Above And Beyond (1952)

The true story of Col. Paul Tibbets (Robert Taylor), the pilot of the Enola Gay which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and of the intense secrecy behind the testing and preparations of the event. It is this very secrecy which nearly destroys his marriage to his wife (Eleanor Parker). This is a very fervent and vivid film, co-directed by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama (THE COURT JESTER), which manages to curtail the usual cliches of wartime movies and instead focus on the realities of strain and stress on both the military men and their wives, almost to the breaking point. Sadly, though the film ends on a positive note, several years after the film was released, the Tibbets did end their marriage. In most films of this sort, the domestic scenes are a drag but here, they have a purpose and Parker brings an admirable restraint to her hysteria which she has a tendency to overdo (AN AMERICAN DREAM and MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM come to mind). The actual bombing of Hiroshima is superbly done, invoking the mixed emotions of getting the job done yet realizing the full horror they have unleashed. The Oscar nominated score by Hugo Friedhofer is one of the best film scores I've ever heard. With James Whitmore, Marilyn Erskine, Larry Keating, Jeff Richards, Larry Gates, Jim Backus, Barbara Ruick and Steve Dunne.