Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

AaronCapenBanner Mervyn Leroy directed this true story set in WWII about the plan by Lt. Col. James Doolittle(played by Spencer Tracy) to launch 16 fully-loaded B-25s from an aircraft carrier into the heart of Japan, for a "hedge hopping" mission which will see a low-level bombing sweep, in order to take the Pacific war to them for a change, and also as a morale booster for an American public sick of defeats. The mission is told from the perspective of pilot Ted Lawson(played by Van Johnson) who misses his wife(played by Phyllis Thaxter) but must undertake this vital mission, even as he is shot down over China, and must make a perilous trek to safety. Long but engrossing film with good script and acting, and a detailed account of this important part of WWII history.

MHeying777-1 I was born in July, 1945, and viewed the film in 2009 as research for my memoir about growing up in a Texas orphanage. I was searching for clues about my mother's life, the era into which I was born. She would likely have viewed the film. I was struck by a line spoken by Ted's young wife Ellen and repeated in his mind at key emotional moments of the film.Ellen says (in effect), "This baby is what tells me you will come back to me." In the mind of an insecure young woman in a rocky marriage (as my mother was), the powerfully delivered message seemed to say: get pregnant to keep your man. It didn't work out that way. Right after my father left for duty in Germany, she divorced him. I was eight months old.I read the book when I was ten and enjoyed it immensely. I liked how the film portrayed wartime American culture, though I'm sure it was idealized for the propaganda effect.The buffoonery about singing "The Eyes of Texas" was painful because the abuse at the Texas orphanage was horrific.It's ironic that I live in Alameda, where the Hornet is a tourist attraction as a museum.

cordaro9418 If you watched Michael Bay's romantic threesome flick 'Pearl Harbor', than you've already got the premise of the film.Now, you just need to watch the better version of it.'Thirty Seconds' is easily one of the best WWII films of the 40's, released just prior to the surrender of the Japanese Empire. It remains true to the original story, based upon the memoirs of the man who flew the mission.In 'Pearl Harbor', we see Alec Baldwin, here we upgrade slightly to Spencer Tracy. Both play the Colonel Doolittle role well, but Tracy is the original and the best.Though the pacing isn't brisk, the film is worth it and can qualify as WWII epic.Bring popcorn and no bathroom breaks.

mrb1980 This fine film offers viewers about everything: a uniformly excellent cast, great action, human drama, a touching love story, exciting special effects, and a deep sense of patriotism. The story is the 1942 raid on Tokyo led by James Doolittle. The event came at a time when things were very dark for the U.S.A.: the Pearl Harbor attack had just occurred, and American forces were on the precarious defensive all over the Pacific.Van Johnson is the focus of the movie as a bomber pilot, but is surrounded by great co-stars: Phyllis Thaxter (his pregnant wife), Spencer Tracy (Doolittle), Robert Mitchum (pilot), Don DeFore (Johnson's navigator), Robert Walker (Johnson's gunner), and many others. Character actors like Leon Ames, Morris Ankrum, Paul Langton, and Alan Napier also make unexpected appearances. The action follows the preparation, execution, and eventual escape from the Doolittle raid.Good photography and a very intelligent script round out this rousing war film. It's especially good if you think about the dangerous situation in which the mission was undertaken. A real winner all around.