peninsula for a desperate last stand, hoping for a relief force. However, the Allies were being driven back in all areas of the Pacific theater and none could be sent. After three months of stubborn resistance, the starving and malaria-ridden defenders surrendered and were forced to undertake the infamous Bataan Death March.

Plot[link]

The US Army is conducting a fighting retreat. A high bridge spans a ravine on the Bataan peninsula. After the army and some civilians cross, a group of thirteen hastily-assembled volunteers from different units is assigned to blow it up and delay Japanese rebuilding efforts as long as possible. The soldiers are a mixed lot, including a Mexican-American California National Guardsman Pvt. Felix Ramirez (Desi Arnaz), Pvt. Wesley Epps, a black demolitions expert (Kenneth Lee Spencer), Pvt. Matthew Hardy, a conscientious objector in the Medical Corps (Phillip Terry), Pvt. Francis X. Matowski, an engineer (Barry Nelson), Pvt. "Yankee" Salazar, a Philippine Scout (Alex Havier), Pvt. Sam Molloy, a cook (Tom Dugan), Corporal Jake Feingold (Thomas Mitchell) (Chemical Corps) and Seaman Leonard Purckett, a naive young navy musician (Robert Walker). Sergeant Bill Dane (Robert Taylor) is from the regular 31st Infantry, while Corporal Barney Todd (Lloyd Nolan) claims to be a signalman. However, Dane suspects him of being a pre-war acquaintance, a soldier accused of murder who had escaped while being guarded by then-military policeman Dane.

They dig in on a hillside and blow up the bridge, but their commander, cavalry Captain Henry Lassiter (Lee Bowman), is killed by a sniper, leaving Dane in charge. One by one, the defenders are killed, with one, Pvt. Felix Ramirez, succumbing to malaria.

Army Air Corps pilot Lieutenant Steve Bentley (played by future Senator George Murphy) and his Filipino mechanic, Corporal Juan Katigbak (Roque Espiritu), work frantically to repair an airplane. They succeed, but Katigbak is killed and Bentley is mortally wounded. He has them load explosives aboard, takes off and deliberately crashes his plane into the bridge's foundation.

The remaining soldiers repel a massive frontal assault. Epps and Feingold are killed in the battle, with Epps being beheaded by a samurai sword. Purckett and Todd are later killed by Japanese soldiers who had feigned being dead, leaving only Sergeant Dane. Before he dies, Todd admits to Dane that he is actually Dan Burns, the soldier who had escaped from Dane's custody. Dane stoically digs his own marked grave beside those of his fallen comrades, waits in it, and fires at the onrushing enemy as the final credits roll.

Cast[link]

• Robert Taylor – Sgt. Bill Dane – 31st Infantry
• George Murphy – Lt. Steve Bentley – Army Air Corps
• Thomas Mitchell – Cpl. Jake Feingold – Chemical Corps
• Lloyd Nolan – Cpl. Barney Todd
• Lee Bowman – Capt. Henry Lassiter – 26th Cavalry
• Robert Walker – Musician 2nd Class Leonard Purckett – US Navy
• Desi Arnaz – Pvt. Felix Ramirez – 194th Tank Battalion – California Army National Guard
• Barry Nelson – Pvt. F.X. Matowski
• Phillip Terry – Pvt. Matthew Hardy – Medical Corps
• Roque Espiritu – Cpl. Juan Katigbak – Army Air Corps
• Kenneth Lee Spencer – Pvt. Wesley Epps – Corps of Engineers
• Alex Havier – Pvt. Yankee Salazar – Philippine Scouts
• Tom Dugan – Pvt. Sam Malloy

Production[link]

The presence of a racially integrated fighting force prevented the film's showing in the United States' South.

Scenes from the 1934 RKO film The Lost Patrol, directed by John Ford, were reused in this film.

Reception[link]

According to one historian, the film "successfully made white viewers aware... of the inherent sadism in the American lynching ritual". By the 1940s publications were able to mass distribute photographs taken of hanged men, so there was a "rewriting of the respective relations of the black and the Asian to the white norm, as the film adjusted to a wartime context [which raised questions of integration]."^[1]

See also[link]

• Back to Bataan, a 1945 RKO film directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring John Wayne which covers to the same setting and theme.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bataan at the TCM Movie Database
• Bataan at the Internet Movie Database
• Bataan at AllRovi

Bataan
—  Province  —
Flag Official seal of Bataan Seal
Motto: Forward Bataan
Map of the Philippines with Bataan highlighted
Coordinates: 14°40′N 120°25′E / 14.667°N 120.417°E / 14.667; 120.417Coordinates: 14°40′N 120°25′E / 14.667°N 120.417°E / 14.667; 120.417
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon (Region III)
Founded	1754
Capital	Balanga City
Government
• Type	Province of the Philippines
• Governor	Enrique T. Garcia, Jr. (National Unity)
• Vice Governor	Efren Dominic E. Pascual, Jr. (Nacionalista)
Area
• Total	1,372.98 km2 (530.11 sq mi)
Area rank	72nd out of 80
Population (2007)
• Total	662,153
• Rank	40th out of 80
• Density	480/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
• Density rank	8th out of 80
Divisions
• Independent cities	0
• Component cities	1
• Municipalities	11
• Barangays	237
• Districts	1st and 2nd districts of Bataan
Time zone	PHT (UTC+8)
ZIP Code	2100
Spoken languages	Tagalog, Kapampangan, English
Website	Bataan Official Website

Bataan as seen from Manila Bay.

Bataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north. The peninsula faces the South China Sea to the west and Subic Bay to the north-west, and encloses Manila Bay to the east.

The Battle of Bataan is famous in history as one of the last stands of American and Filipino soldiers before they were overwhelmed by the Japanese forces in World War II. The Bataan Death March was named for this province, where the infamous march started. This is also a location of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant located in the Municipality of Morong.

Geography[link]

Political[link]

Bataan is politically subdivided into 11 municipalities and 1 component city.

City[link]

• Balanga

Municipalities[link]

• Abucay
• Bagac
• Dinalupihan
• Hermosa
• Limay
• Mariveles
• Morong
• Orani
• Orion
• Pilar
• Samal

Physical[link]

The Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea. The peninsula features Mount Natib 1,253 m in the north and the Mariveles Mountains in the south, which includes Mount Samat, the location of the historical marker for the Bataan Death March.

Mariveles, at the southern tip, can be reached via jet ferry plying the Mariveles-to-Manila route that has an approximate travel time of 40 minutes.

In 1647, Dutch naval forces landed in country in an attempt to seize the islands from Spain. The Dutch massacred the people of Abucay in Bataan.

The province of Bataan was established in 1754 by Governor-General Pedro Manuel Arandia out of territories belonging to Pampanga and the corregimiento of Mariveles which, at the time, included Maragondon, Cavite across the Manila Bay.

World War II[link]

Bataan featured prominently during World War II. Prior to the 1941 Japanese invasion, the US Army stored nearly 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800 m³) of gasoline here.

March 1942: General view showing houses burning as the result of Japanese bombing raid in Bataan, the Philippine Islands.

Shortly after the Japanese Army invaded the country in December 1941, the combined US and Filipino forces were being gradually overrun and General Douglas MacArthur moved his troops to the Bataan Peninsula in an attempt to hold out until a relief force could be sent from the US. Japanese forces started a siege of the peninsula on January 7, 1942, and launched an all-out assault on April 3, a few months after the Battle of the Points. The majority of the American and Filipino forces surrendered on April 9 and were forced to march more than a 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Bataan to Tarlac, which became known as the Bataan Death March.

In Port Clinton, Ohio, U.S.A., is Bataan School, dedicated after World War 2, in honor of local veterans who survived the Bataan Death March.

Education[link]

• Holy Rosary Parochial Institute - Orani
• AMA Computer Learning Center – Balanga
• Asia Pacific College of Advanced Studies
• Bataan Heroes Memorial College - Balanga
• Bataan Peninsula State University
• Colegio de San Juan de Letran - Abucay
• EastWoods Professional College of Science and Technology (formerly SOFTNET College of Science and Technology)
• Microcity Computer College
• Philippine Women's University - CDCEC Bataan
• Polytechnic University of the Philippines - Mariveles
• St. Joseph College's of Balanga
• Tomas del Rosario College - Balanga
• Bataan Montessori School, Incorporated - Balanga
• The Peninsula School, Incorporated - Limay
• Jose Rizal Institute - Orion and Orani
• Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific - Mariveles
• Bataan Christian School - Pilar
• Northridge Montessori School - Pilar

Tourist attractions[link]

Historical places

• First Abucay Catholic Church (The 411-year old Church)
• Mount Samat - Shrine of Valor (Pilar, Bataan)
• Zero Kilometre Death March Marker (Mariveles)
• Bataan First Line of Defense (Layac, Dinalupihan)
• Bataan Death March Marker (Orani)
• Virgen Milagrosa Del Rosario del Pueblo de Orani Shrine (Formerly Holy Rosary Parish Church) (Orani)

Natural-made places of interest

• Dunsulan Falls
• Pasukulan Falls (Abucay, Bataan)
• Sibul Spring (Abucay, Bataan)
• Balong Anito (Mariveles, Bataan)
• San Miguel Mountain Peak (Mariveles, Bataan)
• Mariveles Volcano
• Tarak Ridge (Mariveles, Bataan)
• Mt. Natib (Orani, Bataan)

Beaches and Resorts

• Bataan White Corals Beach Resort and Hotel (Morong, Bataan)
• Camaya Coast (Mariveles, Bataan) - Camaya Coast
• Montemar (Bagac, Bataan) - Montemar Beach
• Villa Imperial Resort (Mariveles, Bataan)
• Baptist Camp Resort (Limay, Bataan)
• Anvaya Cove (Morong, Bataan)
• Morong Star Beach Resort (Morong, Bataan)
• Sinag Tala Farm and Retreat Resort (Tala, Orani, Bataan)
• Peninsula De Bataan Hotel and Resort (Orani, Bataan)

People and culture[link]

Famous people in Bataan[link]

• Pedro Tuazon (Balanga) - Solicitor General of the Philippines- 1921
• Kerby Raymundo (Orion) - PBA multi-awarded player, power forward, member of the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants and the Philippines national basketball team.
• Romi Garduce (Balanga) - mountain climber who reached Mount Everest.
• Mel Tiangco (Pilar) - popular television newscaster and television host; head of GMA Kapuso foundation.
• Rafael de Leon (Pilar) - The first Filipino who won the 100 meter dash, in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
• Cayetano Arellano (Orion) - The first Supreme Court Chief Justice of the Republic of the Philippines.
• Pocholo Gonzales (Mariveles) - popular youth advocate, broadcaster, motivational speaker, radio announcer, Events Organizer, Personal Branding Guru, TV producer, Voice Director and Voice Over Artist.
• Chad Peralta from Pinoy Dream Academy
• Jackie Rice (Dinalupihan) - Filipina actress who won the title of Ultimate Female Survivor on the third season of Startstruck.
• Tomas Pinpin (Abucay) - A printer, writer and publisher, was also the first Filipino printer and is sometimes referred as the "Patriarch of Filipino Printing."
• Luz Banson (Balanga) - Was the wife of Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and was the seventh First Lady of the Philippines, she was also remembered as one of the most admired First Ladies and distinguished herself for her warmth and simplicity
• Felicito Payumo (Dinalupihan) - Chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority from 1998-2004.
• Janine Marie Tugonon (Orion) - Binibining Pilipinas 2011 1st Runner-Up and Binibining Pilipinas 2012 Universe
• Monique Teruelle Manuel - Miss Philippines Earth 2009 semifinalist
• Jessica Sanchez (Orani & Samal) - is an American singer. She was the runner-up on the eleventh season of American Idol.

See also[link]

• Bataan Death March
• Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
• Bataan Peninsula
• Battle of Bataan
• Geography of the Philippines
• Provinces of the Philippines
• Bataan Provincial Expressway
• Petron Corporation (formerly known as Bataan Refining Corporation)

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bataan

• Bataan Official Website
• 2007 Philippine Census Information

		Zambales	Pampanga
	South China Sea		Manila Bay / Metro Manila
		Bataan    East
		Manila Bay / Cavite

v t e Region III Central Luzon Regional Center San Fernando, Pampanga Highly Urbanized Cities Angeles City Olongapo City Metropolitan Areas Metro Angeles Metro Olongapo Provinces Aurora Bataan Bulacan Nueva Ecija Pampanga Tarlac Zambales Component Cities Balanga City Cabanatuan City Gapan City City of Malolos Meycauayan City Munoz City Palayan City San Fernando, Pampanga San Jose City San Jose del Monte City Tarlac City Luzon, Republic of the Philippines

v t e Political divisions of the Philippines Capital Manila National Capital Region Autonomous region Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Provinces Abra Agusan del Norte Agusan del Sur Aklan Albay Antique Apayao Aurora Basilan Bataan Batanes Batangas Benguet Biliran Bohol Bukidnon Bulacan Cagayan Camarines Norte Camarines Sur Camiguin Capiz Catanduanes Cavite Cebu Compostela Valley Cotabato Davao del Norte Davao del Sur Davao Oriental Dinagat Islands Eastern Samar Guimaras Ifugao Ilocos Norte Ilocos Sur Iloilo Isabela Kalinga La Union Laguna Lanao del Norte Lanao del Sur Leyte Maguindanao Marinduque Masbate Misamis Occidental Misamis Oriental Mountain Province Negros Occidental Negros Oriental Northern Samar Nueva Ecija Nueva Vizcaya Occidental Mindoro Oriental Mindoro Palawan Pampanga Pangasinan Quezon Quirino Rizal Romblon Samar Sarangani Siquijor Sorsogon South Cotabato Southern Leyte Sultan Kudarat Sulu Surigao del Norte Surigao del Sur Tarlac Tawi-Tawi Zambales Zamboanga del Norte Zamboanga del Sur Zamboanga Sibugay Former Provinces Agusan Ambos Camarines Camarines Cotabato Davao Kalinga-Apayao Lanao Lepanto-Bontoc Manila Mindanao and Sulu Mindoro Misamis Moro Province Negros Negros del Norte Occidental Leyte Oriental Leyte Samar Shariff Kabunsuan Surigao Tayabas Zamboanga Other subdivisions Island groups (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao) Regions Cities Municipalities Barangays Legislative districts Territorial disputes North Borneo (Sabah) Scarborough Shoal Spratly Islands

Benjamin "Ben" Mankiewicz^[1] (born March 25, 1967) is an American radio and television personality, known for his work as a TV journalist, news anchor, and film critic. He attended Georgetown Day High School, Tufts University, and Columbia University.^[2]

Family[link]

Mankiewicz is the son of Holly (née Jolley) and Frank Mankiewicz,^[3] the cousin of the late screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz, grandson of famed screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, and grandnephew of screenwriter, producer, and director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz.^[4][5] He is the brother of NBC News reporter Josh Mankiewicz. His cousin is filmmaker/television producer Nick Davis. His father is Jewish and his mother is a Mormon.^[6]

Career[link]

Mankiewicz began his professional career as a reporter and an anchor for WCSC-TV (a CBS affiliate) in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1998, he joined WAMI in Miami, Florida, where he served as anchor of The Times, a daily news magazine show and the station’s highlight program.^[7]

He is a regular fill-in and co-host of the progressive talk radio show The Young Turks, along with Cenk Uygur, and hosts TYT Sports and What The Flick, two spinoff shows on The Young Turks Network. In 2007, he moved to a new entertainment and celebrity gossip television show, TMZ on TV,^[8] deciding after a few months that it was not for him. On weekends, he presents classic movies on the American cable television channel, Turner Classic Movies. From 2004-07, he hosted TCM's Cartoon Alley, shown weekly on Saturday mornings.

In 2008, he and Ben Lyons replaced Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper on the syndicated TV program At the Movies.^[9] In August 2009, Lyons and Mankiewicz were replaced by Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune and A.O. Scott from The New York Times.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ben Mankiewicz at the Internet Movie Database
• The Young Turks homepage
• Turner Classic Movies article on Mankiewicz
• List of Young Turk Radio Streams