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.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.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.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 1 nomination total
- Bob Clever
- (as Gordon McDonald)
- 'Doc' White
- (as Horace McNally)
- Don Smith
- (as Wm. 'Bill' Phillips)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Lawson's plane arrives in Tokyo and sees the fire and smoke from the previous bomber, Davy Jones, we are not looking at a special effect. During the making of the film, there was a fuel-oil fire in Oakland, near the filming location. The quick-thinking filmmakers scrambled to fly their camera plane and B-25 through the area, capturing some very real footage for the movie.
- GoofsThe injuries of the crew of the Ruptured Duck are not completely correct. Lawson was hurt the worse, as the movie tries to portray, but in fact his face was pushed in from going through the windscreen of his plane. All of his front teeth were loosened and fell out into his hand when he tried to straighten them. His lower lip was laid open to the cleft in his chin. In addition to his leg being gashed open, his left bicep was severed in half. McClure's injuries were accurately portrayed; both shoulders were broken from hitting the backs of Lawson and Davenports seats. Davenport was shown was being non-ambulatory in the movie and generally helpless; however, other than a bad cut on his forehead (he went through the windscreen too), he was able to move around and help his three more badly injured crew mates. Clever was as badly injured as the movie portrayed him. Thatcher was the least injured, although he had a bleeding bump on his head, which was not shown in the movie. Thatcher received commendation for his efforts to help the three badly-injured crew members.
- Quotes
Ted Lawson: Goodbye.
Young Dr. Chung: I have one sorrow, Lieutenant. that we did not have the medicine to ease your pain.
Ted Lawson: You saved my life, Doc.
Young Dr. Chung: I hope that someday you'll come back to us.
Ted Lawson: We'll be back. Maybe not us ourselves but a lotta guys like us, and I'd like to be with them. You're our kind of people.
Young Dr. Chung: Thank you, sir.
- Crazy creditsIntro: "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."
- Alternate versionsThere is an alternate colorized version.
- ConnectionsEdited into Bridge to the Sun (1961)
- SoundtracksThe Army Air Corps Song
(1939) (uncredited)
Written by Robert Crawford
Played during the opening credits
- How long is Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,900,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 18 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1