Hell to Eternity

Hell to Eternity

Original film poster
Directed by Phil Karlson
Produced by Irving H. Levin
Written by Gil Doud (story)
Walter Roeber Schmidt
Starring Jeffrey Hunter
David Janssen
Vic Damone
Music by Leith Stevens
Cinematography Burnett Guffey
Edited by Roy V. Livingston
George White
Distributed by Allied Artists
Release dates
  • September 30, 1960 (1960-09-30)
Running time
131 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $800,000
Box office $2,800,000 (US/ Canada)[1]

Hell to Eternity is a 1960 American World War II film starring Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, Vic Damone and Patricia Owens, directed by Phil Karlson. This film biopic is about the true experiences of Marine hero Pfc. Guy Gabaldon (played by Hunter), a Los Angeles Hispanic boy raised in the 1930s by a Japanese American foster family, and his heroic actions during the Battle of Saipan. Sessue Hayakawa played the role of Japanese commander at Saipan.[2]

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 Uni (the brother of Guy's friend George) finds out 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 Unis adopt him. He becomes especially close to Kaz's mother.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the US entry into World War II, Gabaldon's foster family is sent to an internment camp: Camp Manzanar. Gabaldon is drafted, but fails his physical exam due to a perforated eardrum. When Gabaldon goes to visit the Unis, he learns that George has been allowed to join the Army and is fighting in Italy. 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 S/Sgt. Bill Hazen at Camp Pendleton, but wins him over. When they are shipped to Hawaii to join the 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. During a Banzai charge, Lewis is killed, and later during the bloody campaign for the island, Hazen is shot in the leg and then killed by a Japanese swordsman. Gabaldon then gets mad and starts killing Japanese soldiers ruthlessly, but after he sees two civilians kill themselves, he remembers George and "mama-san" and changes back to the way he was. During the final battle, he convinces the Japanese general to order approximately 1000 Japanese soldiers and 500 civilians to surrender.

Cast

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.[3]

DVD release

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

See also

References

  1. "Rental Potentials of 1960", Variety, 4 January 1961 p 47. Figures are rentals as opposed to total gross.
  2. Films and Filming. 7. Hansom Books. 1960. p. 43.
  3. "Hell to Eternity". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 21 February 2015.

Bibliography

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