Go for Broke!

Although somewhat conventional in comparison to most of the great WWII film dramas, Go For Broke remains important as the only Hollywood acknowledgement of the 442nd, and the bravery of the Japanese-Americans who fought with it.

One of my grandfather's brothers was in the 442nd himself, and can still recall tales of basic training and serving in Italy.

I am bothered, however, by the fact that the cover on the video box does not show a single Japanese-American face, and the description does not really explain the historical significance of the events portrayed.

Hey Ted Turner, get your guys together and rectify this problem!

Dwight Sora

Japanese-Americans serving in the U.S. army during World War 11 is the central theme of this film. How ironic that this occurred while we were placing other Japanese-Americans in internment camps during this period.

Van Johnson harbors prejudice as he chosen to shape these recruits up. While he runs into difficulty with top brass, he does his job well.

He comes to understand and appreciate his men. When he meets up with his old Texas regiment, he fights someone for passing an anti-Japanese remark.

The Japanese players do a good job of showing that their true spirits were with the U.S.

A totally satisfying film depicting the human spirit.

Van Johnson who was MGM's all American GI in many a World War II film, co-stars with a bunch of veterans from 442 Division which was a regiment made up of Japanese-Americans who chose this over internment in the various camps set up for them. The most distinguished member of this regiment is current United States Senator Daniel K. Inouye who lost an arm in Italy during that campaign.

After training the 442nd was assigned to Italy after the Salerno landings, took part in the campaign for Rome, and then was part of the invasion force into Southern France that occurred in August of 1944.

Johnson delivers a fine performance of an officer who is reluctant to soldier and train with this new outfit. His prejudices, honed to a fine edge by Pearl Harbor, weren't exactly atypical of a lot of Americans back then. Over time, he grows to appreciate his troops as men and as fighters.

Having all of those Nisei veterans lends a real ring of authenticity to this film. A few non-veterans were in this as well. Henry Nakamura played Tommy who adopted a pet pig in Italy and bought him to France and he was the comic relief. He made quite a hit and then was in the Robert Taylor western, Westward the Women. I guess he had limited typecasting potential because he disappeared after that.

This is a story of World War II that bears constant retelling and MGM made a fine film to do it with.

Robert Pirosh wrote his own picture and did a wonderful job of directing it, and 'Go for Broke!', his tribute to Japanese-American volunteers fighting in World War II, is deftly executed with a nice blend of pulse-quickening action and more thought-provoking interludes where white Lieutenant Grayson (Van Johnson), originally prejudiced against the people he is assigned to command, gradually learns to come to terms with the fact that bravery and patriotism are irrelevant to your race or the color of your skin.

That could all be a little too rhetorical for its own good, but Pirosh never over-stresses his point, and his picture is never holier-than-thou. "You see, Sir, I'm from Texas", Grayson says to his superior, but Pirosh lets it go at that and doesn't lash out against Southern bigotry. I really liked the gentle irony of Pirosh' contrasting the idyllic, outdated guidebooks to Italy and France that Grayson reads with the prosaic reality of war-torn countries.

Most people know about the imprisonment of many Japanese Americans in camps during World War II, however, relatively few know the history of involvement by Japanese Americans in World War II. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was sanctioned by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and consisted of Japanese American volunteers. These faithful Americans came to the military for many different reasons, and this film does a wonderful job of illustrating the diversity within the team as well as their courageous dedication to service despite the adverse conditions they and their families faced in an America at war with their ancestral homeland.

This adversity is personified in the character of Lieutenant Grayson (Van Johnson) - a tall, blond, Texan with a bad attitude about working with what he calls "Japs". Though Grayson's story arc is not really very surprising, it is thoroughly believable. The excellent Oscar-nominated Robert Porash script, solid editing and directing, and Johnson's nice performance make his portrayal of the archetypal understated Texan quite excellent. I can say this because I am a Texas-ex - though you never really get the place out of your heart.

For once, the minority is less stereotyped than the Northern European-American males! The Japanese-American actors are all excellent, and are the real stars of this film.

I agree with the vast majority of reviews published here on IMDb about this significant and entertaining film. Go For Broke is a war film which very nicely explores human behavior, American social reality and ethics but also commemorates and celebrates the triumph of humanity in adverse situations.

Recommended!