An impressively understated and realist depiction of guerilla warfare, Back Door to Hell travels with three American soldiers deep into the heart of the Philippine jungle on a secret mission crucial for the success of General MacArthur's campaign against the Japanese. Hellman carefully balances the film's tense deadline-driven narrative with melancholic and soulful interludes between the soldiers as they grapple with the palpable fear and the uncertainty that surrounds them. Characteristic of postwar "runaway productions," Back Door to Hell was made entirely overseas with Hellman and his cast and crew traveling to the Philippines to take advantage of the lower production costs and jungle locations. The film's distributor Twentieth Century Fox insisted on adding the emphatic newsreel combat footage and patriotic closing narration that notably clash with Hellman's quieter, more introspective vision of war. – HG