Battle at Bloody Beach

Battle at Bloody Beach, (aka Battle on the Beach in the UK and Australia), is a 1961 American CinemaScope drama war film directed by Herbert Coleman and starring Audie Murphy who had previously worked together in Posse from Hell. The film also features Gary Crosby and introduces Alejandro Rey. Battle at Bloody Beach is only the second Audie Murphy movie set in World War II, after his autobiographical To Hell and Back. The film was shot on Santa Catalina Island by Robert Lippert's Associated Producers Incorporated and was released by 20th Century Fox. The film was produced and co-written by Richard Maibaum along with frequent Audie Murphy collaborator Willard W. Willingham.

Plot
Craig Benson (Audie Murphy) is a civilian working for the Navy helping arm and supply guerrilla insurgents in the Philippines. His main purpose, however, is to find his wife Ruth (Dolores Michaels), from whom he was separated by the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.

Coming ashore Benson kills two Japanese soldiers who have ambushed his contact Sgt. Marty Sackler (Gary Crosby). The two initially meet a band of dubious guerrillas who act as bandits led by a renegade American M'Keever (William Mims) who desires the weapons Benson brought but concealed. Realising M'Keever is a dead loss, the two fight but actual guerrillas led by Julio Fontana (Alejandro Rey) and an American boxer trapped in the Philippines Tiger Blair (Ivan Dixon) defeat M'Keever's bandits and kill him.

Benson agrees to arm Fontana's guerrilla band and meets a group of American civilians he will evacuate to Australia including his wife Ruth (Dolores Michaels) who believed him killed and is romantically involved with Fontana.

Cast

 * Audie Murphy as Craig Benson
 * Gary Crosby as Marty Sackler
 * Dolores Michaels as Ruth Benson
 * Alejandro Rey as Julio Fontana
 * Marjorie Stapp as Caroline Pelham
 * Barry Atwater as Pelham
 * E. J. André as Dr. Van Bart
 * Dale Ishimoto as Blanco
 * Míriam Colón as Nahni
 * Pilar Seurat as Camota
 * Lillian Bronson as Delia Ellis
 * William Mims as M'Keever
 * Ivan Dixon as Tiger Blair
 * Kevin Brodie as Timmy Thompson
 * Sara Anderson as Mrs. Thompson
 * Lloyd Kino as Japanese lieutenant

Production
Heavy seas caused the budget to go $130,000 over the original $300,000 estimate.