Above and Beyond (film)
Encyclopedia
Above and Beyond is a 1952 film about Paul Tibbets
, the pilot of the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb. It starred Robert Taylor
as Tibbets and Eleanor Parker
as his wife. James Whitmore
played security officer Major Bill Uanna.
, a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, to General
Curtis LeMay
, then commander of the Strategic Air Command
(SAC), who had discussed with Lay the problem of the high rate of divorce among flight crews. A film depicting the problems might help raise morale.
Lay suggested a film based on the experiences of Colonel Paul Tibbets
, commander of the 509th Composite Group
during World War II
. LeMay approved, and after writing an outline, Lay handed over scriptwriting duties to Melvin Frank and Norman Panama. Though Tibbets gave his full approval and support to the film, he felt he was too closely involved to be objective, and suggested Charley Begg, commander of the nuclear ordnance squadron, and Charles Sweeney
, pilot of on the followup Nagasaki mission, as technical advisers.
For dramatic effect, some incidents were somewhat exaggerated, such as the scene in which the Hiroshima bomb is armed in mid-flight. The filmmakers added some turbulence to increase tension, though in fact the flight was perfectly smooth throughout. However the scene in which Tibbet's wife calls over one of the men in white coats that she was told by her husband were "sanitary engineers", but were in fact nuclear scientists from Los Alamos
, to help her unblock a drain was true.
's "Toast of the Town
" show in order to promote the film, an unusual step at a time when the major Hollywood studios disapproved of its stars appearing on television, which they saw as a threat.
Contrary to Crowther's reaction, "Stop Button" critic Andrew Wickliffe, writing in 2006, found the film to have a "complex morality," and the scenes between Parker and Taylor to be "perfect."
Paul Tibbets
Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force, best known for being the pilot of the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in the history of warfare. The bomb, code-named Little Boy, was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima...
, the pilot of the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb. It starred Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
as Tibbets and Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Jean Parker is an American screen actress. Her versatility led to her being dubbed Woman of a Thousand Faces, the title of her biography by Doug McClelland.- Early life :...
as his wife. James Whitmore
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
played security officer Major Bill Uanna.
Cast
- Robert TaylorRobert Taylor (actor)Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
— Col Paul W. Tibbets, 509th Composite Group Commanding Officer and pilot of the Enola GayEnola GayEnola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, mother of the pilot, then-Colonel Paul Tibbets. On August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war...
) - Eleanor ParkerEleanor ParkerEleanor Jean Parker is an American screen actress. Her versatility led to her being dubbed Woman of a Thousand Faces, the title of her biography by Doug McClelland.- Early life :...
— Lucey Tibbets - James WhitmoreJames WhitmoreJames Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
— Maj William Uanna (Security Officer, Operation SilverplateSilverplateSilverplate was the code reference for the United States Army Air Forces participation in the Manhattan Project during World War II. Originally the name for the aircraft modification project for the B-29 Superfortress to enable it to drop an atomic weapon, Silverplate eventually came to identify...
) - Larry KeatingLarry KeatingLarry Keating was an American actor born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is known for his role of next-door neighbor Roger Addison on the television series Mister Ed, which he played from 1961 until his death in 1963...
— Maj Gen Vernon C. Brent (fictional stand-in for Maj Gen Uzal Girard EntUzal Girard EntUzal Girard Ent was an American Army Air Force officer who served as the commander of the Ninth and the Second Air Forces during World War II.-Biography:Ent was born on March 3, 1900, in Northumberland, Pennsylvania...
) - Larry GatesLarry GatesLarry Gates was an American actor probably best known for his role as H.B. Lewis on daytime's Guiding Light and as Doc Baugh in the film version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof...
— CAPT William 'Deak' ParsonsWilliam Sterling ParsonsRear Admiral William Sterling "Deak" Parsons was a naval officer who worked as an ordnance expert on the Manhattan Project during World War II...
, USN - Marilyn ErskineMarilyn ErskineMarilyn Erskine is an American actor who started performing at the age of three on radio, and has since appeared in radio, theater, film and television roles from the 1920s through the 1970s.-Radio career:...
— Marge Bratton - Stephen DunneStephen DunneStephen Dunne was an American actor.He was active on television and in films from 1945 to 1973 and was also credited as Steve Dunn, Michael Dunne, Stephan Dunne, and Steve Dunne.He also had roles on radio at several times, including as the voice of private eye...
— Maj Harry Bratton, co-pilot during B-29 tests - Robert BurtonRobert BurtonRobert Burton may refer to:* Robert Burton , Master of University College, Oxford, England * Robert Burton , English scholar and vicar* Robert Burton, Sr. , printing industry executive...
— Brig Gen Samuel E. Roberts (Tibbets' fictional CO in Africa) - Hayden RorkeHayden RorkeWilliam Henry Rorke was an American actor best known for playing Col. Dr. Alfred E. Bellows on the hit 1960s American sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Career:...
— Dr. Norman Ramsey - Lawrence DobkinLawrence DobkinLawrence Dobkin was an American television director, actor and television screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades....
— Dr. Van Dyke (as Larry Dobkin) - Jim BackusJim BackusJames Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
- Maj Gen Curtis E. LeMay - Christopher Olsen (Christie Olsen) as Little Paul
Production
The film was suggested by screenwriter Beirne Lay, Jr.Beirne Lay, Jr.
Beirne Lay, Jr., was an author, aviation writer, Hollywood screenwriter, and combat veteran of World War II with the U.S. Army Air Forces...
, a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, to General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
, then commander of the Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
(SAC), who had discussed with Lay the problem of the high rate of divorce among flight crews. A film depicting the problems might help raise morale.
Lay suggested a film based on the experiences of Colonel Paul Tibbets
Paul Tibbets
Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force, best known for being the pilot of the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in the history of warfare. The bomb, code-named Little Boy, was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima...
, commander of the 509th Composite Group
509th Bomb Wing
The 509th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command, Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. LeMay approved, and after writing an outline, Lay handed over scriptwriting duties to Melvin Frank and Norman Panama. Though Tibbets gave his full approval and support to the film, he felt he was too closely involved to be objective, and suggested Charley Begg, commander of the nuclear ordnance squadron, and Charles Sweeney
Charles Sweeney
Major General Charles W. Sweeney was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and the pilot who flew the "Fat Man" atomic bomb to Nagasaki on August 9, 1945...
, pilot of on the followup Nagasaki mission, as technical advisers.
For dramatic effect, some incidents were somewhat exaggerated, such as the scene in which the Hiroshima bomb is armed in mid-flight. The filmmakers added some turbulence to increase tension, though in fact the flight was perfectly smooth throughout. However the scene in which Tibbet's wife calls over one of the men in white coats that she was told by her husband were "sanitary engineers", but were in fact nuclear scientists from Los Alamos
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
, to help her unblock a drain was true.
Promotion
Robert Taylor and Paul Tibbets appeared together on Ed SullivanEd Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
's "Toast of the Town
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
" show in order to promote the film, an unusual step at a time when the major Hollywood studios disapproved of its stars appearing on television, which they saw as a threat.
Reception
The film received generally favorable reviews; however, Bosley Crowther found the military elements of the film superior to its focus on the relationship between Tibbets and his wife. He liked Taylor in the military scenes, but not in the marriage ones and found Parker to be "utterly theatrical."Contrary to Crowther's reaction, "Stop Button" critic Andrew Wickliffe, writing in 2006, found the film to have a "complex morality," and the scenes between Parker and Taylor to be "perfect."
External links
- DVD review
- The New York Times review
- Article @ Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
website - About the RCA811-K Radio that Gives Mrs. Tibbets the News About Hiroshima