Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

IN THE EARLY days of the official U.S. involvement in world War II, things looked very bleak in all Theatres of War, if you were one of the Allied Nations. In Europe, North Africa, China-Burma-India as well as the Pacific the Axis Powers appeared to have the upper hand.AS A MEANS OF lifting the sagging spirits of the Allies, the plan to bomb Tokyo via a massive air raid was formulated. Usually referred to as "The Doolittle Raid", it was done as a coordinated effort between Army Air Corps and Navy Aircraft Carriers.ADMITTEDLY ITS DEVASTATION wreaked upon Imperial Japan was not so very extensive; but it had a great effect on morale, as we said before. As an afterthought, and a also a brilliant propaganda move, we can think of three major motion pictures that told the story; albeit from very different points of view.FIRST OF ALL, there was DESTINATION TOKYO (Warner Brothers,) which portrayed reconnaissance work done by the Navy's "Silent Service", the Submarine. Next, THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO (MGM,) told the story of General Doolittle and the men who flew the mission.THAT LEAVES US with today's honored & reviewed film, THE PURPLE HEART (20th Century-Fox,).RATHER THAN TELLING the story of the raid on the Japanese mainland, the story instead gives us a look at a trial foisted on a downed and captured crew of a B 19 who participated in the surprise attack. Dana Andrews heads up a cast including Richard Conte, Farley Granger, Sam Levine, Trudy Marshall, Don "Red" Barry and Richard Loo.THIS VERY TENSE court room drama exposes us to what the World is dealing with in its war with Fascist ruled nations, wherever they be, whoever they are. The arrogance and self-superior attitudes and authoritarian personalities of the elite, military ruling class is caricatured in bold relief. Whereas the story is fictionalized, the representations portrayed do ring true.ONE BY ONE, various witnesses are brought ion to testify about the hurt and damage that was inflicted upon Japan due to the massive air raid. Among our favorites is a Chinese collaborator/traitor; who is introduced as an official of Manchuko, the name given to the Japanese Puppet State set up in Manchuria & Inner Mongolia. (He is eventually killed by his own son!) ONE PARTICULAR BONE of contention exists between the Imperial Navy and the Japanese Army as to where the planes of the raid took off from. The General of the Army (Richard Loo) insists that it was from a U.S. Aircraft Carrier; ergo, it's the fault and responsibility of the Navy . An Admiral Yamamoto-type contends that it could not be, because a "Flat Top"could.t carry that many planes.THIS COURT NEVER does successfully conclude just whose onus the raid was.AS THE FILM ends, the American crew is marched out of the court to; well, you have to draw your own conclusion. All the while, each and every man marches tall and proud; reminding all that this WAr is definitely Hell, but it is also most necessary.IF YOU HAVEN'T seen it, see it soon. If you have, screen it again!

Worth seeing for WWII and film history fans, this occasionally sappy film buys into the Hollywood anti-Japanese jingo-ism of the war while throwing in a few interesting curve balls.The story hangs on a show-trial of a captured American bomber crew for the charge of murder for killing civilians during the bombing of Tokyo in 1942. Anticipating the Nuremburg trials, the plot is a daring concept for a time (1943) when the U.S. still had no clear idea how the war would end!While the main characters adhere to the standard PR depiction of the Japanese as evil, cruel and hate-filled, there are interesting exceptions in the margins, particularly a kameo by Key Luke as a sailor who survives a shipwreck. He has to provide testimony that will either embarrass the army General prosecuting the case or his own Navy superiors. Tangential to be sure, but even this much sympathy for the Yellow Devil is almost unique for the period.It also goes to great pains to show that not all orientals are evil, with an extended subplot involving a Chinese soldier who dies a hero's death.Certainly, all the characters are highly emblematic - the Chinese soldier and his collaborationist father represent the divided China of the war, the foreign diplomats for whose benefit the show-trial is being conducted are all straight from central casting (note the conflicted Russian, not yet at war with Japan, who is driven finally to reject his own government!), and the crew are the typical rah-rah war movie accumulation of types and accents. But there are several extremely intelligent debates on war and responsibility to duty scattered through the film, along with a grudging admiration for the Japanese people as strong-willed and able to suffer deprivation for the sake of their ideals.Ultimately, the movie is carried mostly by the charm of the American crew, who manage to get through the most appallingly sentimental parts of the film with their dignity intact.

More of the same propaganda junk from the glorious war years. These fabulous flyboys weren't about to let the nasty Nips break them. They were loyal! They were men! They were AMERICANS!! You gotta love the ending when even the 2 braindead flyers sternly and gallantly marched to the firing squad amid a rousing rendition of "Into the Wild Blue Yonder". This is the kind of bilge designed to load up the foxholes with patriotic lunkheads ready to give their all for the good ol' red, white, and blue. Unfortunately, by the time they discover in the real world that it was only a movie it's way too late to go home. Buy, hey, it was a fun movie and worth seeing.

This movie is essentially the third in a trilogy of films that deals with the actual bombing of Japan by the Doolittle raid, very early in World War Two. The first is "Destination Tokyo," a presentation about the submarine which went ashore to mark targets for the American raiders. The second is "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," which is the story of the Doolittle raid, including the launching of the B-52's from the U.S.S. Hornet and the raid itself. "The Purple Heart" completes the cycle with the war trial of a captured American crew which took part in the attack.One wonders how so many good things can be put into a movie which lasts only an hour and a half. There is a trial, action, good acting, few technical flaws, very precise and accurate dialogue, questions of honor and decency, patriotism on all sides, questions as to the role of the media, and the ever present suspense of the final resolution. Lewis Milestone deserves commendation for excellent direction, as each scene is composed to blend well with the major ideas in the movie. There is little in the film which is distracting or ill-fitting. And the characters are portrayed with confidence and continuity. In fact, it is difficult to find any character, major of minor, American or Japanese, which is less than complete. It seems some award is in order for the total effort of making this movie.