The Purple Heart (1944)

A stock WW2 era drama which was produced for morale purposes.

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Jerome Cady, Darryl F. Zanuck (story) (as Melville Crossman)

Stars:

Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, Farley Granger

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dana Andrews	...	Capt. Harvey Ross
Richard Conte	...	Lt. Angelo Canelli
Farley Granger	...	Sgt. Howard Clinton
Kevin O'Shea	...	Sgt. Jan Skvoznik
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Lt. Peter Vincent (as Donald Barry)
Trudy Marshall	...	Mrs. Ross
Sam Levene	...	Lt. Wayne Greenbaum
Charles Russell	...	Lt. Kenneth Bayforth
John Craven	...	Sgt. Martin Stoner
Tala Birell	...	Johanna Hartwig - Berlin News Correspondent
Richard Loo	...	General Ito Mitsubi
Peter Chong	...	Mitsuru Toyama

Storyline

This is the story of the crew of a downed bomber, captured after a run over Tokyo, early in the war. Relates the hardships the men endure while in captivity, and their final humiliation: being tried and convicted as war criminals.

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Plot Keywords:

bomber | prisoner of war | death | murder | son murders father | 

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Taglines:

An EPIC SAGE of RAW COURAGE!(original ad - many caps)

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

23 February 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Corazón púrpura

Filming Locations:

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,500,000, 31 December 1944

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the 'Hollywood Reporter' in October 1943, the following actors tested for this movie: Abner Biberman; J. Edward Bromberg; Michael Chekhov; Paul Gordon; Alan Napier; and Herbert Rudley.

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Goofs

The son of the Chinese Governor bows to the American aviators to return the honor they gave him. But the Chinese don't bow in this fashion. It is the Japanese who bow to show respect. So a Chinese man would never use this to show respect. Since it would align himself with Japanese custom.

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Quotes

Title Card: "Let it be known that he who wears the military order of the purple heart has given of his blood in the defense of his homeland and shall forever be revered by his fellow countrymen." - Geo. Washington, General and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, Aug. 7 1782

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Connections

Referenced in The Wonder Years: Courage (1991)

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Soundtracks

The Battle Hymn of the Republic
Music by William Steffe
Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe

User Reviews

A Moving and Entertaining Reminder of the Past Japanese Culture

The Purple Heart is one of those movies that stays with you. Yes, there is some sentimental and patriotic themese and stereotypes in it. But, considering that it was made during wartime when, while the war may have no longer been in doubt by 1944, it was far from over. The performances by Dana Andrews, and others as the basically doomed American flyers was very good. They managed to not only evoke sympathy and sorrow for their predicament, but strength, bravery and loyalty. If anybody thinks the Japanese portrayals were over the top or unrealistic, then go read the Rape of Nanking and about the Bataan Death March and the real building of the Bridge on the River Kwai. Putting it bluntly, I know a number of veterans who wished we dropped at least six more atomic bombs on the Japanese to pay them back for their cruelties and war crimes. For its time, the movie was pretty accurate and dead on historically. The performances are riveting.All in all it is a pretty good portrayal of how the Japanese actually were. As for the knucklehead who said that we started the war, go read a book meathead. The Japanese actually attacked us before Pearl Harbor near Nanking and the U.S.S. Panay incident where they bombed our gunboat that was a neutral country. This led to the boycotting of materials to the Japanese mainland.