Favorite World War II Movies

[Gary D.]

Originally Posted by Nickdfresh

I'm not sure if there is still one on active duty. But there was indeed a retired USS Sullivans that is now moored at the Buffalo, NY Naval Park. Been on it many times, and the ship is rumored to be haunted.

I have to check this out, but it seems I recall, a few years ago, seeing a new ship christened, when the first The Sullivans was replaced. Wouldn't swear to it, however.

[downwithpeace]

There was a USS The Sullivans off of Cork in 2006.
Even equipped with a shamrock,
http://www.navy.mil/management/photo...-4774B-028.jpg

[Gary D.]

I have a copy of The Fighting Sullivans but haven't viewed it in years. Even after sixty-five years, or so, it's still an emotionally touching movie. I can imagine how it affected wartime audiences.

I wanted to see what the five Sullivan brothers looked like, and I did manage to find a few pictures of them. As in most Hollywood films, they 'changed' it somewhat. According to the film, four brothers went into the ship to rescue another one. I suppose this was thought to be more dramatic. According to what I learned on the Internet, four brothers went down with the Juneau and George, the eldest, was in the sea for hours, until he finally died, from exhaustion and possibly from sharks. Their sister joined the service and she and her mother made many wartime bond rallies.

It's difficult to think in terms of millions of deaths. Someone replied, when asked about how to count a million deaths, replied: One, one, one, . . .' It might have been Stalin, but I'm never quite sure of my quotations.

Anyway, I have decided to personify the Pacific conflict, from the U.S. side, with the Sullivans. We lost five brothers during the Civil War, but, hopefully, the Sullivans were the last.

When I think of the Korean Conflict, or war, I always think of a friend of my brother. Jim never came back. My mother said he came by the house just before he left for training. To this day, I still remember him--very polite and soft spoken. Most teenage boys, at the best, ignore their friends' small siblings, but I recall him as always being friendly and nice to me.

[Librarian]

After many a days I was finally able to find a snapshot connected with the touching scenes between heroes of the film directed by Mr. Llloyd Bacon:



The Fighting Sullivans – 1944

However, surprisingly little is known even today about the trial and everlasting merits of Borgstrom family of Thatcher (Utah). Hollywood producers until now were not interested in life and deeds of four of the five sons of Alben and Gunda Borgstrom, who died within a six-month period during 1944. Leroy Elmer, Clyde Eugene, Rolon Day and Rulon Jay have been called upon to make such a tremendous sacrifice for the cause of freedom and liberty, that a sincere and suitably undeviating account, a work in the high-tradition of a Hollywood war epic, achieved with power and grace of style, surely deserves a small amount of receptiveness by Hollywood producers even in our hard times.

Who knows – if those highly important people are to rediscover the inheritance so long taken for granted, perhaps even the Fomenko family from the village Berezshki, Usolyskie district (Бережки, Усольский район) finally will be respectfully mentioned and courteously remembered. After all, seven of the nine sons they sent off to battle died during the war.

And I think that the first "positive" depiction of a Japanese officer actually was presented by a legend of the silent screen, a Shakesperean actor educated for a naval officer who consistently delievered performances that could make most of the newer stars look to their laurels – by Mr. Sessue Hayakawa.

His absolutely brilliant role of Colonel Saito in "The Bridge On the River Kwai" (directed by David Lean) brought a touch of humanity to the tiring representation of the Japanese soldiers as absolutely soulless monsters. Those scenes where colonel Saito breaks down into tears, or that wonderful dinner scene between Sir Allec Guinness and Hayakawa, presented a truly three dimensional, understanding character and not a pre-casted panel-type of a cartoonish villain.

And that, after all, is how some of us remember the 40s – or like to think we do…

In the meantime, as always – all the best!

[Gary D.]

Originally Posted by Librarian;

* * *

And I think that the first "positive" depiction of a Japanese officer actually was presented by a legend of the silent screen, a Shakesperean actor educated for a naval officer who consistently delievered performances that could make most of the newer stars look to their laurels – by Mr. [I

Sessue Hayakawa[/I].

His absolutely brilliant role of Colonel Saito in "The Bridge On the River Kwai" (directed by David Lean) brought a touch of humanity to the tiring representation of the Japanese soldiers as absolutely soulless monsters. Those scenes where colonel Saito breaks down into tears, or that wonderful dinner scene between Sir Allec Guinness and Hayakawa, presented a truly three dimensional, understanding character and not a pre-casted panel-type of a cartoonish villain.

And that, after all, is how some of us remember the 40s – or like to think we do…

In the meantime, as always – all the best!

Sessue Hayakawa was indeed a prominent star who achieved his initial success in silent-film-era Hollywood. There was, of course, the depiction of the 'yellow menace' when he was active in the 1920's, but it was probably as much anti-Chinese as anti-Japanese.

In any event, I always admired him. I recall him in the Claudette Colbert film Three Came Back (or was it Home?) made after the war. Without going into IMDb, which I don't do when responding in a forum, because I like to come to the table with what I know at the time, I think she was the wife of a British planter and she, her husband, and their small son were interned by the Japanese during the war. After they learned that the Americans had dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, she missed her son, and rushed to Hayakawa's character's house, thinking he was killing her son along with the camp's other children, in retaliation for the bomb. He replied, something to the effect, 'Do you really think I would harm the children?'

All in all, though, I think James Shigeta presented the most positive view of the Japanese. First in Bridge to the Sun (1961) and as Admiral Nagumo in Midway--a truly remarkable film which I've seen a few times. I say 'positive' for Nagumo, even though he was bent on the destruction of the American fleet. Shigeta's Nagumo expressed an admiration for the torpedo-bomber pilots who appeared to be throwing away their lives in a fruitless attempt to stop his navy. I don't know what Nagumo actually felt. I think even the pilot who headed the mission to bomb Pearl Harbor afterwards became a devout Christian and preacher. His life story would make interesting reading.

Kindest regards,

Gary

[Gary D.]

Since writing about Admiral Chuichi Nagumo in the ‘favorite films’ section, I checked out some photographs of the real man. Nagumo was certainly no where near as handsome as James Shigeta; but, then, the real-life Americans who took part in the Battle of Miday didn't stack up against the likes of Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, and, of course, Charlton Heston. We must keep our heroes photogenic.

[Librarian]

I’m glad that we do share those positive views concerning the performing capacity of Mr. Hayakawa. For me his biggest role was in "The Typhoon", in which his wife also appeared. The title was a symbolical one only – the film was a strong political melodrama of a man who deliberately sacrifices his life, confessing to a murder that was actually commited by a diplomat. The murder was a crime of passion, and it was deemed more important that the diplomat complete his mission than that he pay for his crime with his life. Hence, the false confession by a patriot willing to sacrifice life, and more important – honor – for the sake of his country.

In a strong role like that Mr. Hayakawa was exceptionally fine, and brought a distinctly different type of hero to silver screens.

In the very same time I completely do share your views about that truly brilliant war film directed by Mr. Jack Smight. Nevertheless, I have another giant spectacle with tremendous battle scenes on my personal list of all-time favorites: "Tora! Tora! Tora!" from 1970. True, it seems a trifle unemotional, but there are some of the most accurately reconstructed combat scenes ever put on film - big, terrifying and superbly staged! I think that I have somewhere one less important, but to a certain extent unknown color snapshot connected with this film. I shall try to find it. You know, in those times even the villains were somehow photogenic as well!

In the meantime, as always – al the best!

[Gary D.]

I have to do some reading on Sessue Hayakawa, particularly the film you mentioned. On the whole, I like silent films. I've seen Ramon Navaro's Ben Hur and, believe it or not, prefer it to Charleton Heston's. Too bad, however, that Stephen Boyd, as Messala, couldn't have been born early enough to take Francis X. Bushman's part. Bushman, to me, really hammed up this role. I don't see what women saw in him. This, is not, of course, World War II-related.

I have just finished an episode of History Detectives, where American airmen crash-landed in Borneo in 1944. The tribesmen so hated the Japanese that they rescued and protected the downed men.

The Japanese could have had allies of many people across Southeast Asia, as could the Germans have had in the Ukraine--and we know what happened there. The Japanese rampaged across Borneo, killing and taking whatever they wanted. Consequently, many of the Japanese heads were smoked and hanging in the longhouses.