Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

I felt this was a great movie. Having read "I Could Never Be So Lucky Again" by Jimmy Doolittle, I am happy to report that the film's storyline is very much like the events actually unfolded. I thought that Vance Johnson did a great job with "Lawson" as well as his supporting cast. The special effects for the film seem to be ahead of their time. The flying, bombing, and ship sequences are very good for the 1940's. Although some of the characters may seem "campy" (especially Cpl. Thatcher) with today's movie characters, they do reflect the way that movies were made during WWII. It is nice just to see the B-25's that they used in the film since not many exist anymore. If you ever get a chance to see one in person I would suggest doing so; it really gives you a sense of what these brave men actually dealt with on a daily basis. This movie is a must see for any history buff.

"Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" is one of the best movies made during the war years. While the typical war film made during WWII avoided realism in favor of jingoism and propaganda, this one excels because it tried to get the facts right and plays almost like a documentary merged with a typical Hollywood drama. When you read about the efforts that MGM went to make the film, you realize it was a real labor of love and the movie holds up remarkably well today.

This film is about the famous Doolittle Raid on Japan which occurred in 1942. While the actual physical impact of the bombing raid was not especially great, it was a bit public relations victory-- bolstering American morale and reducing the Japanese sense of invulnerability which had been prevalent.

The movie begins shortly before the men were recruited for the raid and follows them through training, the actual raid and the fate of a bomber crew. Incidentally, all the planes were lost in the raid...it was intended as a one-way mission.

What makes the film strong is not just the emphasis on realism but the acting and direction. Van Johnson was sort of an 'everyman' for the audience to love and root for...and MGM did a great job ladling on the sentimentality but not laying it on too thick. Having supporting actors like Spencer Tracy, Robert Walker and Robert Mitchum sure didn't hurt, either! All in all, a great film and an excellent tribute to these crazy but very brave men who did what their country asked. As for the best scene in the movie, it's a little one with no dialog...as you see a Chinese woman crying silently as some of the injured Americans are being taken to safety. Stunning.

By the way, an excellent but over-the-top film about crew captured by the Japanese following the Doolittle Raid is also portrayed in Twentieth Century Fox's "The Purple Heart". It's an excellent film but occasionally lapses into propaganda mode a few times too often to be taken as seriously as "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo".

Forget the schlocky fictions of Bruckheimer and Bay's PEARL HARBOR with its footnoted version of the Doolittle raid. If you want to see a more detailed, realistic, historical as well as romanticized version of the Pearl Harbor "pay back," see this one. It is the classic MGM treatment with a skilled cast including Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson.

If you do see PEARL HARBOR, rent this one too so you can see how to tell a real romance set against a historical event. And if you want the full picture of how the Doolittle raid was made possible, see DESTINATION TOKYO, the film telling the story of the submarine that snuck into Tokyo bay to help guide the bombers over the city.

I am a retired professional pilot with thirty-eight years experience and I can tell you what the Doolittle Raiders did took more raw courage than you can possibly imagine if you are not a pilot yourself. Simply taking off from an aircraft carrier is dangerous enough for a naval aircraft. Now do it with a heavily loaded bomber not designed for the task flown by pilots who had never even been on a carrier before. Okay, that's scary enough, now I'll try to explain the technical difficulties. Simply stated, to take off a multi engine aircraft at very low airspeed (Necessary for the short length of the deck) is to invite disaster. This is because if you lose an engine as you lift off, the torque from the good engine would roll the aircraft over on its back and into the sea. Now if you survive those rigors you still have to fly to Japan, brave the anti-aircraft fire and fighters, unload your bombs, try to make to China (Low on fuel) find some primitive landing strip at night, which may have fallen into enemy hands by the time you arrive. This movie is but a small tribute to these brave heroes, so please forgive any perceptions of WWII propaganda. Supreme courage? You bet!

THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO has men training for a dangerous mission, led by Col. Doolittle (Spencer Tracy) who leads them into an adventure that begins with fully loaded bombers making their ascent into the wild blue yonder aboard Naval aircraft carriers. The cooperative team efforts between the Navy and the Air Force is demonstrated throughout and the result is a film that looks almost documentary in its approach to the subject matter.

But you have to get beyond some sentimental interludes for romance and that's where the story weakens somewhat, despite the sincerity of the moments depicted between VAN JOHNSON (as Lt. Dawson) and his loving wife (PHYLLIS THAXTER). Nevertheless, by the time the story reaches its powerful conclusion, you'll be rooting for the reunion of the husband (a wounded war hero who has lost one leg) and his wife who is expecting a baby.

Sterling performances help put the movie over. Never for a moment is the acting less than exceptional--and that includes VAN JOHNSON in the leading role, ably supported by SPENCER TRACY, ROBERT WALKER, ROBERT MITCHUM, DON DeFORE, SCOTT McKAY, STEPHEN McNALLY (billed as Horace McNally) and, in an unbilled small role, BILL WILLIAMS. All give natural portrayals that are as compelling as the events of the bombing over Tokyo, the crash landing in China and the many events that follow. Relationships between Americans and the Chinese make for the most touching elements in the crash scene and the hospitalization.

A fine tribute to the war effort, it's among the best of the service films produced by any of the major studios during WWII.