road picture

I don't know why there's a movie poster of this film because it was originally made for television. My guess is that it was released to theaters sometime after being aired on television. Has that ever happened before? The Longest Hundred Miles in fact was one of the first full length feature films to be made for television back in 1967. I don't know why this movie stands out in my mind. It's a WWII film based in the Philippines during a Japanese invasion. A United States corporal, (Doug McClure) is persuaded by a missionary priest (Ricardo Montalban) and an American nurse (Katharine Ross) to help transport a bus load of Filipino children out of harms way. The old bus was on it's last wheel and they had to make their way through enemy lines while trying to keep the rickety old bus going. I only saw this movie once - when it first aired. I remember the wounded Japanese soldier that the priest wanted to let live. There is a scene toward the end involving a child and a grenade. Many of the scenes of this movie are still lodged in my memory from childhood. Was it that great of a movie? I must have thought so back then. I would like to see it again. It has yet to be released on DVD.

Another memorable element of this movie is the soundtrack. The movie featured the song Five Hundred Miles sung by The Kingston Trio. It's a haunting folk song that was popularized by The Longest Hundred Miles.

Yo Brook - do you have this in your DVD collection?