''Hell to Eternity'' is a 1960 American

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

film starring

Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Ki ...

David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer; March 27, 1931 – February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen a ...

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My ...

and Patricia Owens, directed by

Phil Karlson Phil Karlson (born Philip N. Karlstein; July 2, 1908 – December 12, 1982) was an American film director. Later noted as a ''film noir'' specialist, Karlson directed ''99 River Street'', ''Kansas City Confidential'' and ''Hell's Island'', all ...

. This film

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

is about the true experiences of Marine hero Pfc. Guy Gabaldon (played by

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

), a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

boy raised in the 1930s by a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

foster family, and his heroic actions during the

Battle of Saipan The Battle of Saipan was an amphibious assault launched by the United States against the Empire of Japan during the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II between 15 June and 9 July 1944. The initial invasion triggered the Battle of the ...

. Sessue Hayakawa played the role of Japanese commander at Saipan.

Plot

In Depression-era Los Angeles, Guy Gabaldon gets into a fight at school when another boy snitches about his breaking into a grocery store. After Japanese-American Kaz Une (the brother of Guy's

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

teacher and friend George) learns that Guy's mother is in the hospital and his father is dead, he invites Guy to stay with his family. As Kaz's parents speak little English, Guy begins to learn Japanese. Then, when Guy's mother dies, the Une family adopts him. He becomes especially close to Kaz's mother. After the attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

and the US entry into

, Gabaldon's foster family is sent to an

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

: Camp Manzanar. Gabaldon is drafted, but fails his physical exam due to a perforated eardrum. When Gabaldon goes to visit the Une family, he learns that George and Kaz have been allowed to join the Army and are fighting in Italy with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. After making sure that "mama-san" does not object, he manages to enlist in the Marines on the strength of his language skills. Gabaldon does not make a good first impression on Platoon Sgt. Bill Hazen at

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by ...

, but wins him over. When they are shipped to Hawaii to join the Regimental

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

section of the 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division, he gets himself, Hazen and Cpl. Pete Lewis bottles of whiskey and dates with two Japanese-American women and standoffish reporter Sheila Lincoln. Sheila is disgusted by the behavior of the rowdy Marines, but eventually warms up to Gabaldon after a few drinks. Going ashore on Saipan, he freezes at first when he comes under fire for the first time, but regains his composure. He uses his Japanese language skills to persuade Japanese soldiers to surrender. In fighting against a

banzai charge Banzai charge or Banzai attack () is the term that was used by the Allied forces of World War II to refer to Japanese human wave attacks and swarming staged by infantry units. This term came from the Japanese battle cry , and was shortened to ...

, Lewis is killed, and later during the bloody campaign for the island, Sgt. Hazen is shot in the leg, becomes pinned down and subsequently killed by a Japanese swordsman. Gabaldon then becomes enraged, stops talking Japanese soldiers into surrendering and starts killing them ruthlessly. After he witnesses two civilians commit suicide rather than surrender, he remembers George and "mama-san" and reverts back to the way he was before. During the final battle, he convinces the Japanese general to order approximately 1000 Japanese soldiers, and 500 civilians to surrender.

Cast

as Guy Gabaldon *

as S/Sgt. Bill Hazen *

as Cpl. Pete 'Junior' Lewis * Patricia Owens as Sheila Lincoln * Richard Eyer as Guy, as a boy *

John Larch John Larch (born Harold Aronin; October 4, 1914 – October 16, 2005; also credited Harry Larch) was an American radio, film, and television actor. Early life John Larch was born Harold Aronin"California County Marriages", marriage licens ...

as Capt. Schwabe * Bill Williams as Leonard * Michi Kobi as Sono * George Shibata as Kaz Une * Reiko Sato as Famika * Richard Gardner as Polaski * Bob Okazaki as Papa Une * George Matsui as George, as a boy * Nicky Blair as Martini *

George Takei George Takei ( ; born April20, 1937), born , is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS ''Enterprise'' in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Takei was born to Japanese-American parents, with w ...

as George (as George Takai) * Miiko Taka as Ester * Tsuru Aoki as Mother Une (as Tsuru Aoki Hayakawa) * Sessue Hayakawa as Gen. Matsui * Frank Gerstle as Drunken officer (uncredited) * Paul Togawa as Freddy (uncredited)

Production

Gramercy Pictures bought the screen rights of Gabaldon's story in June 1957. Previously, it had been featured on the TV show ''This Is Your Life''. The bulk of fiancing for the film - $650,000 - came from American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, a theatre chain. They noted the success of '' To Hell and Back'' (1955) with

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enli ...

, and sought out another true life World War Two story that might make a good film. They came across the story of Guy Gabaldon and decided to invest in it. Jeffrey Hunter had just been in the popular war film ''In Love and War''. Phil Karlson called it "one of the most important pictures that I may ever make because it was the true story of the Nisei, what happened in this country. But Allied Artists, even at that point, looked at it as a great war story that you could make for a price. They had no idea what I was doing."Todd McCarthy and Richard Thompson. “Phil Karlson: Interview, November 19, 1973” Kings of the Bs; Working Within the Hollywood System, eds. Todd McCarthy and Charles Flynn (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1975), pp. 327-345. Rpt. Cine Resort, Oct. 7 2014
/ref> The film was shot on location in Okinawa.

Reception

''Variety'' said "it appears that certain concessions eere made for the sake of commercialism, reducing its overall artistic stature, but the end product is one that is bound to please and excite the average filmgoer, particularly the average male."

Steve Broidy Samuel “Steve” Broidy (June 14, 1905 – April 28, 1991) was an American executive in the U.S. motion picture industry. Early life Samuel Broidy was born on June 14, 1905, in Malden, Massachusetts. He attended Boston University, but he w ...

, head of Allied Artists, called it " a very, very successful picture." The film's commercial performance was helped by a series of personal appearances by Guy Gabaldon who expressed happiness with Jeffrey Hunter's portrayal of him although suggested that the role might have been better played by the ex-soldier himself.

Home media

The DVD of the film was released on June 5, 2007 in the United States.

Novelization

A novelization of the screenplay was written by American writer Edward S. Aarons (1916–1975), published in a mass market, tie-in paperback edition (first printing cover price 25¢) under the

Gold Medal Books Gold Medal Books, launched by Fawcett Publications in 1950, was an American book publisher known for introducing paperback originals, a publishing innovation at the time. Fawcett was also an independent newsstand distributor, and in 1949 the c ...

imprint, with 1960 copyright assigned to

Fawcett Publications Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett (1885–1940). It kicked off with the publication of the bawdy humor magazine ''Captain Billy's Whiz ...

. The book's presentation falls under the category of "implied novelization," as there is no attribution anywhere to the screenplay, the screenstory or their respective authors, and the front cover action illustration of two soldiers only suggests star Jeffrey Hunter in the foreground; however the back cover contains, along with brief descriptive info, a romantic still from the movie and a blurb about the film, naming the studio, the production company and the stars. Even these indicia were removed, however, with the release of a second printing, probably a year or two later. Save for the uptick in price (40¢), the front cover illustration is identical, but the back cover is white, displaying only the brief descriptive info and the symbol of the U.S. Marine Corps. Implications of the film as source material were no doubt obliterated from the book to make the most out of the by-line, as Aarons was one of Gold Medal's most popular (and prolific) authors, and would remain so until the end of his career. (Aarons is best known for his prolific "Assignment" espionage series, featuring agent Sam Durell.)

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hell To Eternity 1960 films 1960s English-language films 1960 war films American war films American black-and-white films Pacific War films Films about the internment of Japanese Americans Films set in the Northern Mariana Islands Films shot in Okinawa Prefecture Films directed by Phil Karlson Films about the United States Marine Corps Films scored by Leith Stevens Films set in Hawaii Allied Artists films Films about Mexican Americans Films about Japanese Americans 1960s American films 1960s Japanese films Whitewashing in film English-language war films