Directed by:
Mervyn LeRoyScreenplay:
Dalton TrumboComposer:
Herbert StothartCast:
Van Johnson, Robert Walker, Don DeFore, Phyllis Thaxter, Stephen McNally, Spencer Tracy, Robert Mitchum, Donald Curtis, John R. Reilly, Leon Ames, Benson Fong (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Shortly after the bombing on Pearl Harbor, the American military began preparation for a retaliatory attack. The story of that mission is presented in THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO, based on the memoirs of Captain Ted Lawson, who flew one of the 16 twin-engine bombers over Tokyo. Spencer Tracy plays Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, the leader of the mission, while VAN JOHNSON plays the leading role of Captain Ted Lawson, whose bomber also carries star Robert Mitchum. A variety of factors makes the mission exceptionally dangerous: Twin-engine bombers had never taken off from an aircraft carrier previously; the bombers needed to fly in low, pretending to be Japanese aircraft; and the oversize bombers couldn't return to the aircraft carrier, so the intended landing site was behind enemy lines in China. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
![Myrna Dell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/712/158712136_a4b6d8.jpg)
Myrna Dell
USA
Best movies:
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
In Old Oklahoma (1943)
The Furies (1950)
Frances E. Neal
USA
Best movies:
Citizen Kane (1941)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
![Moroni Olsen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/298/159298409_d4a028.jpg)
Moroni Olsen
USA
Best movies:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
![Harry Hayden](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/480/159480941_f58ec9.jpg)
Harry Hayden
Canada
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
![John Kellogg](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/515/159515994_eeec6d.jpg)
John Kellogg
USA
Best movies:
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
Out of the Past (1947)
Samson and Delilah (1949)
![Steve Brodie](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/558/159558056_8a2868.jpg)
Steve Brodie
USA
Best movies:
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Winchester '73 (1950)
How the West Was Won (1976) (series)
![Robert Bice](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/927/159927789_79b671.jpg)
Robert Bice
USA
Best movies:
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
![Louis Jean Heydt](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/932/159932719_f1f93a.jpg)
Louis Jean Heydt
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Big Sleep (1946)
![Arthur Space](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/937/159937971_8b1fbd.jpg)
Arthur Space
USA
Best movies:
Sudden Fear (1952)
The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)
Random Harvest (1942)
![Morris Ankrum](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/144/160144322_82e26c.jpg)
Morris Ankrum
USA
Best movies:
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Colorado Territory (1949)
![Paul Langton](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/819/159819210_85cfd9.jpg)
Paul Langton
USA
Best movies:
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
A Song Is Born (1948)
![Karin Booth](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/388/160388669_02ddfc.jpg)
Karin Booth
USA
Best movies:
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
![Sybil Merritt](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/490/160490511_87ce03.jpg)
Sybil Merritt
USA
Best movies:
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
The Clock (1945)
![Peggy Maley](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/497/160497869_c3bd5c.jpg)
Peggy Maley
USA
Best movies:
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
The Harvey Girls (1946)
![Bill Williams](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/193/160193864_1defca.jpg)
Bill Williams
USA
Best movies:
King Kong (1933)
The Stratton Story (1949)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
![Hazel Brooks](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/587/160587426_0e4ff4.jpg)
Hazel Brooks
South Africa
Best movies:
Arch of Triumph (1948)
The Harvey Girls (1946)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
Ralph Brooke
USA
Best movies:
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
Without Love (1945)
![Elaine Shepard](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/560/161560685_138dbd.jpg)
Elaine Shepard
USA
Best movies:
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
Topper (1937)
![Eve Whitney](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/886/160886917_9f0427.jpg)
Eve Whitney
USA
Best movies:
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
The Harvey Girls (1946)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
Eddie Hall
USA
Best movies:
Double Indemnity (1944)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
Shall We Dance? (1937)