Go for Broke! (1951)
Go for Broke! was such a delightful movie, had it been released during a different year, it definitely would have picked up some Hot Toasty Rag awards. As it was, 1951 was a very contentious year (A Place in the Sun, Death of a Salesman, Ace in the Hole, and A Christmas Carol, to name a few), and unfortunately Go for Broke! didn’t win a single award. Nominated for Best Picture, Director, and Dramatic Screenplay, this forgotten gem should be seen by everyone who loves war movies.
It was different than any war movie I’ve even seen: it used the real soldiers who fought in the featured battles. This movie probably didn’t go over well at the time because American audiences weren’t ready to celebrate Japanese-Americans (whose families we put in internment camps). Though not widely publicized, there was an entire division comprised of those citizens who wished to fight for their country. With exception of the commanding officer, played by Van Johnson, the other actors in the film were survivors of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Isn’t that remarkably moving?
In addition to working with non-actors, writer and director Robert Pirosh had to battle the stigma of making heroes out of a group of people audiences wanted to hate. He had to take a war comedy (which is an extremely tricky subgenre to master) and make it exciting and emotional. I can’t recommend this movie highly enough. It’s fantastic on all fronts, from the story to the script to the acting to the battle scenes. It’s hard to believe these men who are at such ease in front of the camera are actually soldiers. And my hat goes off to Van Johnson, a huge box office draw who risked his career by making this movie. He knew he’d be the only name attached to it, and he knew audiences would resist the message of the movie; and he agreed to make it anyway.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Van Johnson movies here!
It was different than any war movie I’ve even seen: it used the real soldiers who fought in the featured battles. This movie probably didn’t go over well at the time because American audiences weren’t ready to celebrate Japanese-Americans (whose families we put in internment camps). Though not widely publicized, there was an entire division comprised of those citizens who wished to fight for their country. With exception of the commanding officer, played by Van Johnson, the other actors in the film were survivors of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Isn’t that remarkably moving?
In addition to working with non-actors, writer and director Robert Pirosh had to battle the stigma of making heroes out of a group of people audiences wanted to hate. He had to take a war comedy (which is an extremely tricky subgenre to master) and make it exciting and emotional. I can’t recommend this movie highly enough. It’s fantastic on all fronts, from the story to the script to the acting to the battle scenes. It’s hard to believe these men who are at such ease in front of the camera are actually soldiers. And my hat goes off to Van Johnson, a huge box office draw who risked his career by making this movie. He knew he’d be the only name attached to it, and he knew audiences would resist the message of the movie; and he agreed to make it anyway.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Van Johnson movies here!