TV movies back in the 70s were, well they were TV movies. Some good, some silly, some not so good. This was an excellent movie. When it came out in 1971, I was 15 going on 16 girl. The movie was done with compassion and let those who did not live it, the realization of what transpired in the US during WWII. Is is so relevant in this day an time when so much is spinning the world out of control again. Those that are old enough to remember that time have warned us this is what it felt like back then. This movie has stuck with me all my life. Years later after I left the Army I came home back to Sacramento and I had two good friends, one Japanese, one Chinese. I learned both sides of the story of WWII. May's parents immigrated from Hong Kong. Her mother absolutely hated Japanese for her whole family was wiped out during the war. Erin's parents were just kids when they were moved and put into the camps here in the US. I also worked with a gentleman who was one of the Japanese men allowed to be in the military. He had fought in Italy. I am a history buff and that era, and especially the war, has intrigued me. To think that a hundred million people died in the last century due to the prejudices of all the races. You would think by now that man would have gotten past all this. Now I am reading a free book I bought on my Kindle. It is "It Had to Be You" by Cheryl Bolen. It and the movie now playing with Claudett Colbert called "Three Came Home" brought this movie back into my mind. The other book is about a couple who marry right before WWII and she goes with him to the camps. This one is the story of a woman living in a camp in the East Indies. I do wish they would air the TV movies again, especially this one. The current generation should be able to see what the world was like and what it could be again if we do not learn from it.

This movie is very impressive in depicting the racism inflicted on many unjustly following the Pearl Harbour attack.It is not just a thoughtful insight into the realities of oppression faced by Japanese living in America, in World War 2, as the world war escalated! But it is a contemporary insight into the kind of mob mentality that overtakes whole communities with apparent ease but LACKING justice!!! ... Often fired up by UNJUST media sensationalism or AUTHORITIES of oppression without due concern for the rights of victims they marginalise & make in outcasts!!!I note one other comment referred to this "Romeo & Juliet" type "West Side Story" situation portrayed!!! It is powerfully brought to the screen passionately by the pair of unlikely, even reluctant lovers, in initial encounters! Aware that they are treading on unsure territory & unsteady ground, and intuitively sensing a greater tragedy may be looming!!! The situation is well conveyed by the main actors! They play their parts well ... the humble Romeo ... the white girl who dares to reluctantly cross a line FOR LOVE she cannot deny ... the local cop who is trying to be sympathetic to the oppressed ... the families of disharmony & divided loyalties ... the dangerous atmosphere that may be only a corner away!!! That's apart from the POWERFUL stories & messages incidentally presented subtly!!! ... But with precision in each occasional impact!!! Consider the young lover who doesn't want to inflame hostilities & watches his dad's sudden dilemma outpouring with good reason... and that of a young hard-working farmer set upon ... and perhaps the most telling scene of the hapless HARMLESS men piled into the back of a truck, of mostly aging Japanese, who were SINGING their loyalties to America!!! ... Much to the annoyance of authorities who had corralled them & reduced them to numbers!!! ... While being portrayed as if they were terrorists!!! Justice proclaimed without trial!!! ... As if in the case of those held in a Cuban detention facility beyond 2000!!! ... !!! The same scenario is there in the stories of Australian "The 10 Canoes" & aftermath!!! ... And echoes back to the "rivers of blood" that flowed in Australian history texts over a stolen sheep, after Aboriginals, deprived of their ancestral lands were hounded & hunted like beasts, without respect!!! ... !!! ... !!! The uneasy & unsteady position of the girl's father amidst it all is very interesting to observe!!! /// ... As is his response to his daughter's love shortlived!!! ... As is his son's action forgotten so easily!!! ... Despite aftermaths of little semblance to truth!!! All in all, we have a great movie here that deserves great respect & consideration!!! ... For those who have eyes to see & eyes to hear!!!In the meanwhile, we have an honest & thought-provoking movie!!! ... Of much worthiness!!! ... Of much insight, wisdom & ongoing effect!!!

This was an acting job like none other I've seen from Patty Duke. I remember the first time I saw the movie, it just blew me away. We need to keep these types of movies in circulation so that we as a people don't forget how bad prejudice is in time of war. The funny part, is it happens over and over again and we just don't learn the lesson. Would love to have a copy of this move. If you ever see it being shown on TV, by all means sit down and watch it from beginning to end.

This movie aired a week after the original Brian's Song movie in 1971. I remember I missed Brian's Song and everyone was talking about it at school the next day, how they cried etc. I thought this movie was a great consolation prize for having missed Brian's Song. It too was a tear jerker in some ways. I often wonder why can't they make TV movies like this any more. I was very moved by it. I watched it every time it was rerun in the 1970s. It's based on an old theme - Romeo and Juliet but that always seems to work well. Many years later I saw it again and now it seems like Westside Story, substituting Japanese for Puerto Rican, and cutting the music/dance numbers. Still a very good picture. An above average made for TV movie and I certainly recommend it. A few questionable details regarding some parts of the story. Why were they able to find a priest to marry them on a Sunday while her family was away at church? Wouldn't that priest have been saying mass at that time? Seems strange he'd be available to perform a shotgun wedding on a Sunday morning (Dec 7th 1941 of course) especially while everyone else was at church. Other interesting aspects that hint at the political correctness that was to come in the following decades: When Eileen happens upon the Japanese family who are holding their traditional observance, they are all dressed in Japanese garb, except of course for David who is dressed in a suit and tie. I wonder what ever happened to Frank Liu? He did a very good job in this picture. Despite these insignificant details it is still a very moving story with some very emotional scenes - the scene where Eileen (Patty Duke) is sitting alone crying in the arbor, not knowing why David has not shown up (Because "The Japanese aren't allowed out after 6 0'clock, now that's a brand new law" David is informed). It seems older TV movies are seldom aired but if you see it in your local listings, it is definitely worth watching.