The Purple Heart is a 1944 American war film, produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, directed by Lewis Milestone, and starring Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, Don "Red" Barry, Sam Levene and Trudy Marshall.

Canelli (Richard Conte) and Vincent (Don "Red" Barry) rush the Japanese general, quickly felled by rifle butts and are returned to their cell.

The systematic torture and abuse the airmen endured while in captivity, and the final injustice of being tried, convicted and executed as war criminals is unveiled to the world.

[6] Zanuck and a team of writers endeavoured to ensure that the story was based on documentation and unofficial collaboration of the torture suffered by the prisoners, and "... should be almost documentary in its honesty ..."[7] The United States Office of War Information (OWI) reviewed the script and was able to suggest some changes to strengthen the role of the Chinese civilians who had helped the Doolittle Raiders.

[8] The Purple Heart was a work of wartime propaganda that had a stereotypical portrayal of the Japanese (usually by actors of non-Japanese origin) as sadistic tyrants trying to wrest the secret of their aircraft carrier's location during torture sessions.

[10] In September 1945, after the Japanese surrender, the four survivors of the trial were repatriated back to the U.S. Of the four, Chase Nielsen would remain in the service as a career officer, eventually retiring from the U.S. Air Force.

Robert Hite would pursue a civilian career while remaining as an officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, to include a subsequent 4-year recall to active duty in a flying status.

"... an overpowering testimonial it is, too—a splendid tribute to the bravery of young men who have maintained their honor and dignity despite the brutal tortures of the Japanese; and a shocking and debasing indictment of the methods which our enemies have used.

Americans cannot help but view this picture with a sense of burning outrage—and hearts full of pride and admiration for our men who have so finely fought and died.

However, he identified a drawback in that the film's events were overly "squeezed into too small a confinement of space and time" in order to serve dramatic purposes.