Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (DVD)

“Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” is the classic World War II film that tells the story of the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo that took place on April 18, 1942. Directed by Mervin LeRoy, it includes among its stars Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Phyllis Thaxter, Robert Mitchum, and Robert Walker. It is an outstanding example of how Hollywood filmmakers portrayed American forces as they fought in the Second World War. Based on historical events and people, “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” tells its story from the perspective of Lieutenant Ted Lawson (Johnson), one of the actual pilots that participated in the Doolittle Raid. Lawson was the command pilot of “The Ruptured Duck,” one of the B-25 bombers that took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet on the morning of April 18, 1942, and bombed Tokyo in retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” does a very good job of showing what actually happened on the Doolittle Raid. A select group of Army Air Forces aircrews volunteers for the top-secret mission commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle. He warns the crewmembers that the mission is likely to be one-way, very dangerous, and must not be discussed with anyone, including loved ones. The aircrews learn the destination of their mission only after they get underway. Lieutenant Lawson and the crew of “The Ruptured Duck” successfully bomb their targets and fly on toward a landing strip in China. What happens to Lawson and his crew after they complete their bombing run? Watch this excellent film and find out… As with nearly all of the war movies produced during the 1940s, “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” is first and foremost an excellent piece of pro-American war propaganda. It shows American fighting forces at their very best – highly motivated and patriotic, fighting with courage and determination against a savage, ruthless, evil foe. The film’s acting is a bit uneven in places. Spencer Tracy is superb as usual, and Van Johnson, Robert Mitchum, and Robert Walker turn in mostly creditable performances. However, Johnson and Thaxter’s scenes together are so syrupy that I found them actually a bit cringe-worthy. “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” is an excellent film that I found very entertaining. I like it so much that I have added it to my personal film library. Highly recommended. (4½ Stars ^ 5)

After watching the disastrous, multi-million-dollar hokum in 'Pearl Harbor' this weekend, I got therapy by going straight home to re-play this wonderful 1944 classic from Mervyn LeRoy. Accurate, understated heroism (none of the sappy hype from 'Pearl Harbor', thank you), and a wonderful recreation of emotions and attitudes of the era. Historically accurate down to the crew's names (some even look like those in old photos, even the young Chinese doctor is a virtual twin to the real one, who was photographed by DooLittle). It takes a while to get to the Hornet take-off sequence, but it's worth it. I first saw this movie as a kid in its 1949 re-release; I sat on the edge of my seat then, and I still get a chill watching this film today. Makes the fantasy ending of 'Pearl Harbor' look like an over-hyped comic book. "30 Seconds" is proof that in the old days, the Hollywood pro's really knew how to mount a good movie. The action sequences are beautifully done -- and no computers back then, either. It's a lost art, so GET THIS MOVIE before it disappears under the current wave of mindless multimedia junk. Much credit goes to director Mervyn LeRoy ("Little Caesar", "Mister Roberts", and many other classics), who was obsessed with technical and historical accuracy. Despite the fact that "Tokyo" is actually shots of coastal cities in Oregon and Washington state, and the B25's are B25-D's instead of the original 'B' models (which were battle casualties by 1944), one has to admit that the effects are chlllingly effective. Fans of the Superman films will get a kick out of seeing pretty and talented young Phyliss Thaxter, who played Clark Kent's mom in 1978, and who's simply perfect as a war-time bride. Personal dramas aside, this movie succeeds quite well as an "action" film that more closely resembles the real, harrowing story than any of the megabuck diasters of the last few years. The b&w photography is an example of the cinematic artistry that peaked at MGM in the 40's. It's a shame that garbage like "Pearl Harbor" gets a market-blasting DVD release while the wasted film is still warm in the can, while "30 Seconds" languishes in VHS. Come on, Turner Classics, get this beautiful camera work onto DVD as soon as you can. The VHS print, meanwhile, is still fairly decent. [update 2009: Finally got my gleeful hands on a DVD edition from Amazon. Even my wife liked this movie, sat straight-up chewing her fingernails in suspense from the second half onward. The movie gets deeper into characters than most films do. The DVD transfer is of excellent quality, so much so that I played this DVD occasionally just to see the images onscreen; gives you a great appreciation for what good cinematographers could do with black and white. Thank goodness we have a worthy digital successor to the old VHS tape].

Good old movie.

I'm going through Dalton Trumbo movies. This was an early example before he was blacklisted. I didn't really feel Trumbo's voice coming through until about 1:05:00 into the movie when those about to head out to bomb Tokyo spoke candidly about what they were about to do, admitting to each other that they were morally confused about bombing and killing innocent people who were just like them who they didn't know and it showed their reticence to do so. This happened 131 days after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, territory the U.S. had seized from Hawaii as a strategic Pacific military base. The bombing of Tokyo killed about 130,000 innocent civilians, women, children, grandparents, in their own country going about their regular business, unaware of the terror that was about to be unleashed upon them by the United States. This was about one year before the U.S. dropped nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, instantly vaporizing about 250,000 mostly innocent women and children and opening up the hovering fear of nuclear annihilation in our time. It shows the kindness and support given to our military by the Chinese, a country our government now labels its "adversary" merely because of its wonderful success and development. It's a classic film which in spite of its obvious propaganda, is well worth watching.

this is another great classic from the golden era of movies. plnty of stars in this one also!

This film is about the American attempts to bomb mainland Japan following the cowardly attack on the American pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour in 1941. Men are trained for a special mission and part of the film involves the special training involving low level flying and taking off from aircraft carriers. The film was made in 1944 and has a great sense of authenticity particularly the aerial sequences. The film deals with the personal relationships of the men and their families and really gives an idea of what it must have been like to go on a special mission from which one might not return. The acting is excellent with Van Johnson, Phyllis Thaxter and Spencer Tracy amongst others. Things don't go exactly to plan after the bombing and much of the film focusses on what takes place after the attack. It is difficult to put into words why this film is so good but possibly because of the way the aerial sequences are shot from inside the aircraft one has the feeling that one is actually there. A great film that deserves to be ranked as highly as the classic Pacific war films such as :"Tora, Tora, Tora" and "Midway" (the original older film).

This is a wonderful movie! One of the best World War 2 movies that I have ever seen. My husband and I loved it. This movie arrived on time and in excellent condition.

RAS

I been looking forward to watching this movie of THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO . I remember watching this on the TV years ago and I enjoyed it very much . Also I enjoyed the story the characters are telling me about themselves . And their relationships with their families and their friends too .