Remembering the Doolittle Raid, Hollywood-style

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, the first U.S. air strike against Japan during World War II. The raid was conceived and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle and was full of aeronautical challenges: B-25 bombers were launched for the first time from an aircraft carrier on one-way flights over Japan, carrying barely enough fuel to attempt risky landings in occupied China. While the damage to strategic targets was minimal, the mission was a moral boost to Americans eager for retaliation after Pearl Harbor, and it damaged the credibility of Japanese leaders who had told their people Japan was untouchable. Here's a look at three movies that commemorate the raid.

Spencer Tracy as James Doolittle in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Van Johnson stars in this 1944 film, which depicts the raid from conception through execution and follows Johnson's Ted Lawson as he attempts to escape from Japanese-occupied China after a crash landing. Spencer Tracy appears sporadically as Doolittle.

A B-52 bomber leaves the deck in Pearl Harbor (2001)

Pearl Harbor
On the whole, this 2001 film directed by Michael Bay is a rather overdone melodrama with laughable dialog and a confounding romantic triad between lead actors Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, and Josh Hartnett. Its take on the raid is hurried, but the big budget is nice to look at. Alec Baldwin plays Doolittle in a relatively small part.

Cary Grant in Destination Tokyo (1943)

Destination Tokyo
The actual raid is not shown in this 1943 film starring Cary Grant, nor does Doolittle appear. It's an exciting submarine movie, though, about a crew tasked with infiltrating the Japanese mainland to gather information vital to the first air strike against Japan.

See also:
Remembering D-Day, Hollywood-style
Remembering Pearl Harbor, Hollywood-style