I just finished watching "Above and Beyond" and could not believe what a wonderful overlooked film this is. I guess being second doesn't hold a lot of interest to most folks. The only negative, if there is one, is that the film really doesn't even mention the second bomb dropped a few days later-a bit on an odd omission. I was particularly impressed by the recreation of the atomic bomb drop from the point of view of the crew as it happened-it was well done and believable. Interesting, well-written and acted, this is a nice historical piece that is both fascinating and entertaining. The security for all this surprised me-as I'd just assumed this was only for the Manhattan Project itself. Instead, he was picked long before and headed an unit in Utah that spent many, many months working out the specifics of the bombing. I had just assumed, incorrectly, that Tibbets was some guy chosen at the last minute to command this mission and that he was already serving in the Pacific. Now this is NOT the toll on him after the dropping of the first A-bomb (he actually seemed to have no problems with this from everything I've read-saying that it DID help end the war)-but how the secrecy demands of the project took a major toll on the Colonel's marriage.
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Instead, it focused a lot of the film on the personal toll the project took on its commander, Col. I think the biggest reason I liked "Above and Beyond" is because it does NOT show as much of the technical aspects as I thought it would. Fortunately, my assumptions about the film were mostly wrong-and it was a very good retelling of this true story. Seeing them recreate this somewhat mundane process depressed me and I only got around to seeing it finally because the film starred Robert Taylor-an exceptional actor.
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#ENOLA GAY BOMBER JACKET MOVIE#
Much of this is because although I like airplane films, I incorrectly assumed that this movie would basically be a by the numbers and very dull documentary about the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Even with the debate over Hiroshima still raging I would still recommend viewing this film.ĭespite my love for aviation films, I somehow never got around to seeing "Above and Beyond" until now. He's virtually the only one Taylor can bare his stoic soul to with the assignment he has. In the supporting cast I would have to single out James Whitmore who plays the security head at Wendover field where Tibbetts is training the potential crew for the mission as the most outstanding. Because this film sticks to the personal story of the Tibbetts marriage and avoids all the debate about the use of the atomic bomb, it still holds up well for today's audience. Probably that helped a lot during the romantic interludes in the film.
![enola gay bomber jacket enola gay bomber jacket](https://cdn.britannica.com/32/76532-050-594AF210/Paul-W-Tibbets-Jr-Enola-Gay-pilot-Aug-6-1945.jpg)
Taylor was between his marriages to Barbara Stanwyck and Ursula Thiess and was involved with Parker at the time Above and Beyond was being filmed. Paul Tibbetts who's marriage was put under an incredible strain due to the security surrounding his assignment. Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker play Colonel and Mrs. Above and Beyond concentrates on the pilot of the B-29 that actually did the deed. The actual development of the atomic bomb was documented in films like The Beginning or the End and in Fat Man and Little Boy.