Knowing what director Vari (better known for his westerns) can do with limited budgets, I had expected a lot more from this Italian war movie, set in the Philippines. No idea where it was shot, but most probably on Italian soil, I had the idea the finale was shot in the Laguna Veneta, near Venice, the rest of it probably on Sardinia.
Guy Madison discovers that the Japanese have invaded a small island before the Philippine coast. The island was a radar base and the Japanese military now plan to use its equipment for their South Sea campaign. Madison teams up with some survivors of the attack to thwart the Japanese plans.
I knew Madison was a heavy drinker but in this movie he's also a heavy smoker. No wonder the former golden boy had aged so quickly. He was 46 when he made this movie, but looks at least 10 years older. Also in the movie are well-known actors such as Fabio Testi and Hélène Chanel, but they have very little to do. The best thing about it is model Lilia Neyung as a local beauty, but we get a rather bizarre sequence with her running around for about 10 minutes in a (seemingly) deserted village.
The film looks good, Vari knows how to shoot a scene, but it's basically a group of people walking from one corner of the island to another, with the Japs looking for them. There's some action, but it's unspectacular. Could have easily been a western, with Indians instead of Japs, and Winchesters instead of a radar system.
