El honor de su nombre

I give this 9 stars but by today's standards it won't make sense. It makes sense to me because I heard about this from my father who was over in Okinawa flying bombing missions (he was in charge of bombing and photography when he had a free hand in between cigarettes) I loved hearing from other reviewers that this was more factual and less yahoo cowboy Uncle Sam (Like most of the other movies depicting the end to the war and the Japanese surrender. They didn't glamorize it just as my dad always minimized any of his heroics that earned him the DFC with cluster) But this is what my dad didn't know either -he wasn't told just like the majority of servicemen weren't told. Even those on the plane itself weren't notified until the mission was under way. Wow. I believe it. All my dad knew was the celebratory "The Japs surrendered !" Pardon my use of an abbreviation that sounds derogatory. But this is the reality of the times-reflecting how well our government continued the demonization that a surprise attack on our naval bases in Hawaii understandably ignited. The mixed emotions of those privy to the enormity of the undertaking's results were brilliantly portrayed, less in words than in their anguished faces -never exaggerated either. A history lesson and a perspective forced upon so few who must have felt the impact for the rest of their lives. The greatest generation indeed and we need them if just a grand glimpse like this one. .

The actual development of the atomic bomb was documented in films like The Beginning or the End and in Fat Man and Little Boy. Above and Beyond concentrates on the pilot of the B-29 that actually did the deed.

Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker play Colonel and Mrs. Paul Tibbetts who's marriage was put under an incredible strain due to the security surrounding his assignment. 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. Probably that helped a lot during the romantic interludes in the film.

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.

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. He's virtually the only one Taylor can bare his stoic soul to with the assignment he has.

Even with the debate over Hiroshima still raging I would still recommend viewing this film.

Despite my love for aviation films, I somehow never got around to seeing "Above and Beyond" until now. 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. 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. Fortunately, my assumptions about the film were mostly wrong--and it was a very good retelling of this true story.

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. Instead, it focused a lot of the film on the personal toll the project took on its commander, Col. Tibbets. 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. 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. Instead, he was picked long before and headed an unit in Utah that spent many, many months working out the specifics of the bombing. The security for all this surprised me--as I'd just assumed this was only for the Manhattan Project itself.

Interesting, well-written and acted, this is a nice historical piece that is both fascinating and entertaining. 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. 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 guess being second doesn't hold a lot of interest to most folks.

Real good work. Its straight ahead, no frills film-making had me in its grip every step of the way. Just a good old-fashioned major studio A picture; it's like tooling around in a luxury car. And I don't care what anybody says - Robert Taylor was a fine actor. I've seen a number of his films now and he hasn't given a bad performance yet. It is a tad disconcerting to have Mr. McGoo playing General Curtis LeMay, but it's a small part and I let it slide.

Considering that "Above and Beyond" was made during the height of the hysteria now known as McCarthyism, one would have expected a jingoistic flag-waver out of Hollywood. Instead, surprisingly, the screenplay as written allows the Paul Tibbets character (Robert Taylor) the opportunity to register a variety of emotions, in a most realistic and compelling performance.

This is ironic, seeing as the real Tibbets, decades after the event (the bombing of Hiroshima), is to this day unrepentant. Not to criticize his position in any way, because that was a different time and place, and it's Tibbets' view that he had a job to do, and the morality of it all, he has stated, is best debated by others.

But the film is all the more compelling because of the ambivalence written into the Tibbets character, and Taylor's especially fine work. There are uniformly strong performances throughout the cast, notably those of Eleanor Parker (Lucy Tibbets), James Whitmore (the security officer) and Larry Keating (General Brent).

Another surprise: the team of Melvin Frank and Norman Panama (screenplay, direction) had been best known for their Bob Hope comedies, when under contract at Paramount. Their first dramatic effort was "Above and Beyond," and they acquitted themselves admirably.

Final note: the musical score by Hugo Friedhofer is immensely satisfying: stirring in an emotional sense, with just a touch of, but not too much of, militaristic flavor.

Dore Schary, a Democrat, had succeeded fervent Republican Louis B. Mayer at MGM in 1951, and had encouraged the production of "Above and Beyond." One wonders if (a) the film would have been made at all on Mayer's watch, and (b) if it had, would it have been more of a cornball, John Wayne-type flag-waver. Thankfully, those questions are moot. "Above and Beyond" is a stirring, finely-crafted film. I would stress again the unusual nature of the protaganist's ambivalence as portrayed in a film made during a very sensitive time in America's history.