Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)

In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Dalton Trumbo (screen play), Ted W. Lawson (based on the book) (as Captain Ted W. Lawson)

Stars:

Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Robert Walker

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Van Johnson	...	Ted Lawson
Robert Walker	...	David Thatcher
Tim Murdock	...	Dean Davenport
Don DeFore	...	Charles McClure
Herbert Gunn	...	Bob Clever (as Gordon McDonald)
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Ellen Lawson
Stephen McNally	...	'Doc' White (as Horace McNally)
Spencer Tracy	...	Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle
John R. Reilly	...	'Shorty' Manch
Robert Mitchum	...	Bob Gray
Scott McKay	...	Davey Jones
Donald Curtis	...	Lieut. Randall
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Lieut. Miller
William 'Bill' Phillips	...	Don Smith (as Wm. 'Bill' Phillips)
Douglas Cowan	...	'Brick' Holstrom

Storyline

The amazingly detailed true story of "The Doolittle Raid" based on the personal account by Doolittle Raider Ted Lawson. Stunned by Pearl Harbor and a string of defeats, America needed a victory - badly. To that end, Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, a former air racer and stunt pilot, devises a plan for a daring raid on the heart of Japan itself. To do this, he must train army bomber pilots to do something no one ever dreamed possible - launch 16 fully loaded bombers from an aircraft carrier! Remarkable in its accuracy, this movie even uses film footage from the actual raid.

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Plot Keywords:

aircraft carrier | japan | doolittle raid | air attack | army air corps | 

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Taglines:

Heart-Warming Romance . . . Stark, Sensational Drama! Thrills! Action! Adventure! ...Ripped From The Heart!

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

November 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Treinta segundos sobre Tokio

Filming Locations:

Stage 15, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios -10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,900,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$4,297,000, 31 December 1944

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,200,000, 31 December 1944

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's opening prologue states: "One-hundred and thirty-one days after December 7, 1941, a handful of young men, who had never dreamed of glory, struck the first blow at the heart of Japan. This is their true story we tell here".

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Goofs

The leather flight jackets worn by most of the flying personnel in the film were close commercial copies of military A-2 flight jackets. Authentic military-contract A-2 jackets had a one-piece back, without a horizontal seam across the shoulders. Most of the jackets in the film have a seam across the back.

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Quotes

[repeated lines]
Ted Lawson: Tell me, Honey, how come you're so cute?
Ellen Lawson: I had to be if I was going to get such a good looking fella.

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Connections

Featured in MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992)

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Soundtracks

Chattanooga Choo Choo
(1941) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Played on radio in the barracks

User Reviews

Good Romantic War Movie

In World War II, several B25 pilots and their crew volunteers for a secret mission, including the recently married Lt. Ted Lawson (Van Johnson), under the command of Gen. James Doolittle (Spencer Tracy). When the mission is disclosed, they are informed that they will bomb military facilities in Japan. After successfully accomplishing the bombing and returning to the base in China, the airplane of Lawson crashes on the Chinese coast, and his men and he are rescued by the Chinese soldiers.

"Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" is a good war movie, but also a clear American propaganda in times of war. There is a shallow and corny romance in the lead story; the pilots and crew are great friends like a brotherhood and their wives and girl-friends are silly and naive; when Lawson loses his leg, Doolittle says that the army can not lose an experienced man like him; all the allied Chinese are cooperative, submissive and friends; there are lots of nationalism, like for example, the Chinese scouts singing the American hymn. Anyway the story entertains, the special effects and the cinematography are excellent and I liked this film. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "30 Segundos Sobre Tóquio" ("30 Seconds Over Tokyo")