Film Snail

7.1

Tora! Tora! Tora!

G·1970·144m

War

History

Drama

War

History

Drama

Summary

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.

Cast

Martin Balsam

Admiral Husband E. Kimmel

Sō Yamamura

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

Jason Robards

General Walter C. Short

Joseph Cotten

Henry L. Stimson

Tatsuya Mihashi

Commander Minoru Genda

E.G. Marshall

Colonel Rufus S. Bratton

Takahiro Tamura

Lt. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida

James Whitmore

Admiral William F. Halsey

Eijirō Tōno

Admiral Chuici Nagumo

Wesley Addy

Lt. Commander Alwin D. Kramer

Shōgo Shimada

Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura

Frank Aletter

Lt. Commander Thomas

Koreya Senda

Prince Fumimaro Konoye

Leon Ames

Frank Knox

Jun Usami

Admiral Zengo Yoshida

Richard Anderson

Captain John B. Earle

Kazuo Kitamura

Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka

Keith Andes

General George C. Marshall

Edward Andrews

Admiral Harold R. Stark

Neville Brand

Lieutenant Harold Kaminsky

Leora Dana

Mrs. Kramer

Asao Uchida

General Hideki Tojo

Susumu Fujita

Rear Adm. Tamon Yamaguchi

Bontarō Miake

Adm. Koshiro Oikawa

Ichirō Ryūzaki

Rear Adm. Ryunosuke Kusaka

George Macready

Cordell Hull

Norman Alden

Major Truman Landon

Kazuko Ichikawa

Geisha in Kagoshima

Walter Brooke

Captain Theodore Wilkinson

Hank Jones

Davey - Student Pilot in Biplane

Rick Cooper

Lieutenant George Welch

Karl Lukas

Capt. Harold C. Train - USS California

June Dayton

Miss Ray Cave

Ron Masak

Lt. Laurence Ruff - USS Nevada

Jeff Donnell

Cornelia

Shunichi Nakamura

Kameto Kurojima

Richard Erdman

Colonel Edward F. French

Hiroshi Nihon'yanagi

Rear Adm. Chuichi Hara

Jerry Fogel

Lt. Commander William Outerbridge

Carl Reindel

Lieutenant Kenneth Taylor

Elven Havard

Mess Attendant 3rd Class Doris Miller

Edmon Ryan

Rear Admiral Bellinger

Toshio Hosokawa

Lt. Cmdr. Shigeharu Murata

Hisao Toake

Saburo Kurusu

Tōru Abe

Rear Adm. Takijiro Onishi (uncredited)

Hiroshi Akutagawa

Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Koichi Kido (uncredited)

Leon Alton

Official (uncredited)

Kiyoshi Atsumi

Cook #1 (uncredited)

Paul Bradley

Official (uncredited)

Harold Conway

Eugene Dooman - US Embassy Counselor (uncredited)

Francis De Sales

Capt. Arthur H. McCollum (uncredited)

George DeNormand

Official (uncredited)

Glenn Dixon

Officer at Signing of Pact (uncredited)

Dave Donnelly

Maj. Gordon A. Blake (uncredited)

James B. Douglas

French's Subordinate (uncredited)

Bill Edwards

Col. Kendall J. Fielder (uncredited)

Paul Frees

Japanese Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura (voice) (uncredited)

Bobby Gilbert

Official (uncredited)

Charles Gilbert

Lt. Col. William H. Murphy (uncredited)

Torahiko Hamada

Admiral (uncredited)

Ed Haskett

Officer at Signing of Pact (uncredited)

Ryōji Hayama

Admiral (uncredited)

Andrew Hughes

Embassy Delegation Employee of Japan (uncredited)

Hisashi Igawa

Lt. Mitsuo Matsuzaki (uncredited)

Alex Johnson

Army Officer (uncredited)

Robert Karnes

Maj. John H. Dillon (uncredited)

Kenner G. Kemp

Civilian Official Seated at Meeting Table (uncredited)

Berry Kroeger

U.S. Army General (uncredited)

Akira Kume

Katsuzo Okumura (uncredited)

Joseph La Cava

Official (uncredited)

Ken Lynch

Rear Adm. John H. Newton (uncredited)

Eitarō Matsuyama

Cook #2 (uncredited)

Mitch Mitchell

Col. Walter C. Phillips (uncredited)

Hideo Murota

Japanese Pilot (uncredited)

Jiro Okazaki

Pilot (uncredited)

John Pedrini

Official (uncredited)

Steve Pendleton

Destroyer Captain (uncredited)

Charlie Picerni

Burning Sailor (uncredited)

Joe Pine

Official (uncredited)

Walter Reed

Vice Adm. William S. Pye (uncredited)

Robert Shayne

Cmdr. William H. Buracker (uncredited)

Edward Sheehan

Brig. Gen. Howard C. Davidson (uncredited)

Tommy Splittgerber

Ed Klein (uncredited)

G. D. Spradlin

Cmdr. Maurice E. Curts (uncredited)

Hiroshi Tom Tanaka

Japanese Midget Submarine Crewman (uncredited)

Larry Thor

Maj. Gen. Frederick L. Martin (uncredited)

George Tobias

Captain on Flight Line at Hickam Field (uncredited)

Arthur Tovey

Officer at Signing of Pact (uncredited)

Bob Turnbull

Desk Sergeant (uncredited)

Harlan Warde

Brig. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow (uncredited)

Meredith 'Tex' Weatherby

Ambassador Joseph C. Grew (uncredited)

David Westberg

Ens. Edgar M. Fair (uncredited)

Bruce Wilson

Pvt. Joseph Lockard (uncredited)

Bill Zuckert

Adm. James O. Richardson (uncredited)

Mike Daneen

Edward Crocker - US Embassy First Secretary (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Richard Fleischer

Director

Kinji Fukasaku

Director

Toshio Masuda

Novel

Ladislas Farago

Novel

Gordon W. Prange

Screenplay

Hideo Oguni

Screenplay

Ryūzō Kikushima

Screenplay

Larry Forrester

Reviews

lwpcolonel

January 14, 2018

First off, this is a very good historical fictionalization of an epic event. Many parts are very accurate whereas others are more or less. This is after all a Hollywood movie, NOT a documentary such as "The World At War", so we can't be too critical about perfect accuracy. Originally it was supposed to be directed by two directors, 1 for the American story line, and Akira Kurosawa, for the Japanese story. There were rumored difficulties between Mr. Kurosawa and the American studio bosses so Mr. Kurosawa left the production despite having an uncredited role in scripting the Japanese part of the screenplay. I have read recently that the version that was being shown, of the historical account in the movie, was different than the conventional history's perspective. However, I would say that is only in demonstrating, theatrically, how Admiral Kimmel and General Short, who were scapegoats and put through rigorous Congressional Hearings after the actual event, may have taken ample precautions. That their shortcomings were due to communications being delayed or intelligence reports being withheld. I saw it in the movie theater in 1970, and many times since and have found it to be a very fair and well done "Hollywood" representation of the essential history of an important historic event. The movie is essentially well acted, and believably presented with a few surprising disappointments. The Battleship Nevada was depicted with an inaccurate arrangement of its main batteries. In reality it had 10-14 inch guns, a 3-gun mount with a twin "Superfiring" turret over it, on the Bow and the Stern. Not 4, 3 gun mounts, (triple would mean all 3 guns were connected and couldn't be aimed independently which was retrofitted in the 1930s). When you see a ship that says Nevada on it and it isn't correctly laid out it is hard to believe the rest of the movie, particularly where details about ships, planes, equipment, facilities and ordnance were important characters in their depicted historic roles. Some actual footage of the carnage at Pearl Harbor was used, including the Battleship Arizona conflagrating (exploding). As Docu-dramas go, Tora-Tora-Tora is among the best and superior to "Midway", which used some of the same footage and sound effects having been Produced by many of same people. I mentioned the aforementioned criticisms because at the film's beginning it has a Notation, "True To Historic Fact" and expands on that statement. In reality few films or testimonies can live up to 100% accuracy and weighted relevance, but Tora-Tora-Tora does have me returning to re-experience it, and not generally to look for more errors but rather because it is an overall worthwhile film.