User reviews

Actress Carroll Baker never really carved out a niche for herself in Hollywood; a devout Method player, the roles she chose didn't always showcase a woman with any particular range. She's quite good here however, playing real-life American Gwen Terasaki who, while visiting Washington, D.C. from Tennessee, met and fell in love with a Japanese politician. Before you can say 'Sayonara!', Gwen is married and living in Japan, where the customs are confusing and the second World War looms ahead. Opens with a sweet, believable romance, becomes compelling drama of emotional choices. James Shigeta is terrific as Gwen's husband and the production is handsome. *** from ****

Carroll Baker and James Shigeta star as "Terry" and Gwen Terasaki in this true story (based on Gwen's memoir) of an inter-racial marriage between a Japanese diplomat and a young American woman during the period from the mid-1930's to the post-World War II era. It was a very interesting movie that deals with the concepts of foreign races and cultures from two perspectives - which is somewhat unique. I would think that in 1961, when this film was made, it may have been a bit controversial. Inter-racial marriage was still a very controversial subject in America, and the story of an American woman who chose to go to Japan with her husband at the outbreak of the war probably would have been somewhat shocking to audiences who could easily still remember Pearl Harbor and the war with Japan.

The movie can basically be divided into two halves. The first deals with Gwen and Terry's life in America. Meeting at a reception at the Japanese Embassy, they quickly fall in love. Gwen is from Tennessee; her family is none to happy at the prospect of her marrying a Japanese man, although to be honest the reaction seems to be a subdued one. More is made of the difficulty of Gwen being accepted by the Japanese - including her being summoned to the Embassy to meet the Ambassador, who asks her not to marry Terry. But they do marry, and Terry returns with her to Japan afterward. The culture chock for Gwen is more profound, as she suddenly has to deal with the subordinate place of women in the society, and with Terry's change in behaviour - as he seems desperate to fit back into Japanese society. After being re-posted to the Embassy in Washington, Terry is sent back to Japan with the outbreak of the war, and Gwen (and their new daughter Mariko) go with him, with both having to face suspicion and downright anti-Americanism as the war continues and as Japan is increasingly subjected to American bombing.

This struck me as a courageous film. Even to this day there aren't a lot of films that really try to give a Japanese perspective on the war and on the Japanese attitude to America and Americans during the war. In fact, the most interesting thing about this movie is that it's set in Japan during World War II and presents what comes across as an accurate portrayal of what life must have been like in that environment, especially for an American woman who would have been looked on with suspicion for that very reason. In fact, one mechanism that director Etienne Perier used well were the sideways glances of the Japanese people at Gwen - a mixture of curiosity and contempt. They were usually in the background and not that noticeable, but if you did notice them they made a powerful point. This was a good performance from Baker. She had been known mostly for glamorous, sexy roles to this point (and would continue mostly in that vein afterward) but she did a good job in this dramatic role. Shigeta (known mostly for guest starring roles on TV) was also very effective in his role. It was a very early role for him, and it represented a very serious role at a time when serious roles (without stereotypes) for Asian actors were relatively scarce. I thought Baker and Shigeta worked well together and were very convincing in portraying the Terasaki's love story.

It's a well made movie, combining politics, racism, war and a love story all in one. (8/10)

"Bridge to the Sun" is a true story. An American, Gwen Harold (Carroll Baker), meets a Japanese diplomat, Hidenari Terasaki (James Shigeta), in 1931 and they marry. While the cultural differences between them seem insurmountable, it's made so much worse by the outbreak of WWII. Since Teresaki is a Japanese national, he's deported to Japan...and his wife agrees to follow him. Much of the film is about her experiences during the war as well as the difficuties her husband faced since he had an American wife and since he was against the war.

The film is fascinating and well worth seeing. My only complaints are frequent ones for bio-pics made during the 1960s. Despite the film begin set from 1931-1945, the hair and fashions clearly are those of 1961. They didn't even try giving Baker a period hairdo or clothing and it just showed a lack of effort on the movie makers' part. Another problem, and a more minor one, is the stock footage used of an American plane strafing the Japanese countryside...clearly the type of plane changed three times due to sloppy editing. Still, beyond this, the film is interesting and worth seeing...and my complaints are more cosmetic than the story itself.

I saw this movie over 40 years ago on television, and it made such an impression on me that I am now trying to find this movie again. The book was written in 1957 by Gwen Terasaki and was also called Bridge to the Sun. The movie came out in 1961.

This was a true story about an American girl who came to Washington, DC, and there she met a Japanese diplomat. They fell in love and got married very quickly. Then WWII broke out, and all Japanese were deported back to their country. Gwen Teresaki went with her husband to Japan. It shows all the differences between the two cultures, and how Hidenari Terasaki became a teacher to his wife, Gwen, about the customs of the Japanese. It's truly a beautiful love story as well as a realistic account of the difficulties of this interracial marriage.

I really believe more should see this movie as it can open up your eyes as to the fact that all of us should live together in peace and get along. I will never forget this movie/life story! I wish the movie would come out again or be re-made as I believe it would help us all !

Carroll Baker stars with James Shigeta in "Bridge to the Sun," based on the book by Gwen Terasaki. Though I believe dramatic license was taken regarding the love story between Gwen and her husband, certainly there are many fascinating aspects of her experiences that were included.

Gwen meets diplomat Hidenari Terasaki when he was in Washington, and they fall in love and marry in 1931, though I'm not sure that was the year the film gave. Terasaki was First Secretary at the Japanese Embassy and also a pacifist who wanted to avoid war. Didn't happen.

When the war starts, he has to return to Japan, and though he doesn't want his wife put into danger, Gwen insists on going too and brings their daughter, Mako. In her book, they are repatriated via neutral Angola.

Once in Japan, they face many hardships and Terasaki much criticism because his wife is an American. There is no food, and there is a lot of bombing. They receive an offer to stay somewhere in the country, and they go; they face betrayal and danger there too.

If you have read or seen Dragon Seed, you have an idea of what the Japanese did to the Chinese. Absolutely horrible. They are no better to the Americans, who were used for slave labor when captured - they are seen working on the railroad tracks as Gwen heads out to the country. One can feel sympathy for the people, but not their leaders, who lied to them about how the war was going.

Both Baker and Shigeta are very good. Shigeta's role is more difficult as he has to show the ravages of his stress and exhaustion, and he does a beautiful job.

It's funny what your impressions are when you are growing up. I was raised Catholic and I seem to recall Carroll Baker was considered some sort of sex kitten. She really evokes sympathy here and gives a lovely, sincere performance.

This is a poignant film, a tearjerker, about two people from two different cultures caught in an impossible situation. It's all the more poignant because the emotions are true.

In 1965 I watched this movie one night while my husband and newborn baby slept. This movie was the best I have ever seen and has haunted me for more than 40 years. I never realized the plight of the Japanese in the United States and this movie and the wonderful acting made everything so believable. I had never even been interested in any war movies prior to this and still don't but this one made a lifelong lasting impression on me. I have never cried so hard in my life at the end and have constantly checked out old movies to try and find it again. I would very much like to find this movie and keep it forever. I would recommend this movie to everyone from teenagers to seniors. At my tender age of 19, I realized after watching this movie that I had no idea of what real love was between two people. I even had to wake up my husband that night and just have him hold me while I sobbed. If anyone knows how to find this movie please advise.

Young southern Gwen Harold (Carroll Baker) meets Japanese diplomat Hidenari Terasaki (James Shigeta). They get married and have a daughter. Then war explodes between Japan and America.

This is based on an autobiography by Gwen Terasaki. First and most importantly, I want to applaud this movie telling the story of a mixed race marriage during a time when that would be a problem. Loving v. Virginia was decided in 1967 although they were first convicted in 1959. That aspect is very important.

The first half is pre-Pearl and the second half is the wartime. The first half is a bit slow. I'm not feeling the romance. He seems to be a lot older than her. The cultural fish out of water is interesting. The war takes the movie to another level. War fighting stock footages are not that necessary. There is too much of it. Carroll Baker gets a bit too melodramatic as the movie goes on. The story needs more grit at the end although I don't want them to alter family history. This movie is fine. The history is more compelling.

Bridge to the Sun is a wonderful love story but it is also much more than just a love story. This film shows a unique and different perspective of World War 2 without doing a disservice to the American Servicemen who gave up their lives. It is one of the most unknown stories of WW2 and one worthy of viewing and reading (the book) If you can find it watch it.

This film took me by surprise with the great acting by Carroll Baker as Gwen Terasaki who is a Southern gal from the United States who meets up with a Japanese young man named Hedenari Terasaki, (James Shigeta) in the late 1930's and this couple fall deeply in love which I would call one Soul Mate meeting another. After awhile this couple have a baby girl which they love very much and she grows very close with her mom and dad. Everything is going just fine until the Japanese Government declares war on America, Dec. 7, 1941 when they bombed Pearl Harbor. The American Government immediately investigated all men who were Japanese and deported them back to Japan. Gwen Terasaki was allowed to stay in America with her daughter, however, Gwen decided to go back to Japan which they both knew would become a horrible experience for all of their family. This is a true story and it is a heart breaker, but it clearly shows that when you find your Soul Mate in life, you will do whatever is possible to stay with your loved one and sacrifice everything for each other. Don't miss this great film Classic, Enjoy.

This 1961 picture seems somewhat forgotten today despite the fact that it is quite a good movie. An American girl played by Carroll Baker falls in love with a Japanese diplomat and marries him. After the attack on Pearl Harbor she finds herself in Japan with her husband and quickly learns the problems of being in a strange country with much different customs and ideals than she is used to. Then to make matters worse her husband's nation is of course at war with her native homeland.

James Shigeta puts in an outstanding performance as Bakers Japanese husband who while in America acts very westernized. Once back in his homeland he acts much different and Shigetas job at this adds much to the film. The struggles of an interracial marriage are part of the story along with the horrors and hardships of being in a land that is becoming ravaged by total war being waged against it. In viewing this film you'll find yourself asking "How would I feel if I were in a foreign land with a wife or husband who was a native of that country and the nation of my birth was waging war on it". Who is the enemy? My spouses people or mine?

If I hadn't been laid up at home today, I suspect I never would have watched this movie when it popped up on TCM today, especially after seeing the highly unlikely beginning: tourist from Tennessee and sophisticated Japanese diplomat meet and fall in love at a reception at Japanese Embassy in DC.

I'm so glad I stayed with it, a very good examination of cross cultural marriages and, as others have mentioned, a look at daily life in Japan in WW II.

As a retired diplomat, who lived outside USA for most of my adult life, now back in USA, I'm so grateful to TCM for a review of film history and especially American cultural history.

A fantastic film, with so much to love about it. The story itself, which is true, is a little mind-boggling. An American woman from Tennessee (Carroll Baker) marries a Japanese diplomat (James Shigeta) and goes back to Japan with him after Pearl Harbor, when officials from both sides are deported. The pair have a daughter and live their lives in rural Japan while the war rages on.

The film is highly sensitive culturally, and well ahead of its time. The Japanese characters are shown to be regular human beings, and there are no stereotypes. At the same time, aspects of the culture are on display, e.g. sacrificing one's desires for honor, filial piety, not displaying one's emotions, etc. This is for good and bad - in one fantastic scene, Baker rips into Shigeta for his culture's expectation that women be silent, and keep their opinions to themselves, which was probably her best scene. I also loved how the dialogue is often in untranslated Japanese.

Though the war is a bit in the background, we see it from the perspective of Japan, which is fascinating. Seeing the community huddle around a radio and listen to Emperor Hirohito's voice for the first time, when he announces surrender to his country, is a powerful scene. Seeing American planes bomb the village is as well. It may be a touchy subject to those who suffered at the hands of Japanese aggression, or to those who (correctly) point out that Japan "started it", but I found the film balanced and truthful, relaying the events of this couple's life. We know that the people are suffering because of the actions of their own government, despite people like Shigeta (Terasaki-san) who advocated peace, but we can still feel for the tragedy of it all. And while the film humanizes the 'other side' in the war which is too often dehumanized, the main story is about this trials and tribulations of this interracial relationship set against the backdrop of their countries at war.

There are very nice love scenes between Shigeta and Baker, and they play just as if it were two white characters, with romance, tenderness, and passionate kissing, which was incredibly refreshing. Shigeta is not demasculated in the slightest, and makes a strong leading man. Just compare his suave, thoughtful, and human portrayal to the racist, shameful, and disgusting 'Japanese-American' that Mickey Rooney gives us in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', which was also made in 1961. Baker's performance is good but probably not great, feeling at times a little forced, though it's always heartfelt. The film really makes you ponder what you might do in some of the difficult situations these two find themselves in. It's a powerful story of the depths of love, and the need for world peace. There are a couple of scenes that gave me goosebumps, and the ending is just fantastic. Highly recommended.

This is the true story of Gwen Terasaki who married a Japanese diplomat before World War Two and then returned with him to Japan after Pearl Harbor. It tells the story of the war from an entirely new perspective, and is the first film to depict the racial nature of the Pacific war, and to depict the suffering of the common Japanese people.

This movie focused on the different customs and habits between east and west upon the relationship of love between American woman and Japanese diplomat in spite of the terrible relations between America and Japan before the misery of Pearl Harbbor in 1941 which was the great cause of firing more and more the drama of WWII and caused after that the Bomb exp loser of Herochima and Nakazaki in 1945 by turning America from second class to super class by playing with the fates of countries in different continents.

This love story was Amerasian as a great field to see the varietal cultures as a preparing for globalization in the future by love and feelings before politics and economics to be the world in one place and field.

This movie as (Love is a many splendor-ed thing) but the one difference between both That the first one took their accidents from politics and social subjects but the second one depended on humanity and feelings as the great gap between east and west forever.

The best scene in this film the final scene by a great symbol at the ship when the American woman left Japan with her daughter and saying goodbye for her husband by taking the brilliant souvenir as an evidence of great love between them in spite of wars and political differences.

I saw a movie named Bridge To The Sun late in 1963 when I was a high school senior. In the movie I remember, the Japanese diplomat was honorable. At the end, he was so ashamed of Japan, he put on a ceremonial robe, walked out into a deserted countryside, sat down, and waited to die. Like a kamikaze, but less destructive of others. I was so enthralled by the character that when a Japanese-American friend invited me to her Judo Club at the nearby Buddhist Church, I immediately fell in love with a boy on the mats who looked like the character. He knew it and played me for a fool. We were married a year after high school. I turned out to be honorable, and he didn't. His mother, a Nisei, had been born on a truck farm near Sacramento, California. Her parents, like many Japanese-American Isei, sent their children back to Japan to be raised Japanese-style. When she returned to the US in her teens, it was her job to deliver produce to the kitchen of the mansion of a wealthy family in Sacramento. She told me that the family's daughter became her good friend, and she was the girl who married the honorable Japanese diplomat. I believed her because I remembered the diplomatic party where the couple met as being in San Francisco or Sacramento.

Is there another movie by the same name? Where did my memory go wrong? It was a very fresh memory when I made a bad marriage.

I never saw this movie before. I am an avid TCM fan and war movie fan. I think this was the first time it was shown on TCM. Before this film I did not realize there was a peace movement in Japan. The Japanese people also suffered because of their leaders and the average person could only do what they were told. However, after reading some of the other reviews where the reviewer told how much their heart bled for the Japanese, I am not so sorry. Like shown in the movie, when Baker was on the train going to the small village, she saw US servicemen working along side the track. It seems many people don't know how POWs were brought to Japan and used as slaves in the mines and other places. People also don't remember the Bataan Death March and the Rape of Nanking. They also don't remember the medical experiments done on live victims. People also forget that the Japanese started the wars in China, the US, and other countries. The Japanese only cry about what the atom bomb did to them. There is a scene in the movie with Robert Taylor where he is playing the part of Col. Tibbets who dropped the first atom bomb on Japan. This scene is where Taylor's superior gave him a push button and he was asked that if pushing that button would save thousands of American lives, he pushes that button. I would push that button. Like the death penalty in the US, people remember the criminal but they never remember the victims.

It is on Turner Classic Movies June 19, 2008. It is not available on VHS or DVD.

This movie had a profound effect on my wife, who saw it right after its release in 1961 with her sister. They were 11 and 8 at the time. The woman in the movie is from from East Tennessee and we are from West Tennessee. I do not understand why it was never copied and sold. It is a great movie. The historical context is meaningful for anyone interested in Pearl Harbor, World War 2, MacArthur, or the Japanese interment during WW2. It is a classic love story, on the order of Romeo and Juliet, but with world wide implications. This will be the first time my wife has seen it in 45 years !!!