Go For Broke (1951)

The premise is ripe for a strong WWII adventure with a twist. During WWII, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team is comprised of Japanese-American soldiers fighting in Europe (while many of their families are still in internment camps) but also fighting the racial prejudice from other American soldiers. But what we get under the direction of Robert Pirosh is a standard WWII war movie that only deals with the race issue superficially rather than digging deep. There had to be one box office name so Van Johnson is the nominal star but the film belongs to the Japanese-American actors. Most of them are played by actual members of the 442nd brigade but the downside is that since they're not actors, their performances are amateurish. The one exception is Henry Nakamura who gives the film its most heartfelt performance. Instead of the actual Italian and French locations, it was filmed in Southern California and it looks it. With Gianna Maria Canale (the Amazon Queen in the Steve Reeves HERCULES), Warner Anderson, Hugh Beaumont, Ann Codee and Richard Anderson.