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Simply Perfect

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The biggest problem with this one is the fact that John Derek couldn't resist the temptation to make it artsy, using every camera trick in the book to awe his viewers. All it ends up doing is making us want to turn away from it in disgust. The story is a mix so ambiguous that it ends up making no sense. It's interesting that he cast James Dean lookalike Rod Lauren in a major role and then filmed him in torrid love scenes with his then-wife Ursula Andress, especially odd since Derek and Andress both bedded James Dean........just before he died. Lauren's death scene in the film is downright laughable as he is somehow shot multiple times through a large tree trunk, with not so much as a single facial expression of shock, pain or agony. Weird scene. Andress is obviously there to be the "one before they all die", and the film is a total waste of some fine actors. A real mess.

Yeah, the story is a mess and some of the performances are wacked-out but it has its moments. Has anybody mentioned that Ursula Andress looks grrrrrrrrreeeeat in a wet, white blouse? Derek's films, though lacking coherence, could be visually impressive and this one was ahead of its time with some psychedelic shots that would eventually become tiresome by about 1969. Ron Ely (from Amarillo, Texas) gives a pretty good performance and the U.S. Cavalry uniforms are well done But, Andress is such a dolt that you pray she'll meet a slow and agonizing death. After a low flying Zero strafes a polo match, leaving Filipino corpses strewn about, Miss Andress pouts and whines about needing to take her puppy with her on the long trek to Manila. Pretty boy singer Rod Lauren does his best James Dean and scores with Ursula while the rest of the gang takes out a Japanese tank. Talk about dereliction of duty! Ursula's charms then make him impervious to enemy bullets. As for Richard Jaeckel, I will just have to believe that he was a psycho from the word go."Once Before I Die," you won't understand it but you may love it!

Once Before I Die is far more entertaining than most recent WW2 films such as Steven Spielberg's anaemic "Saving Private Ryan". This film may be the cinematic equivalent of a car crash but I would prefer to see Ursula Andress strolling through battle fields with perfect hair and make-up than watch Matt Damon pollute the screen as a lost soldier. This may also be the first and last war film to contain a "Porkies" style subplot about a soldier trying to lose his virginity.John Derek is a hugely misunderstood director. Admittedly, he has made some of the most inept films in cinema history but at least he had the decency to fill his movies with large doses of gratuitous nudity and unintentionally hilarious scenarios. His films may be crap but they are rarely boring. Once Before I Die provides John with an opportunity to direct his lovely wife, Ursula Andress. The plot that John chose for his then wife is startling to say the least.Ursula plays Alex, a Swiss "refugee" stuck in the Philippines during WW2. When the Japanese attack, Alex's soldier boyfriend, Bailey (played by John himself), invites Alex to tag along with his battalion on their way to Manila. Unfortunately, Bailey accidentally drops a grenade while trying to steal Alex a teddy bear and leaves Alex to make a general nuisance of herself during enemy attacks. A major exception to this occurs when Alex makes herself uncharacteristically useful by deflowering a soldier while the rest of the battalion attack a Japanese tank with tree stumps.The film's storyline is undeniably ridiculous but it does compensate the viewer with surprisingly violent content for a movie made in 1965 and amusing visuals of Ursula prancing through the jungle like a slightly disheveled Bond girl. The combat scenes are reasonably well done but would have been more convincing if John Derek didn't superimpose faded images of Ursula over the action. The most bizarre example of this is the image of Ursula holding a glowing orb, which is superimposed over the opening air attack. The film also offers some beautiful photography and a visually impressive, if utterly confusing finale. The acting is hit and miss, with significantly more misses than hits, but Ursula is rather wonderful as Alex. It takes a special kind of genius to walk through a war zone in riding pants and high heeled boots without coming across as completely demented. Richard Jaeckel also scores points for his fantastically over the top portrayal of Custer, a deluded soldier.Once Before I Die is a treat for John Derek aficionados and fans of crappy film oddities. You definitely wont see another war movie like this ever again.

One of the Worst Movie EverThe unique point that worth in this movie is the astonishing beauty of Ursula Andress. She plays Alex, a dumb blonde in Manila, 1941, shortly after the Japanese attack to Pearl Harbor. Her character is so shallow and stupid that impress, the same way the countless closes of her gorgeous face. But this movie is so cheesy, with such an awful director, horrible story and screenplay, ridiculous dialogs and ham actors, which even Ursula Andress performance and beauty is unable to save. A film to be forgotten, and I am going to get rid of it from my collection. My vote is two.Title (Brazil): `Chamas da Paixão' (`Flames of Passion')