None But the Brave (1965)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Frank Sinatra

Writers:

Kikumaru Okuda (story)
John Twist (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 February 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

The brave are never different - only different looking!

Plot:

American and Japanese soldiers, stranded on a tiny Pacific island during World War II, must make a temporary...

Cast

Tatsuya Mihashi	...	Lt. Kuroki
Takeshi Katô	...	Sgt. Tamura (as Takeshi Kato)
Homare Suguro	...	LCpl. Hirano
Kenji Sahara	...	Cpl. Fujimoto
Mashahiko Tanimura	...	Lead Pvt. Ando
Tôru Ibuki	...	Pvt. Arikawa
Ryucho Shunputei	...	Pvt. Okunda
Hisao Dazai	...	Pvt. Tokumaru
Susumu Kurobe	...	Pvt. Goro (as Susume Kurobe)
Takashi Inagaki	...	Pvt. Ishi
Kenichi Hata	...	Pvt. Sato
Frank Sinatra	...	Chief Pharmacist Mate
Clint Walker	...	Capt. Dennis Bourke
Tommy Sands	...	2nd Lt. Blair
Brad Dexter	...	Sgt. Bleeker

Also Known As:

Yusha nomi (Japan)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #20787) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Sinatra Enterprises

Trivia:

During downtime while shooting the picture, Brad Dexter saved Frank Sinatra from drowning when he dived into the ocean and saved the floundering Sinatra.

Goofs:

Continuity: In some scenes the Japanese officer is carrying a Walther P-38, which is a German-made pistol, but in other scenes he's carrying a Nambu, which is a Japanese-made pistol.

People Are All Right, Nations And Causes Make Us Enemies

It's probably a mistake to say that this is Frank Sinatra's only effort at directing. Truth be told, starting with Ocean's 11, he directed about half the films he was in, whoever's name is in the credits was just a puppet. Frank was also producing as well, probably though he didn't want the public to get the idea he was Orson Welles.

Maybe it would have taken an Orson Welles to have made None But the Brave a classic film, but Sinatra in his only formal effort at directing doesn't do a bad job except for his then son-in-law Tommy Sands. In fact he anticipates Clint Eastwood's Iwo Jima films by 40 years.

This isn't Iwo Jima exactly, it's a small backwater island in the Pacific where a squad of Japanese soldiers have been cut off and are living off the land so to speak. A Navy transport plane is shot down with a squad of U.S. Marines on board. Pilot Clint Walker crash lands safely on that selfsame island and saves most of them, but they are also cut off.

After a lot skirmishing mostly between Walker and Sands with Walker trying to prevent newly commissioned second lieutenant Sands from doing something stupid like charging the Japanese headlong, the two groups agree to opt out of World War II. An interesting thing happens, both find that they have a lot in common. We already know that in seeing the film from the Japanese point also with subtitles.

The Japanese players are unknown to we occidentals for the most part, but I looked and found several like, Tatsuya Mihashi as the Japanese commander, Takeshi Kato as their sergeant, and Homere Suguro as the corporal who has his leg amputated by Frank Sinatra had substantial careers in Japanese cinema. The player on that side I liked most however was Ryucho Shunputei as the simple Japanese private who fishes and quite frankly is the key to their survival. I'm betting he wasn't exactly in the Samurai tradition in combat, but his skill at the profession he left behind is keeping his whole group alive.

For himself Frank Sinatra took the part of a Navy Corpsman who is the only non-Marine beside Walker on the American side. The part fits him quite well indeed. This was the film where Brad Dexter who's the Marine sergeant in the film saved Frank Sinatra from drowning when old Blue Eyes was swimming and was nearly swept out to sea by the undertow. Bing Crosby's son Phil had a small role as one of the Marines, no doubt a favor from Old Blue Eyes to the Old Groaner.

Frank Sinatra could be vindictive however and I had never thought about it before, but another reviewer's comments about Tommy Sands made me reconsider his performance. Maybe Frank was actually trying to mess his career up. Sands as the green second lieutenant is almost a caricature of one. He's so bad in the role, maybe it was lousy directing for him only.

Other than that, Frank did not do a half bad job. It's not a great film, but it's not bad either and it does raise some interesting questions about people in combat situations.