Go for Broke! (1951)

Director:

Robert Pirosh

Writer:

Robert Pirosh (written by)

Release Date:

22 September 1951 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

The story of Japanese-American soldiers who fought in Europe during World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Japanese American | Battle | Italy | France | Training

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Van Johnson	...	Lt. Michael Grayson
Lane Nakano	...	Sam
George Miki	...	Chick
Akira Fukunaga	...	Frank
Ken K. Okamoto	...	Kaz
Henry Oyasato	...	Ohhara
Harry Hamada	...	Masami
Henry Nakamura	...	Tommy
Warner Anderson	...	Col. Charles W. Pence
Don Haggerty	...	Sgt. Wilson I. Culley
Gianna Maria Canale	...	Rosina (as Gianna Canale)
Dan Riss	...	Capt. Solari

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #15001) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Idyllwild, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Several of the main characters were played by actual members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team depicted in the film. The men saw action with the outfit in Italy and France.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Lt Grayson formally reports to his regimental commander at Camp Shelby, he performs a complete salute before the commander even begins his. Proper procedure would be for Grayson to bring his salute up, wait for his commander to complete a full salute, then return his arm to his side.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Japanese-American Soldier: Kanakas. The ones from Hawaii. You know what they call us mainlanders? Kotonks. The way they tell it if you rap on our heads it's like hitting a coconut. Hollow heads, you know? Kotonk, kotonk, kotonk.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Poltergeist (1982)

Soundtrack:

The Meaning of Love

Well Done

I have known about this film since I was young, but it was not until a "dull drab army day" overseas did I actually get to view it. I was impressed with the film. It was nice to see a film from the 1950's talk about ethnic/race relations in a positive way. I thought the message that World War Two was a war for all Americans was good. The film showed that it didn't matter what ethnicity, race, or creed you are, freedom is for all, that all discrimination is barbarism and immoral. It was really encouraging to see the Lieutenant's change of heart and mind by the end of the film. I also, thought it was good that the film was not preachy. Some of the light humor was also well done. Overall I would recommend this film to anybody. This film is based on true events and true people. I would like to thank all those men and women who served our nation in that war. All gave some, and some gave all. This film was a tribute to one group of soldiers that many have not heard of.