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 | white glove test | world war two | 

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Taglines:

Go For Broke! (means shoot the works!)

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Passed

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

Railroad freight cars in French village are American style four axle types. European railroads use two axle freight cars.

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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 Poltergeist (1982)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese Italian Hawaiian German French

Release Date:

14 September 1951 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Go for Broke!

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$1,337,000 (estimated)

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