Went to Capitol Theater to see a 1-hour 35-minute film on Bataan and Corregidor. It should have been a 20-minute film but the Japanese padded it with excessive anti-American propaganda. Done with the typical heavy-handedness of the propaganda people, it was so vile that it succeeded in doing the complete opposite! The Americans were portrayed as the underdogs: beaten, yes; kicked out, yes; humiliated, yes; disgraced ... NO! After living with the Americans for 44 years, the Filipinos can make their own judgement, so why insult their intelligence?

I was not a biased man at the show today; having been told the worst about the film, I sat well back, determined to judge its propaganda value impartially. Not only was it a complete failure, it was almost a crime. As Carlos Barreto suggested, I strained my ears at the last three-second shot of a fluttering Japanese flag ... and heard not a single clap from the mostly Filipino audience — not even from the 150 or so Japanese in attendance. You could've heard a pin drop.

. . . .

Benny Gaberman, riding in a carromata downtown near Pureza, passed by ten Japanese officers waiting for the bus. One of them hailed Benny's driver with an imperative, "Hmm!"

The cochero pointed to Benny, shook his head and answered, "Hmm!"

Even louder, the officer said, "Hmm!"

But the cochero only shook his head again and said, "Hmm!"

"Gosh," said Benny, "I looked straight ahead and waited for the fireworks. The Jap officer again said, 'Hummp!' real loud but the cochero replied, 'Hummp!' just as loudly. I was scared stiff, but to my amazement the cochero got away unscathed. I breathed a big sigh of relief and asked him, 'Say, you took a big chance — why didn't you stop?' I almost fell off my seat when he answered, 'Aww, I don't like the Japanese.'"

...ooOoo...