and the sweat and the tears which were far removed from the battlefields of World War II". Kaspar Monahan of The Pittsburgh Press wrote that he had "seen no other film which deals so fairly with the Japs, depicted as individuals and not as types." He praised the film's authenticity and the cast members, especially Hayakawa and Colbert. He concluded his review by writing "It should be seen as a tribute to the gallant human spirit." Herb Miller wrote in the Sunday Herald that it was not a "pretty picture" but a "truthful one". He termed the performances fine but praised Hayakawa by writing "Hayakawa dominates every scene in which he appears. He is a characterization that will rank with the best of the season." Mitch Woodbury wrote in the Toledo Blade that the film would "tear out" the viewer's heart. He called it a "finely made", "deftly played" and "realistically directed screen drama", ignoring which "[was] impossible." Sunday Herald appreciated Colbert's "sincere and memorable performance", the film's authenticity and called it "surprising restrained". However it criticized Negulesco's direction by saying that he "[had] just missed again". In May 1985, and timed to correspond with Colbert's return to Broadway in a revival of Aren't We All?, Howard Thompson, reviewed the film in anticipation of its "rare TV showing" on cable's USA Network. He called it "a peak in Miss Colbert's long and distinguished Hollywood career" and a "strong, compassionate film vividly evokes the horror and bleak futility of war." The film depicts "desperate women's fortitude, tenacity and love... Miss Colbert's honest, fervent portrayal – the same Miss Colbert now magnetizing Broadway in an airy, drawing-room bubble – mirrors it all." Thompson repeated his endorsement of the film a dozen years later when it was on the History Channel. Film historian Daisuke Miyao wrote in Sessue Hayakawa: Silent Cinema and Transnational Stardom that Hayakawa's role was similar to the ones he played in silent films: "a middle ground position between civilized and "Oriental menace". A review published in Movie Makers appreciated the director for "[putting] together an admirably honest drama of war, women and children. At the 1950 Vichy Film Festival, the film won the Best Film Award and Colbert won the Best Actor Trophy. At the 1951 Freedoms Foundation Film Awards ceremony it was at the 4th place for "Outstanding achievement in bringing about a better understanding of the American