None but the Brave
None but the Brave | |
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Directed by | Frank Sinatra |
Screenplay by | |
Story by | Kikumaru Okuda[1] |
Produced by | Frank Sinatra[1] |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Harold Lipstein[1] |
Edited by | Sam O'Steen[1] |
Music by | Kenjiro Hirose[2] John Williams[1] |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Toho (Japan)[2] Warner Bros. (U.S.) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 105 minutes[1] |
Countries |
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Languages | English Japanese |
Box office | $2.5 million (US/Canada rentals)[3] |
None but the Brave (Japanese: 勇者のみ, Hepburn: Yūsha Nomi, lit. 'Only the Brave') is a 1965 epic anti-war film[4] directed by Frank Sinatra, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya.[5] Produced by Tokyo Eiga, Toho, and Sinatra Enterprises, it was the first film to be internationally co-produced between Japan and the United States.[6][7][8]
Plot
During an unspecified period of World War II, a platoon of 16 Japanese soldiers is stranded on an island in the Solomon Archipelago with no means of communicating with the outside world. Lieutenant Kuroki keeps his men firmly in hand and is supervising the building of a boat for their escape.
An American
The truce results in the choice by both platoons, reduced in numbers through their earlier conflicts and later natural disasters, to live side by side – although a line is drawn forbidding one from encroaching on the other's side of the island. There is some clandestine cooperation and trading and earnest respect and friendship.
When the Americans establish radio contact and their pickup by a US naval vessel is arranged, they demand that the Japanese surrender, but Kuroki reestablishes that they are at war. As the Americans proceed to the beach, Bourke orders his men to be ready to shoot to kill. When they are ambushed by the remaining 8 men of the Japanese platoon, the remaining 11 Americans are given no option but to retaliate, resulting in a bloody and pointless firefight during which all the Japanese and most of the Americans are shot dead. Only Francis, Bourke, Bleeker, Blair, and Corporal Ruffino survive the skirmish. Bourke orders Francis to examine the mortally wounded Kuroki to see if he can be saved. They move onto the beach and wait to be rescued by the American naval vessel, stationed just offshore. Francis reports Kuroki's death and hands Bourke the Japanese officer's journal, written in Japanese with what appears to be an address. Bourke speculates that one day he will be able to deliver it to Kuroki's widow. Kuroki's final narration calls what he is to do "just another day."
Cast
American platoon
- Frank Sinatra as Chief Pharmacist Mate Francis
- Clint Walker as Capt. Dennis Bourke
- Tommy Sandsas 2nd Lt. Blair
- Brad Dexter as Sgt. Bleeker
- Tony Bill as Air Crewman Keller
- Sammy Jackson as Cpl. Craddock
- Richard Bakalyan as Cpl. Ruffino
- Rafer Johnson as Pvt. Johnson
- Jimmy Griffin as Pvt. Dexter
- Christopher Dark as Pvt. Searcy
- Don Dorrell as Pvt. Hoxie
- Phil Crosby as Pvt. Magee
- Howie Young as Pvt. Waller
- Roger Ewing as Pvt. Swensholm
- Richard Sinatra as Pvt. Roth
Japanese platoon
- Tatsuya Mihashi as Lt. Kuroki
- Takeshi Katō as Sgt. Tamura
- Homare Suguro as Lance Cpl. Hirano
- Kenji Sahara as Cpl. Fujimoto
- Mashahiko Tanimura as Lead Pvt. Ando
- Toru Ibuki as Pvt. Arikawa
- Ryucho Shunputei as Pvt. Okunda, the fisherman
- Hisao Dazai as Pvt. Tokumaru
- Susumu Kurobe as Pvt. Goro
- Takashi Inagaki as Pvt. Ishii
- Kenichi Hata as Pvt. Sato
Other
- Nami Tamura as Keiko, Kuroki's wife
- Laraine Stephens as Lorie, Dennis's fiancée (uncredited)
Production
The English title is taken from the
This was the sixth of nine films produced by Frank Sinatra, and the only film he directed.
Filming
Rip tide incident
During filming, on May 10, 1964, in Hawaii, Sinatra was caught in a rip tide along with Ruth Koch, wife of Howard Koch. Actor Brad Dexter (Sgt. Bleeker) and two surfers were able to rescue Sinatra and Koch, saving their lives.[11]
Special effects
Special effects for the film were handled by Toho’s special effects crew.[12] Eiji Tsuburaya was the special effects director.[5][12]
Release
None but the Brave was released in Japan on 15 January 1965 where it was distributed by
Critical response
Upon release, The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther gave the production a largely negative review, writing, "A minimum show of creative invention and a maximum use of cinema clichés are evident in the staging of this war film," and "Mr. Sinatra, as producer and director, as well as actor of the secondary role of the booze-guzzling medical corpsman, displays distinction only in the latter job. Being his own director, he has no trouble stealing scenes, especially the one in which he burbles boozy wisecracks while preparing to saw off the shivering Japanese's leg. Mr. Sinatra is crashingly casual when it comes to keeping the Japanese in their place." Crowther also noted "Clint Walker … Tommy Sands … Brad Dexter … and Tony Bill … make over-acting—phony acting—the trademark of the film. What with incredible color and the incredible screenplay of Katsuya Susaki and John Twist, this adds up to quite a fake concoction."[13]
Current critic Robert Horton (of Washington's
Comic book adaptation
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Galbraith IV 2008, p. 217.
- ^ a b "勇者のみ(1965)". Eiga.com. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ Variety 1966, p. 36.
- ^ Cotter, Padraig (October 6, 2019). "None But The Brave: Frank Sinatra's Directorial Debut Was An Anti-War Epic". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ a b Ryfle 1998, p. 46.
- ^ a b Boxoffice 1965, p. C-1.
- ^ Liner notes, pg. 2, None but the Brave soundtrack album, FSM Vol. 12, No. 2
- ISBN 9781476684505.
- ^ "None but the Brave". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
- ^ "Frank Sinatra". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
- ISBN 978-0-385-53539-7.
- ^ ISBN 4-7669-3848-8.
- ^ The New York Times, "He Stars in War Film, None but the Brave" By Bosley Crowther. February 25, 1965.
- ^ Robert Horton, Amazon Editorial Review for None But the Brave
- ^ Dell Movie Classic: None but the Brave at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Dell Movie Classic: None but the Brave at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
Sources
- "None but the Brave Set For February Premiere". Boxoffice. January 25, 1965.
- ISBN 978-1461673743.
- Ryfle, Steve (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. ECW Press. ISBN 1550223488.
- "Top Grossers of 1965". Variety. January 5, 1966.