The Purple Heart
Encyclopedia
- For other meanings see Purple Heart (disambiguation)Purple Heart (disambiguation)The Purple Heart is a US military decoration. It may also refer to:Plants:* Purpleheart, 23 species of tropical flowering plants* Purple Heart, the most widely-grown cultivar of Tradescantia pallidaFilms:...
.
The Purple Heart is a 1944
1944 in film
The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
directed by Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone was a Russian-American motion picture director. He is known for directing Two Arabian Knights and All Quiet on the Western Front , both of which received Academy Awards for Best Director...
.
It is a dramatization of the trial of a number of US airmen by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It is loosely based on the trial of eight airmen who took part in the April 18, 1942, Doolittle Raid
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid, on 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II. By demonstrating that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack, it provided a vital morale boost and opportunity for U.S. retaliation after the...
{Three were executed and one died as a POW}.
It starred Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
as the leader of the downed crew, and was directed by Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone was a Russian-American motion picture director. He is known for directing Two Arabian Knights and All Quiet on the Western Front , both of which received Academy Awards for Best Director...
. Eighteen-year-old Farley Granger
Farley Granger
Farley Earle Granger was an American actor. In a career spanning several decades, he was perhaps best known for his two collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Rope in 1948 and Strangers on a Train in 1951.-Early life:...
had a supporting role.
Plot summary
In April 1942 the crew of a downed American B-25 Mitchell bomberB-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
are captured in a Wang Jingwei controlled section of China
Wang Jingwei Government
In March 1940 a puppet government led by Wang Jingwei was established in the Republic of China under the protection of the Empire of Japan. The regime officially called itself the Republic of China and its government the Reorganized National Government of China...
by a Chinese collaborator
Collaborationist Chinese Army
The Collaborationist Chinese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War went under different names at different times depending on which collaborationist leader or puppet regime it was organized under....
who transferred them to the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. The story relates the torture and hardship
Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...
the men endured while in captivity, and their final humiliation: being tried, convicted and executed as war criminals. Throughout, the American stalwarts are subjected to mistreatment and systematic abuse by the sadistic General Mitsubi (Richard Loo
Richard Loo
Richard Loo was a Chinese American film actor who was one of the most familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. A prolific actor, he appeared in over 120 films between 1931 and 1982....
) who ultimately chooses to shoot himself, in the face of his captives' unshakable resolve and the realization that the Japanese are doomed to destruction.
Cast
- Dana AndrewsDana AndrewsDana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
as Capt. Harvey Ross - Richard ConteRichard ConteRichard Conte was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the 1940s through 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow and The Godfather.-Life and career:...
as Lt. Angelo Canelli - Farley GrangerFarley GrangerFarley Earle Granger was an American actor. In a career spanning several decades, he was perhaps best known for his two collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Rope in 1948 and Strangers on a Train in 1951.-Early life:...
as Sgt. Howard Clinton - Kevin O'SheaKevin O'SheaKevin William O'Shea was a professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres and St. Louis Blues, as well as in the World Hockey Association with the Minnesota Fighting Saints. Prior to his professional career, O'Shea played two years for St...
as Sgt. Skvoznik - Don 'Red' Barry as Lt. Peter Vincent (as Donald Barry)
- Trudy MarshallTrudy MarshallTrudy Marshall was an American actress.Marshall was born Gertrude Marshall in Brooklyn, New York...
as Mrs. Ross - Sam LeveneSam LeveneSam Levene was an American Broadway and film actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1927 with five lines in a play titled Wall Street, and over a span of nearly 50 years, appeared on Broadway in 37 Shows, of which 33 were the original Broadway Productions, many now considered legendary...
as Lt. Wayne Greenbaum - Charles Russell as Lt. Kenneth Bayforth
- John CravenJohn Craven (actor)John Craven was an American actor, and the son of noted character actor Frank Craven. He appeared in almost 50 films, numerous plays, and many TV roles, but was best remembered for originating the role of George Gibbs in the original stage version of Our Town, where his father played the role of...
as Sgt. Martin Stoner - Tala BirellTala BirellTala Birell was a Romanian-American stage and film actress.-Career:She had stage and screen experience in Vienna. Birell doubled for Marlene Dietrich in German films. She came to England to appear in the German version of Cape Forlorn, and later went to America to play in the German version of...
as Johanna Hartwig - Richard LooRichard LooRichard Loo was a Chinese American film actor who was one of the most familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. A prolific actor, he appeared in over 120 films between 1931 and 1982....
as Gen Mitsubi - Peter Chong as Mitsuru Toyama
- Gregory GayeGregory GayeGregory Gaye was a Russian-American actor. The son of an actor, he was born Gregory De Gay in Petrograd, now known as St. Petersburg....
as Peter Voroshevski - Russian NewsSoviet Information BureauSoviet Information Bureau , commonly known as Sovinformburo ) was a leading Soviet news agency in 1941 - 1961. It was established on June 24, 1941, shortly after the opening of the Eastern Front of World War II by a directive of Sovnarkom and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the...
Correspondent - Torben MeyerTorben MeyerTorben Emil Meyer was a Danish character actor who appeared in over 190 films in a 55-year career.-Early career:...
as Karl Kappel - Swiss Consul - Kurt KatchKurt KatchKurt Katch was a Polish film and television actor. Katch was born as Isser Kac. He appeared in Quiet Please, Murder, The Mask of Dimitrios, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and several of the James Bond series movies, among many others. Katch is interred at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Los...
as Ludwig Kruger - German News Correspondent