GUNG HO! (1943)
U.S. Marine Raiders in Action...Blasting
Their Way To Tokyo!
HOT LEAD! COLD
STEEL! YANKEE GUTS!
We're going back to World War II with an exciting feature called GUNG HO! This film is about how the newly formed 2nd Marine Raider Battalion faced a
frightening first mission during the early days of the war. The assignment
was to smash the much larger Japanese garrison on Makin Island. The
movie has a gritty, realistic feel, achieved by the use of actual combat
footage, and a cast of reliable Hollywood tough guys, including Randolph Scott,
and Noah Beery Jr. Also, keep an eye out for a young Robert Mitchum in
one of his earliest roles as the swaggering 'Pig-Iron' Matthews!
The film's title, "Gung Ho", is a Chinese expression that translates roughly as "to work together". Major Evans Carlson, who was the basis for the character played by Randolph Scott, picked up the phrase from a friend who had worked with some Chinese organizations. Carlson liked the expression, and introduced it to his troops. His men loved it, and the phrase became the motto of the 2nd Marine Battalion. The phrase became so popular that it worked its way into the English language. But chances are, the first time most Americans ever heard the expression was in this movie...
BLOOD ON THE SUN (1945)
To
know their secret is to court Death!
James
Cagney fights his way through Tokyo in Blood on the Sun! As newsman
Nick Condon, Cagney battles Japanese spies in a story of double-dealing and
intrigue during the second World War. The film also stars Sylvia Sidney and was
directed by two-time Academy Award winner Frank Lloyd (perhaps best known for
his 1935 version of Mutiny on the Bounty). Produced by Cagney’s own
production company! (Look out for a bruising fight scene where Cagney and his Japanese rival engage in a martial arts slugfest, complete with torture holds rarely seen in movies of the time, suggested by combat buff Cagney!)
Blood
on The Sun features a musical score by the
great Miklós Rózsa (Spellbound, The
Lost Weekend) and won an Academy Award for Art Direction…
THE BIG LIFT (1950)
From the Ruins came
Hope and Despair
Shot on location in Berlin, Germany, The Big Lift tells the story of
"Operation Vittles", the 1948–1949 Berlin Airlift. We see it through
the experiences of two U.S. Air Force sergeants, played by Montgomery Clift and
Paul Douglas. Written and directed by George Seaton, the film provides a
compelling look at a devastated city struggling in the aftermath of World War
II.
In many ways, The Big Lift is a
kind of documentary. Along with being filmed in Berlin, all military roles in
the movie, aside from those played by Clift and Douglas, were portrayed by
actual military personnel stationed in Berlin. Also, the production crew for
The Big Lift arrived in Berlin in May 1949 just as the blockade was lifted by
the Russians. The crew shot actual airlift activity at both terminals. As for
Clift, his scenes were shot early; he needed to return to America and begin
filming “A Place in the Sun” with Elizabeth Taylor…
THREE CAME HOME (1950)
Three
Came Home is the story of one woman's confinement in a World War II Japanese prison camp. Adapted from Agnes Newton Keith's war-time
prison memoir, the movie shows Keith
courageously dealing with being separated from her husband, and then surviving
with her young son in captivity until the end of the war. The film was directed
by Oscar nominee Jean Negulesco, and
stars Claudette Colbert as Agnes Newton Keith. The New York Times’ Bosley
Crowther wrote upon the film's release that it will “shock
you, disturb you, and tear your heart
out, but will fill you fully with a great respect for a heroic soul”.
Colonel Suga was played by
Japanese actor, Sessue Hayakawa. You
might know him best for his Oscar
nominated performance in Bridge on the River Kwai where he played another stern
camp commandant. Hayakawa had been a
star in the silent film era, but his career suffered in relation to whatever
anti-Asian sentiment was going on in America at the time. He spent most of the 1930s and ‘40s acting in
other parts of the world, but after World War II he gave Hollywood one last
shot. This turned out to be the best
time of his career, for along with River Kwai and Three Came Back, he
appeared in films like Sam Fuller’s House of Bamboo, and Tokyo Joe with
Humphrey Bogart. In 1960, Hayakawa
received a well-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame…
GO FOR BROKE! (1951)
The amazing untold
story - The heroes of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team!
Go
For Broke! a 1951 MGM film starring Van Johnson, is the story of
Japanese-American soldiers fighting in Europe during World War II. Johnson
plays a platoon commander who shared the prejudices of the period, but put them
aside when he saw the bravery of his Japanese-American troops. The screenplay
by director Robert Pirosh was nominated for an Academy Award, and several of
the main characters were played by actual members of the 442nd Regimental
Combat Team depicted in the film.
Several years before this movie, Van Johnson’s career was on shaky ground. He'd just signed a
long-term contract with MGM when a car accident left him badly scarred and with
a metal plate in his head. Unable to serve in the war due to his injuries, he
remained stateside. Ironically, this worked to his benefit. Many of MGM's
top actors were away for the war effort, so Johnson found himself with plenty
of roles to choose from. He became one of MGM’s most bankable stars. When
the war ended and MGM's stars came home, many wondered if Johnson would lose
his status. But Johnson proved his success wasn't a fluke. He remained a busy
and popular actor for many years…
***
All of these movies are available through thefilmdetective.com, where vintage movies are restored, remastered, and reborn. Follow us on Twitter
Or follow me at @DonStradley
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