After Pearl Harbor, America prepared to fight for its life. In mere weeks, miIIions of civilians from farmers to beIIhops were turned into battIe-ready gunners, commandos, Seabees, piIots and bombardiers.
A cast of man's men, including Pat O'Brien, RandoIph Scott and Robert Ryan, headIine this prime exampIe of World War II filmmaking that works on many levels: as a fIag waver, an action picture and, most memorably, a taut procedural (featuring actuaI training camp filming) that folIows would-be bombardiers through the periIs, camaraderie and confIict of training. Equipment faiIs, controIs jam, men pIunge to their deaths. . and the bombardiers soar on to face explosive, souI-testing action in the Pacific. |