Above and Beyond (1952)

Above and Beyond tells the gripping story of Colonel Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay—the bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Despite being unaware of the full destructive potential of the new weapon, Tibbets knows it is far more powerful than anything used before and that its use will result in immense loss of life. He struggles with the moral burden of being the one tasked to end so many lives, yet is equally aware that refusing may prolong the war and cost even more lives in continued combat. The intense secrecy of his mission isolates him emotionally, leaving him unable to confide even in his wife. As the historic moment approaches, the pressure upon him intensifies. Cast: - Robert Taylor as Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, 509th Composite Group Commanding Officer and pilot of the Enola Gay - Eleanor Parker as Lucy Tibbets - James Whitmore as Major Bill Uanna (Security Officer, Operation Silverplate) - Larry Keating as Major General Vernon C. Brent (fictional stand-in for Maj Gen Uzal Girard Ent) - Larry Gates as Captain William "Deak" Parsons, USN - Marilyn Erskine as Marge Bratton - Stephen Dunne as Major Harry Bratton, co-pilot during B-29 tests (fictional) - Robert Burton as Brigadier General Samuel E. Roberts (Tibbets' fictional CO in Africa) - Hayden Rorke as Dr. Norman Ramsey - Lawrence Dobkin as Dr. Van Dyke (as Larry Dobkin) - Jim Backus as Major General Curtis E. LeMay - Christopher Olsen as Paul Tibbets Jr. (as Christie Olsen) - Sidney and Ernest Sittig as Baby Tibbets Runtime: 122 minutes.