The Purple Heart

Infobox Film
name = The Purple Heart


image_size = 220px
caption =
director = Lewis Milestone
producer = Darryl F. Zanuck
writer = Jerome Cady
Darryl F. Zanuck story (as Melville Crossman)
narrator =
starring = Dana Andrews
Richard Conte
Farley Granger
Kevin O'Shea
Don 'Red' Barry
Trudy Marshall
music = Alfred Newman
cinematography = Arthur C. Miller
editing = Douglass Biggs
distributor = 20th Century Fox
released = February 1944
runtime =
country = USA
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0037197

:"For other meanings see Purple Heart (disambiguation).""The Purple Heart" is a 1944 American war film directed by Lewis Milestone.

It is a dramatization of the trial of a number of US airmen by the Japanese during the Second World War. It is loosely based on the trial of eight airmen who took part in the Doolittle Raid.

It starred Dana Andrews as the leader of the downed crew, and was directed by Lewis Milestone. A 24-year-old Farley Granger had a supporting role.

Plot summary

The crew of a downed B-25 Mitchell bomber is captured in China in 1942 by the Japanese, after a run over Tokyo, early in World War II. The story relates the torture and hardship the men endure while in captivity, and their final humiliation: being tried, convicted and executed as war criminals.

Cast

* Dana Andrews ... Capt. Harvey Ross
* Richard Conte ... Lt. Angelo Canelli
* Farley Granger ... Sgt. Howard Clinton
* Kevin O'Shea ... Sgt. Skvoznik
* Don 'Red' Barry ... Lt. Peter Vincent (as Donald Barry)
* Trudy Marshall ... Mrs. Ross
* Sam Levene ... Lt. Wayne Greenbaum
* Charles Russell ... Lt. Kenneth Bayforth
* John Craven ... Sgt. Martin Stoner
* Tala Birell ... Johanna Hartwig
* Richard Loo ... Gen Mitsubi
* Peter Chong ... Mitsuru Toyama

Famous trial speech

Captain Harvey Ross (Dana Andrews): "No your excellency. It's true we Americans don't know very much about you Japanese. And we never did. And now I realize you know even less about us. You can kill us. All of us, or part of us. But if you think that's going to put the fear of god into the United States of America, and stop them from sending other flyers to bomb you, you're wrong. Dead wrong. They'll come by night, they'll come by day. Thousands of them. They'll blacken your skies and burn your cities to the ground and make you get down on your knees and beg for mercy. This is your war. You wanted it. You asked for it. You started it. And now you're going to get it. And it won't be finished until your dirty little empire is wiped off the face of the earth."

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037197/ The Purple Heart] at IMDB