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Crappy film

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This film could have be one of the greatest American WW2 movies ever! Seriously, the subject is that potent. This is not to say the filmmakers were not bold … they were just bold in sophomoric areas (specifically a sexually charged scene that was downright explicit … which is completely irrelevant to the story arc … as well as violent death scenes on the battlefield).So ya the Director and Producer chose to titillate with sex and violence as opposed to making a striking social commentary. Such statements were more typical of the later 60's.I love the fact that the film keeps us talking about Guy Gabaldon, he is a great American hero. More so the film is entertaining … despite many flaws … and has a decent cast (Mr Sulu meet Captain Christopher Pike) yet this film could have been so much more.I believe in the cathartic power of film. I believe films should be honest. The story of Gabaldo is an amazing and powerful story … imagine how good this film could be if retold in the following fashion ... 1. You cast a Hispanic to play Gabaldon and you do not gloss over the fact he is Hispanic (Hispanics after all helped build this country and fought in our wars)2. You get his size and age correct (5'4" and 18 years) … not all Americans are built like John Wayne 3. You reinforce the fact he was rescued and raised by a Japanese family (The film did a good job of this … it is important)4. You expand the attention on the horrible plight of Japanese Americans … not sugar coat it ... and talk about the fact Italians and Germans never received such treatment5. Pay some attention to his brothers who went on to fight for America in the 442 ... despite the fact they had been sent to Japanese concentration camps ... and talk about the accomplishments of the 442 in detail6. Lose the silly scene in the apartment7. Accurately portray Gabaldon's activities on Saipan. Galbadon is a great American hero ... he is credited with over 1500 surrenders. Consider how many lives that saved! This story deserves an unbiased and honest retelling. It is a great American story.6/10 for lacking courage

Jeffrey Hunter is Guy Gabaldon, a real person, in this "based on a true story" film. Gabaldon was an orphan in the Great Depression, adopted as a child into a Japanese family in California. He comes to love his adoptive family, learns to speak Japanese, and values Japanese customs.Then -- Pearl Harbor. His brothers enlist in the Army and are sent to Italy to be part of the highly decorated 442nd. Hunter enlists, with Mama-san's permission, in the Marine Corps as a translator. The movie demonstrates, without making the point overtly, that in the Marines, everyone is a rifleman first, and a cook, a clerk, or a translator second.After a long stop in Honolulu, Hunter finds himself in combat on Saipan where two of his buddies (David Janssen and Vic Damone) are killed by the Japanese. Thereafter he turns into a one-man firing squad -- blowing everybody and everything up, or shooting them indiscriminately.Saipan was a Japanese home territory, not a conquered island. The civilian population had been told that there would be no surrender on the part of anybody, and that captives would be tortured and then killed. This led to some famous footage of Japanese civilians throwing their babies off cliffs and then jumping down to join the heap of bodies on the rocky ocean shore. One of the civilians reminds Hunter of his Mama-san and brings him to his senses, so that he's able to use his skills to negotiate surrenders and save untold lives.Good story. Crummy screenplay, acting, and directing. Nobody gives a particularly good performance. When the direction isn't simply functional it seems almost insanely unbalanced. Phil Karlson, who has done some good nasty work elsewhere, is to directing what Grandma Moses is to painting. And the writing should have been shelved until something half-way decent came along. I'll give one example to illustrate the point. The Japanese general, Sesue Hayakawa, has ordered an all-out, self-sacrificial attack on the Americans. As the men and civilians assemble, Hunter captures Hayakawa and orders him at gunpoint to address this rag-tag army and call off the suicidal charge. Hunter and Hayakawa argue before an anguished Hayakawa complies, telling Hunter, "This is not an easy thing to see." Hunter replies bitterly, "Neither was Pearl Harbor." Hunter's line is right out of a World War II flag waver. He's familiar with Japanese customs and the concept of honor. A more appropriate response would have been a compassionate, "I know." Mama-san and Papa-san are sent to an isolated detention camp along with other Japanese families. It's hardly commented on, though everyone looks a little sad. Hunter seems to forget about them for a long time after their forced move, and we see nothing of the camp itself, just a brief, corny meeting between Mama-san and Hunter. A disgraceful chapter in American history, and it's taken for granted as a matter-of-fact part of war-time life. Angry at a savage attack against our forces at Pearl Harbor, the US, led by Earl Warren, took their rage out on a population that was innocent but readily available. The Japanese detainees later received reparations but as a nation we seemed to have learned nothing from the experience, given that we displaced our aggression all over again a few years ago.Well, that's an ethical issue which I won't bother with further. Getting back to the movie, there is a loooooooong middle section that takes place in a hot apartment in Honolulu with some girls around for recreational purposes. Our boys (except Hunter) get wildly drunk, as boys are want to do, and everyone dances around to discordant 1960s jazz -- not 1940s pop tunes or Hawaiian music. It goes on pointlessly for about twenty minutes of screen time that might have been spent valuably getting a little bit into Hunter's conflicted head. But, no. If there's any reason for the inclusion of this lengthy scene, it's only to give Patricia Owens (a beautiful woman with pale skin and anthracite irises) a chance to get drunk and do an incomplete strip tease. Maybe it gave David Janssen and Vic Damone a chance to endear themselves to the audience too. If that was one of its goals, it failed.Well, it's not worth carrying on about. I saw this many years ago and was positively impressed with it. Must have been very young, because now that I know a little more about human nature I found it a little banal.

I remember seeing this movie many times in the 60's and 70's at the theater, on television, and on VHS. I grew up watching WWII movies and remember this as one that had a special appeal to me. I guess because I lived in Japan in the 1950's and visited some of the locales from the movie. The acting was well done and the story was well told and realistic. It is interesting to view the cast when they were relatively new to movies. David Janssen and Vic Damone stand out in my memory and Jeffrey Hunter was always a class act in films. I highly recommend seeing it if possible. I do find it hard to believe that it is called a "lost classic" and runs so high for a copy. Anyone know where I could get a cheaper copy, I would like to hear from you.

I have had the privilege of viewing this movie on numerous occasions. Back when I was growing up, war movies, such as this, were shown on TV quite often. This movie was one of the many small bits and pieces of how I view certain events and human behaviors that make up my personality (in a positive way). Fortunately, even thought the movie takes some liberties with the truth about the life of Guy and his life, the more important moral messages about war, human emotions, race relations and the Japanese Internment controversies more than make up for these inaccuracies. For whatever reasons, this movie, I believe, has allowed me to become a more accepting/open human being of other cultures and races. It taught me family values and the frailty of the human condition (not to mention the horrors of war). Given this was a "war movie", it is a credit to the director, actors and writers that I was affected in other more important areas of my makeup than that of just history and/or war. I salute this endeavor. I highly rate it. Particularly for those who have problems with the issues I mentioned above. May Guy rest in peace (1926 - 2006)