On B List of Movie Reviews
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Beachhead (1954)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
2/24
2/24:
Although the rating should be a point lower, there are several reasons to like Beachhead.
The technicolor serves Tony Curtis well as he looks impossibly handsome. It's why the girl fell in love with
his character. She sure forgot about her father's death in record time. The longer the show goes on, the better
the group's chemistry is, allowing me to get to used to their adventure. Frank Lovejoy is an asset while Mary
Murphy is familiar as the love attraction for Marlon Brando's character in
The Wild One.
Of course, instances show up that are hard to believe. There have been many times that Tony Curtis and Frank
Lovejoy are shown wearing (Converse?) sneakers when boots make sense. Why did they dig a foxhole out
in the open when they should be hiding in the woods? That'll cut down their survival rate to near 0%. All a
Japanese soldier has to do is climb a tree and pick them off one by one.
How about the girl's bright blue dress? Anyone can spot her easily, especially when the Japanese are all over
the place atop the ridge. How were the Bouchards able to survive on the island for so long? I wonder what they
did before the Marines came along because it seemed to be working out for them. And they're French? Ha! No such
accent can be heard whatsoever, but the father's ability to speak Melanesian is something else.
The ending is ridiculous just like the Japanese soldier in his Pillsbury Doughboy uniform coming out of nowhere
before he's taken hostage. So, Tony Curtis jumps into the water, swims 100 yards, and throws a grenade to blow
up the Japanese destroyer that's supposed to be far away? It doesn't help when the filmmakers put two reels
together to make me believe there's fighting on the sea.
All in all, Beachhead isn't a great movie, but having Tony Curtis on board makes a big difference.