Introduction

Impasse is a 1969 American film about a group of adventurers trying to recover gold lost in the Philippines during World War II.

It stars Burt Reynolds, Anne Francis, Vic Diaz, Lyle Bettger and Rodolfo Acosta.

Outline

Pat Morrison runs a shady salvage operation in Manila. His latest scheme involves finding $3 million worth of gold bars hidden by the military during World War II. To this end, he needs the help of several former soldiers who were present when the gold was hidden. The first is Jesus, a Filipino muslim and Morrison’s business associate. The second is Draco, a hard-drinking, hot-tempered Apache living on an Indian reservation who answers Morrison’s telegram with the promise of finding a wartime lover named Maria Bonita.

The trio then breaks the third man, the bigoted Hansen, out of a Filipino jail. Draco eventually manages to find Maria in a local bar, but discovers that she has grown older and gained weight. Meanwhile, Morrison rescues the captured Trev Jones, a veteran with a heart condition who has been abducted by Wombat. With Trev’s help, Morrison and company are able to figure out the gold’s exact location in the Malinta Tunnel on the island of Corregidor. Along the way, Morrison falls in love with Jones’s daughter Bobby, a tennis champion. This complicates matters as Morrison is sleeping with Jesus’s Japanese wife Mariko, a fact that Jesus discovers and confronts Morrison with.

Despite their differences, the four men are able to successfully locate and retrieve the gold. However, they meet resistance in the Philippine military. A gunfight ensues that leaves Hansen dead, Draco wounded and Jesus captured. After a brief chase, Morrison finds his escape route blocked and it is revealed that a jealous Mariko had tipped authorities off to their plan. The film ends at the airport with Bobby returning to the United States and a smiling Morrison being led away in handcuffs.

Cast

• Burt Reynolds as Pat Morrison
• Anne Francis as Bobby Jones
• Lyle Bettger as Carl Hansen
• Vic Diaz as Jesus Jimenez Riley
• Rodolfo Acosta as Draco
• Jeff Corey as The Wombat
• Clarke Gordon as Trev Jones
• Miko Mayama as Mariko Riley
• Joanne Dalsass as Penny
• Shirley Gorospe as Sherry
• Bruno Punzalan as Nakajima
• Eddie Nicart as Kuli

Production

The film was based on an original script by John C Higgins called Golden Bullet. Aubrey Schenck produced and raised finance through United Artists. It was to be the first of four pictures Schenck was to make for UA, each using Hal Klein as producer.

Burt Reynolds signed to star and Ann-Margret was originally announced as his co star.

Filming began 15 January 1968 in the Philippines. Ann-Margret dropped out and was replaced by Diana Hyland. She dropped out and was replaced by Anne Francis.

Trivia

• Filmed in Manila the capital of the Philippines. Burt Reynolds was beaten up when people didn’t realise a movie was being filmed. Reynolds recounts “I told the guy ahead of me to knock down anything and keep going. He ran into a marketplace that wasn’t blocked off. They didn’t know it was shooting because the camera was far away with a zoom lens. He began knocking down old ladies as he ran, and before I knew it I was surrounded by six big Filipinos will beat the living hell out of me. They left the beating in the final print.”
• Was originally called “Golden Bullet” but was changed to “Impasse” before its release.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Richard Benedict
• Producer(s):
  • Hal Klein … producer
  • Aubrey Schenck … executive producer
• Writer(s):
  • John C. Higgins
• Music:
  • Philip Springer
• Cinematography:
  • Nonong Rasca … (as Mars B. Rasca) (photography)
• Editor(s):
  • John F. Schreyer
• Production:
  • Aubrey Schenck Productions
• Distributor(s):
  • United Artists (United States, 1969)(theatrical)
  • United Artists (United Kingdom, 1969)(theatrical)
  • United Artists (A-Asia) (Australia, 1969)(theatrical)
  • Kommunenes Filmcentral (KF) (Norway, 1970)(theatrical)
  • National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (United States, 1975)(original airing, TV)
  • Pidax Film (Germany, 2022)(DVD)
• Release Date: 07 May 1969 (New York City, US).
• Running Time: 100 minutes.
• Rating: R.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

Video Link(s)