Go for Broke! (1951)

As wartime propaganda exercises go, I thought this to be one of the better and often quite funny features. It celebrates the achievements the 442nd - a regiment formed of Japanese American soldiers and commanded, somewhat reluctantly, by “Grayson” (Van Johnson). Like many, even most, in the US Army he was sceptical of the skills and the loyalties of this band of squaddies, and his disdain was barely hidden towards them or towards his boss. These troops prove to quite a formidable bunch and gradually their efforts on the continent and in the Far East illustrate that they are a match for anyone. It’s that fact that “Grayson” gradually comes to realise as the war rumbles on and the fatalities start to impact on him more than he might ever have thought possible. It’s a fight against the Nazis and the Japanese, yes, but it’s also a fight against bigotry and racism at home and though it can resort to stereotyping now and again, it also demonstrates clearly that these citizens are no less American than than those who emanated from across the other ocean. It does have quite a light touch, often courtesy of their pet pig or with some really quite innovative use of the passwords and the oft-tapped telephones and by the conclusion we are under no doubt about the value of these valiant men, some of them real veterans, to the war effort - all whilst Johnson delivers quite charismatically, too. The wartime elements of the production aren't always the most convincing but I still quite enjoyed this.