THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1944

Director: Mervyn LeRoy

Screenplay: Dalton Trumbo

Cast:

Capt. Ted Lawson. . . . . . . . .Van Johnson

Lt. Col. Jimmie Doolittle. . . Spencer Tracy

Ellen Lawson . . . . . . . . . . . . .Phyllis Thaxter

Cpl. David Thatcher. . . . . . .Robert Walker

Lt. Charles McClure. . . . . . .Don DeFore

Lt. Dean Davenport. . . . . . . Tim Murdock

Lt. Bob Gray. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Mitchum

For your electronic journal, and for class discussion on Friday:

Think of this film as a time capsule, a historical artifact. Imagine that you've come upon this artifact as a relic of a lost civilization. What does it tell you about America and Americans in 1944--more than a half century ago? How does the film represent Americans and what does it tell you that this war is all about? Who are these people? What characteristics do they exhibit? What values do they cherish? What do they care about? What do they seem NOT to care about? What conclusions can we draw about the myths they embody and perpetuate?