MGM
Directed by Norman Taurog
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)
Dramatic retelling of the American quest for the atomic bomb. In an interesting twist, the people of the 25th century are the intended audience, as the movie we are watching is supposed to be buried in a time capsule, along with a projector, which was probably a smart move. Tom Drake is a civilian physicist and the story is mostly told through his eyes. We meet all of the great personalities involved, from Albert Einstein to Enrico Fermi, Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, Robert Oppenheimer and others. In an attempt to personalize the story, Drake's new wife Beverly Tyler is brought along from one military outpost to another, but she comes off mostly as a sex crazed new bride. There are two memorable scenes: one happens in Fermi's Chicago lab as they experiment on a large atomic pile and attempt to create the first atomic chain reaction, the other is the bombing of Hiroshima. A sentimental ending at the Lincoln Memorial, though, pours it on a little too thick.
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