None but the Brave
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is a 1965
war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...
directed by
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
, with special effects by
Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director and cinematographer. Known as the he worked on 250 feature films in a career spanning 50 years. He is regarded as one of the co-creators of the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the main creator of the ' ...
. Produced by Tokyo Eiga,
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
, and Artanis Productions (credited as Sinatra Enterprises), it was the first film international co-production between Japan and the United States.


Plot

During an unspecified period of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, a platoon of 16 Japanese soldiers is stranded on an island in the
Solomon Archipelago The Solomon Archipelago is a terrestrial ecoregion and marine ecoregion in the Pacific Ocean. It includes the tropical ocean waters surrounding most of Solomon Islands (excluding the Santa Cruz Islands, which is a part of the Vanuatu marine ecore ...
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 C-47/R4D transport plane is shot down by a Japanese
Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation Positional notation (or place-value notation, or positional numeral system) usually denotes the extension to any base of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system (or ...
, crash landing on the same island. The Zero and an American
F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...
destroy each other, with no outside commands learning of the island. Marine Aircraft Wing Captain Dennis Bourke assumes command of the platoon of Marines he was transporting, over their buffoonish and incompetent 2nd Lieutenant Blair and Sergeant Bleeker. Confidante to Bourke is Navy chief pharmacist's mate Francis. As the 19 Americans learn of the Japanese platoon's existence on the island, tension mounts resulting in a battle for the Japanese boat. The vessel is destroyed and a Japanese soldier is seriously injured. Calling a truce, Koruki trades the Americans access to water in exchange for a visit from their doctor to treat the wounded soldier, whose leg has to be amputated. The truce results in both platoons, reduced in numbers through their earlier conflicts and later natural disasters, choosing 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


Japanese platoon


Other

* Nami Tamura as Keiko, Kuroki's wife *
Laraine Stephens Laraine Stephens is an American actress. Stephens was born in Oakland, California. She studied at both Los Angeles City College and the University of California, Los Angeles. A coloratura soprano, Stephens performed in operas before moving in ...
as Lorie, Dennis's fiancée (uncredited)


Production

The title is from the
John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...
poem, '' Alexander's Feast,'' stanza 1: "None but the brave/deserves the fair." This was the sixth of nine films produced by Frank Sinatra, and the only film he directed. The executive producers carried extra fame in their own right -
William H. Daniels William H. Daniels American Society of Cinematographers, ASC (December 1, 1901 – June 14, 1970) was a film cinematographer who was Greta Garbo's personal lensman. Early in his career he worked regularly with director Erich von Stroheim. ...
was former president of the American Society of Cinematographers, while
Howard W. Koch Howard Winchel Koch (April 11, 1916 – February 16, 2001) was an American producer and director of film and television. Life and career Koch was born in New York City, the son of Beatrice (Winchel) and William Jacob Koch. His family was Jewish. ...
was former president of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...
. During filming, on May 10, 1964, in Hawaii, Sinatra was caught in a
riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...
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. Special effects for the film were handled by
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
’s special effects crew.
Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director and cinematographer. Known as the he worked on 250 feature films in a career spanning 50 years. He is regarded as one of the co-creators of the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the main creator of the ' ...
was the special effects director.


Release

''None But the Brave'' was released in Japan on 15 January 1965 where it was distributed by
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
. It was released in the United States in February 1965.


Critical response

Upon release, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''’
Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
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." Current critic Robert Horton (of Washington's '' The Herald'') calls ''None but the Brave'' "a 1965 anti-war picture that turns out to be much more interesting and compelling than its reputation would suggest," that "predates the rash of anti-war counterculture movies by a few years," also noting that it "bears the influence of ''
Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, the pl ...
'' with a little '' Mister Roberts'' thrown in, but it has a bitterness about war that goes all the way through to the forceful final title, a reflection of Sinatra's liberal views at the time.” Horton points out that Clint Eastwood received a lot of credit for making two films that showed World War II from the American and the Japanese sides (''
Flags of Our Fathers ''Flags of Our Fathers'' (2000) is a book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about his father, Navy corpsman John Bradley, and five United States Marines, who were made famous by Joe Rosenthal’s '' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima'' photograph. Th ...
'' and '' Letters from Iwo Jima''), but that "in a way, Sinatra had already done it, and in one movie."


Comic book adaptation

*
Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
Movie Classic: ''None but the Brave'' (April–June 1965)


References


Footnotes


Sources

* * * Ragone, August (2007, 2014)
''Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters''
San Francisco, California: Chronicle Books.


External links

* * * * {{Eiji Tsuburaya 1965 films 1965 war films American war films Anti-war films about World War II Films scored by John Williams Films adapted into comics Films directed by Frank Sinatra Films set in Oceania Films set on islands Films shot in Hawaii 1960s Japanese-language films Japanese war films Pacific War films Films about the United States Marine Corps War adventure films Warner Bros. films Films produced by Frank Sinatra 1965 directorial debut films American World War II films Japanese World War II films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films 1960s Japanese films