Go for Broke! (1951)
“The bravest soldiers America ever doubted.”
Streamed free from the Internet Archive · no signup, no cost — this film is in the public domain.
Synopsis
Written and directed by Robert Pirosh, who had just won an Oscar for Battleground, this MGM war drama honors the real Nisei soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Van Johnson plays Lt. Mike Grayson, a Southerner who resents his assignment to a unit of Japanese-American volunteers and is slowly humbled by their courage in Italy and France. Many supporting roles were filled by actual 442nd veterans.
Cast
About the Director
Robert Pirosh — Robert Pirosh, fresh off the success of Battleground, brought the same ground-level infantry realism to Go for Broke!, casting real 442nd veterans and earning an Academy Award nomination for his story and screenplay.
Why It’s Free: The Public-Domain Story
Go for Broke! is in the US public domain because MGM failed to renew its copyright in the 28th year; it carried a 1950 notice and entered the public domain in 1979 (Wikipedia's list of US public-domain films, "copyright not renewed").
Behind the Scenes
Produced and released by MGM in 1951, the film was one of Hollywood's first sympathetic portrayals of Japanese Americans after WWII. Its lapse into the public domain has kept it widely available.
Did You Know?
- The 442nd Regimental Combat Team remains the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in U.S. military history.
- Several supporting actors were genuine veterans of the 442nd.
- Robert Pirosh's screenplay earned an Academy Award nomination.
Reception & Legacy
Contemporary reviewers praised the film as a sincere, well-mounted tribute, and it is still cited as a landmark in Hollywood's depiction of Japanese Americans.
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