Go for Broke! (1951)

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

Director:

Robert Pirosh

Writer:

Robert Pirosh

Stars:

Van Johnson, Lane Nakano, George Miki

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

A tribute to the U.S. 442nd Regimental Combat Team, formed in 1943 by Presidential permission with Japanese-American volunteers. We follow the training of a platoon under the rueful command of Lt. Mike Grayson who shares common prejudices of the time. The 442nd serve in Italy, then France, distinguishing themselves in skirmishes and battles; gradually and naturally, Grayson's prejudices evaporate with dawning realization that his men are better soldiers than he is. Not preachy.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese american | 442nd regimental combat team | pidgin | heroes | white glove test | 

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Taglines:

The amazing untold story - The heroes of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team!

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese Italian Hawaiian German French

Release Date:

14 September 1951 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Tout ou rien

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,337,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,531,000, 31 December 1951

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,337,000, 31 December 1951

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is one of a handful of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions of the 1950-1951 period whose original copyrights were never renewed and are now apparently in Public Domain; for this reason this title is now offered, often in very inferior copies, at bargain prices, by numerous VHS and DVD distributors who do not normally handle copyrighted or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer material.

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Goofs

During the fire fight in the ancient ruins a 61 mm mortar is set up behind a high stone wall. Had there been real rounds they would of hit the wall above the soldier's heads because the angle of the mortar was not great enough to allow the rounds to clear the wall.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story (1951)

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Soundtracks

The Meaning of Love
Written by Robert Pirosh, Alberto Colombo and Ken K. Okamoto

User Reviews

A Japanese-American (Sansei) Point of View

Being a third generation Japanese-American (Sansei), and having my parents interned in the camps, this movie has a special place in my heart. Robert Pirosh did an incredible job in getting so much information about the Japanese- American situation: the camps, the differences between the Hawaiian and State- side Japanese (Kotonks and Kanakas), the different views of the war and even using a Japanese curse word as a password! I was so impressed and pleased with the results.

The movie follows the exploits of the 442, the first all-Nisei (Japanese- American) Regimental combat team in WWII. In early 1942, all the Japanese- Americans in California, Seattle, Oregon and Hawaii were uprooted from their homes and put into camps. All the volunteers were from the 10 internment camps throughout the western states. They felt that this was the only way to prove to the U. S. that they were as patriotic as anybody else, in fact most of them were American Citizens! Since they had nothing to lose, but their lives, their motto was "GO FOR BROKE!" and that's what they did. They are today the most decorated battalion in the history of the U.S. military and proved something that they shouldn't have to be proved, that they were Americans!

Van Johnson is used as the "white man" foil, to show how the rest of the country looked at the Japanese-American, and he does a great job. He starts off as a bigot, but as he begins to understand and respect his troops, he becomes one of them. There's a funny scene where one of his men call him "BAKATARE",

which is a curse word close to "Damn, stupid...." and tells him that the soldier is being very polite, he's bowing as he says this. This film has everything: humor, action, great characters and... truth!