Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

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Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

1944,

2h 18m,

War

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100%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

75%

500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

During World War II, Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle (Spencer Tracy) leads the U.S. Air Force in a bombing mission over Japan. Doolittle and his men stage a successful attack on Tokyo, but most pilots run out of fuel while returning from the raid. Many are forced to land on Japanese soil, but Capt. Ted Lawson (Van Johnson), who has a pregnant wife at home, crash-lands in the sea off the coast of China. Stranded, Lawson must heroically endure a series of harrowing challenges to make it back home.

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Jack Karr

Toronto Star

Dec 15, 2022

It's a rare and satisfying occasion when a motion picture of the war combines sound drama, reasonable authenticity and good taste. Such, we're glad to report, is the case with Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Oct 2, 2026

3/4

The superb special effects (plenty of convincing miniature work) earned an Academy Award.

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Aug 7, 2026

4/5

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo remains an impressive depiction of Doolittle’s Raid, particularly in how much effort went into making the film feel authentic.

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Frank Wilkins

Reel Reviews

Jul 9, 2026

3/5

ultimately succeeds not because it meticulously recreates every tactical decision behind the Doolittle Raid, but because it remembers what truly mattered: the extraordinary courage of ordinary people.

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Christopher Lloyd

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

May 9, 2011

4/5

After an overly mushy first half, the movie redeems itself with a second act that is decidedly dark and dreary and an extended air combat sequence that's still amazing nearly 70 years later.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Feb 4, 2006

B

It's winsome because of its sincerity, painting a sympathetic portrait of the men who carried out this dangerous mission.

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Abraham M

Mar 17, 2019

although as I age I see the "propaganda" messaging much more, this movie was a glimpse into war time America, along with screen writer Trumbo's attempts to land some anti war lines into the script. The Chinese are portrayed sympathetically. The line that made me cringe the most was when the pregnant woman talked of how "every girl" needs to do this once or twice in her life.

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Dec 7, 2018

This movie is a fair representation of the famous WWII mission to show the Japanese that their homeland was not secure after they ruthlessly bombed Pearl Harbor and killed many American sailors. As an USAF AFRTS broadcaster assigned to AFN Shape, Belgium, I had the honor and priviledge to interview retired BGen Doolittle when I was assigned there 1976-80. He was visiting the son of one of his crew members, an Army Col who was the NATO/Shape support group commander. One thing I remembered asking the General..."what would you have done differently if you had it to do over again?" Without skipping a beat, Gen. Doolittle said he would have packed extra underware, because taking off of that flat top was one of the most harrowing experiences he ever had. Several years ago, I attended the last Jimmy Doolittle crew reunion at Eglin AFB, FL. That's where the crew practiced prior to going on the mission. At that time, there were only 4 crew members still alive, one was home bed-ridden. I interviewed Col Cole (retired) who, like his fellow crew members, were all in their 90's. Later that year, they opened up the bottle of brandy BGEN Doolittle had purchased to be used when there were only a few crew members left. That was April of 2017. Now Lt. Col Richard Cole, BGEN Doolittle's co-pilot, is the only one left. He is 103 yrs old.

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Ron P

Feb 8, 2018

True war tale gets the Hollywood treatment, though it's not all whitewashed.

Draco S

May 31, 2017

Despite the initial melodrama, it is a good film.

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Mervyn LeRoy

Director

Spencer Tracy

Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle

Van Johnson

Ted Lawson

Robert Walker

David Thatcher

Phyllis Thaxter

Ellen Lawson

Scott McKay

Davey Jones

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Synopsis

During World War II, Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle (Spencer Tracy) leads the U.S. Air Force in a bombing mission over Japan. Doolittle and his men stage a successful attack on Tokyo, but most pilots run out of fuel while returning from the raid. Many are forced to land on Japanese soil, but Capt. Ted Lawson (Van Johnson), who has a pregnant wife at home, crash-lands in the sea off the coast of China. Stranded, Lawson must heroically endure a series of harrowing challenges to make it back home.

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Producer: Sam Zimbalist
Screenwriter: Dalton Trumbo
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Loew's Inc.
Genre: War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 15, 1944, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 2h 18m

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