Ódio e Ternura

I was a U.S. Air Force airman in the 1503rd Air Transport Squadron. Our squadron shared air terminal facilities at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo with Japanese civilian airlines as well as a few other international airlines. My tour of duty was 1954-1955. During that period, a small portion of Three Stripes In The Sun was filmed at this airport located in Tokyo Bay. The Columbia Pictures crew recruited a few of us off duty enlisted men to be extras in a scene where Aldo Ray is just arriving in Tokyo from the U.S. Our part was to depart the aircraft by walking down some portable steps to the tarmac and then marching into the air terminal building in a single file. That all seemed simple enough but the first take didn't go so well. One of the navy guys stumbled and fell down the steps so we had to get back into that hot aircraft that had been baking in the sun to do it again. This really upset Aldo Ray because he was a little hung over from doing the town the night before and he didn't relish getting back into that oven.

I'm writing this in reaction to some of the comments posted about this movie. Although this movie is a product of Hollywood, and therefore tends to be sickly sweet, I want to confirm that almost all of the story is true. My grandfather was nowhere near as racist as Aldo Ray's character in the beginning of the movie, but having fought in brutal conditions in the Pacific against a foreign enemy, he naturally felt great resentment against the Japanese people. Understandably, when he first arrived in Japan, he wanted very little to do with the Japanese people. However, when he first came across the devastated orphanage in Osaka, he knew immediately that he had to come to the aid of the children who were barely surviving in a war-torn nation. He did in fact steal food and medicine for the children, and started collecting donations from fellow soldiers. His efforts that had begun 60 years ago continue to this day, and the orphanage is still closely tied to the Wolfhounds. He also met and married my grandmother, Yuko, (who was the translator in the movie for the sake of the story). This movie should not just be taken at face value, but understood for its deeper meaning. My grandfather's story is just an example of the human connection between completely foreign people. People whose lives were destroyed by an unspeakably devastating war, still managed to surpass their hatred for one another, and find some peaceful middle ground.

In 1949 Occupied Japan, a U.S. Army sergeant who despises the locals ultimately finds a soft spot in his heart while working with the nuns and children at a bedraggled orphanage, soon falling in love with a Japanese translator. Although this story is based upon fact, with the real-life protagonist Sgt. Hugh O'Reilly acting as technical adviser, one hesitates to swallow such a big lump of sugar. The film has been designed as a heart warmer, and yet--as bullet-chested, no-nonsense Aldo Ray plays O'Reilly--the character's complete transformation into an old softy is rather too good to be true. Ray, who got stuck in a revolving door of battle films during this period, isn't an animated actor on-screen, his personality mostly consisting of a stoic manliness; here, he strains to utilize his goofy laugh and dumb-mug smile to convince us he's just a big kid on the playground (one with love in his eyes). Ray is a decent actor, but this part would be a stretch for even the most accomplished performer. Buddy Dick York gets some second-banana laughs, Phil Carey is a by-the-books colonel whose heart eventually thaws, while the sisters and little ones are constantly around to milk the audience for the utmost treacly effect. I didn't believe a minute of it. ** from ****

Post WW II flick about soldiers in occupied Japan, helping the children of the village. Aldo Ray is sergeant O'Reilly, who starts out resenting the Japanese, but comes to appreciate them and their way of life. Dick York is O'Reilly's cohort Corporal Muhlendorf. York is one of the Dicks who will be Samantha's husband on the TV show "Bewitched", and had made only four films before this. Touching story of a soldier who befriends an orphan, and gets his outfit to help the orphans. Ray is sometimes natural in his role, and sometimes both he and York seem extra-awkward with their lines. Strong supporting roles by Mitsuko Kimura as Yuko, the interpreter, and also by Philip Carey as the all-knowing Colonel, who teaches O'Reilly several lessons along the way. One of only two films directed by Richard Murphy, who had made his mark as a Hollywood writer... and ... had just finished serving in the Air Force in New Guinea and the Philippines in 1945, so he certainly had knowledge of serving in the military in a foreign land. Ray and Carey had both also served in the military during WW II, so the cast had the right background for the post-war storyline. Solid story, if a little soapy-sudsy sweet at times.

Heartwarming tale, based on a true story. An American GI in Japan for the post WWII occupation hates the Japs, and is rather a grouch. But he falls in love with a Japanese orphanage worker and proceeds to do much to help the plight of the orphaned children. This includes actually stealing army supplies, and diverting them to the kids !

The story doesn't fall into the trap of being soppy or sickly sweet, and the depiction of army life is pretty realistic. A feelgood story, very well done. Highly recommended.