Character Relationship Map: Back to Bataan

Characters

• Colonel Joseph Madden (played by John Wayne) — protagonist

  US Army officer tasked with infiltrating Japanese-occupied Philippines to organize local Filipino resistance fighters into guerrillas. He leads multiple attacks on Japanese installations, engineers th...

• Bertha Barnes (played by Beulah Bondi) — protagonist

  American school teacher who joins the Filipino resistance with her students after the Japanese execute her principal for refusing to lower the American flag. She provides support to the guerrillas and...

• Dalisay Delgado (played by Fely Franquelli) — supporting

  Bonifacio's sweetheart who initially appears to collaborate with the Japanese by broadcasting propaganda. In reality, she covertly transmits vital intelligence to guerrillas. During a major raid, she...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Bertha Barnes → Dalisay Delgado (Alliance Shared Resistance Cause) — Both women contribute to resistance against Japanese occupation, although no direct meeting is described.

  Barnes joins the Filipino resistance, while Delgado secretly transmits intelligence and later urges Filipinos to rise against the Japanese.

• Colonel Joseph Madden → Dalisay Delgado (Alliance Resistance Contact) — They are connected through Delgado's covert intelligence work for the guerrillas.

  Madden is told that Delgado's apparently pro-Japanese radio broadcasts secretly transmit valuable information to the guerrillas. Her covert work there...

• Colonel Joseph Madden → Bertha Barnes (Alliance Resistance Ally) — Madden and Barnes cooperate within the Filipino resistance movement.

  Madden's guerrilla group encounters Bertha Barnes after she joins the resistance with her students. She remains with the guerrillas and supports them...

Story Analysis

The film follows resistance, sacrifice, and the eventual American return to the Philippines after the fall of Bataan.

Plot Progression

1. The Prison Camp Frame — The film opens with the rescue of prisoners from Cabanatuan before returning to the 1942 defense of Bataan. This framing connects the later liberation to the earlier resistance struggle.
2. Bataan Falls — Madden receives orders to organize guerrillas behind Japanese lines. Barnes joins the resistance after the execution at her school, and the Death March reveals the collapse of Bataan.
3. The Guerrilla Campaign — Madden rescues Bonifacio and leads increasingly broad attacks on Japanese positions. The resistance survives through mobility, local support, and sustained attacks on enemy infrastructure.
4. The Broadcast of Revolt — The Japanese stage a semi-independence ceremony to weaken the resistance. During the guerrilla raid, Delgado reveals her true allegiance over the radio and calls for open rebellion.
5. Return Through Leyte — After Madden leaves field command, the story moves to the expected American return in October 1944. The resistance is ordered to secure a village before the landings.
6. The Liberation Battle — The defenders defeat the Japanese garrison and withstand a tank counterattack. American reinforcements finally turn the battle, leading back to the film's prisoner-release frame.