The Purple Heart (1944)
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42% of users liked it
(85 ratings)
The year is 1942: eight American airmen crash-land during the Doolittle bombing raid on Tokyo and are taken prisoner. Though slated for execution, the pilots are put through a "show trial" by the military, on a charge of committing war crimes. The Japanese judges promise to be merciful if… More The year is 1942: eight American airmen crash-land during the Doolittle bombing raid on Tokyo and are taken prisoner. Though slated for execution, the pilots are put through a "show trial" by the military, on a charge of committing war crimes. The Japanese judges promise to be merciful if only the Americans will reveal vital US military secrets. But captain Dana Andrews speaks for the rest of his melting-pot crew-some of whom have been subjected to the most horrific of tortures--when he chooses death before dishonor. In its own way, The Purple Heart is as racist a piece of propaganda as was ever produced by Hollywood. The Japanese are shown to be little more than sadistic beasts (at one point, the judges interrupt the trial by moronically shouting "Banzai" after receiving news of a military victory), while hissing, buck-toothed interrogator Richard Loo ("I attended your...Amelican universities"), unable to admit that he's been wrong about Yankee resilience, commits hara-kiri. Remember, however, that The Purple Heart was made at a time when America was still at war with Japan, and political correctness was hardly a consideration. Its jingoism aside, the film is a first-rate piece of moviemaking, socked across by director Lewis Milestone with the same fervor that he'd expended on his anti-war masterpiece All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Lewis Milestone
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Feb 23, 1944 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
Give The Purple Heart a look only after you've seen the truly great films from this period
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Wartime jingoistic POW courtroom drama.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Dana Andrews
as Capt. Harvey Ross
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Richard Conte
as Lt. Angelo Canelli
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Farley Granger
as Sgt. Howard Clinton
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Kevin O'Shea
as Sgt. Jan Skvoznik
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Sam Levene
as Lt. Wayne Greenbaum
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Don 'Red' Barry
as Lt. Peter Vincent
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Tala Birell
as Johanna Hartwig
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Trudy Marshall
as Mrs. Ross
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Charles Russell
as Lt. Kenneth Bayforth
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John Craven
as Sgt. Martin Stoner
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Richard Loo
as Gen. Ito Mitsubi
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Peter Chong
as Mitsuru Toyama
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Gregory Gaye
as Peter Voroshevski
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Torben Meyer
as Karl Keppel
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Kurt Katch
as Ludwig Kruger
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Martin Garralaga
as Manuel Siva
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Erwin Kalser
as Karl Schleswig
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Alex Papana
as Paul Ludovescu
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H.T. Tsiang
as Yuen Chiu Ling
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Benson Fong
as Moy Ling
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Keye Chang
as Adm. Kentara Yamagichi
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Allen Jung
as Itsubi Sakai
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Wing Foo
as Police Captain
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Joseph Kim
as Prosecutor
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Luke Chan
as Court Stenographer
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W. Beal Wong
as Toma Nogato
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Marshall Thompson
as Hank Morrison
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Philip Ahn
as Saburo Goto
- Spencer Chan
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Ángel de la Cruz
as Army Aides
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Igor Dolgoruki
as Boris Evenik
- Roque Espiritu
- Harold Fong
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Lee Tung Foo
as 3rd Judge
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Paul Fung
as Court Clerk
- Eddie Lee
- James B. Leong
- Leon Lontoc
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Clarence Lung
as Japanese Lieutenant
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Nestor Paiva
as Francisco De Los Santos
- Bruce Wong
- Pete Katchenaro
