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Hell to Eternity Reviews

1960
2 hr 12 mins
Drama, Action & Adventure
NR

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A chronicle of the World War II exploits of marine hero Guy Gabaldon, who as a young orphan was adopted by a Japanese-American family, and later used his fluency in Japanese to distinguish himself in the Pacific Theater.

HELL TO ETERNITY is based on the experiences of real-life Marine war hero Guy Gabaldon, who single-handedly captured some 2,000 Japanese during the Saipan and Tinian campaigns. As a young boy, Guy (Richard Eyer) is adopted by a Japanese family and exposed to their customs and language. When Pearl Harbor is attacked, the older Guy (Jeffrey Hunter) leaves the West Coast Japanese community in which he lives to join the Marines and, because he speaks Japanese, persuades Gen. Matsui (Sessue Hayakawa) to have his men lay down their weapons and surrender rather than face certain defeat. An honest, gritty war film with fine performances (including those of David Janssen and Vic Damone as Guy's buddies) and a moody jazz score.