Densho Digital Archive - Roy Matsumoto Interview (denshovh-mroy

<Begin Segment 12>

JD: Let's talk a little, because we were just talking about the Hollywood movie they made about Merrill's Marauders. What did you think about that? It was 1963, and the Nisei were not even in the story at that point. Tell us about what you thought about that. So what did you think about that when they finally made a movie about this important stuff?

RM: Well, at the time, I was stationed at Fort Storey, and people said they made a movie out of it. But then there was an ad there, brochure came out, and Jeff Chandler, and so I thought the Nisei might be involved. Not me, but the younger people. Then didn't see any Japanese name, and then I have to pay to see my own movie, I thought. So went there, then now, the guy named Tak was a Filipino, and he was playing my part. But they never mentioned my name or what I'd done exactly. Of course, it's a Filipino, didn't speak Japanese, so they didn't know. But the enemy part was played by Filipino, and then the Nisei part is Filipino, and I was kind of disappointed. It wasn't like that. And their scenery, the location was in the Philippines, so not in jungles, in the open. This happened to happen in the jungle, thick jungle. And then this is dawn break, and supposed to be dark. But broad daylight they're charging up. It's not realistic. They knew about the Merrill's Marauders, but it wasn't like that at all. So to me, that was a failure, but I don't pay much attention to that film, because not right. Of course, we had taken advisor there, but way off...

JD: So even in 1963, even then, there was still so much anti-Japanese feeling?

RM: Well, I don't know about that part, but completely illuminating. There are a lot of Nisei ex-soldiers, they could use them as the Japanese, I mean, as far as American Japanese goes. And Filipino could play Filipino, but Filipino played the Burmese part, Filipino played the Japanese soldier part, then also Nisei part, it's all Filipinos. And I think just unfair, I don't know why didn't include the Nisei there. 'Cause lot of Nisei in Hollywood.