THE PURPLE HEART

Made in 1944, THE PURPLE HEART is an incredibly powerful World War II movie. It’s about a group of American army air corps fliers who are part of the first raids on Japan after Pearl Harbor just to show that America could strike major Japanese cities.

Eight of these Doolittle raiders crash land in China. The raids were for show, because they didn’t have enough fuel to get back to the carrier. A corrupt Chinese governor siding with the Imperial Japanese forces turns them over to the Japanese. They’re put on trial in a Japanese civilian court, not as military personnel but as criminals. The press from Pro Japanese countries are invited to the show trial, but the show trial goes terribly wrong for the Japanese. They accuse the raiders of machine gunning women and children and show footage from before World War II to prove their case. Worse, they get the corrupt Chinese governor to testify. His son is so outraged by his father’s deceit that he stabs him in the court. Although it isn’t shown, one must remember the rape of Manchuria and how cruel the Japanese were to the Chinese to make sense of this scene. The son was reacting as a soldier to his father’s betrayal, not just to the American airmen but to the Chinese people.

Eventually, the Japanese try torture on the American fliers to obtain the information they need to stop the raids. Will the fliers crack under the pressure?

PURPLE HEART is a very powerful movie without the blood and gore of contemporary war movies. The acting is strong, the jeopardy is intense. The audience gets it that these men are standing for freedom in the face of tyranny and that it costs their lives and everything they hold dear. Each person, from the rancher captain to the Italian artist to the Jewish lawyer has a well-rounded character arc. It’s clear they are tortured but the actual cruelty isn’t shown. This actually makes the drama more intense, not less. The deceit and subterfuge of the Japanese show trial are as powerful as anything ever filmed. The prayers and the singing of hymns in the movie should make even the most hardened heart cry.

THE PURPLE HEART was made in the day when they knew how to make movies that everyone could watch. It’s also one of the best, most patriotic movies ever made, with one of the strongest, most heart-rending, and most stirring pro-freedom messages you’ll ever find. Bravo!