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The men are initially kept in the dark regarding their mission, however once the commander and flight crew are selected and moved to Wendover Field in Utah, they are briefed on the mission. The men selected were among the many assigned to the top-secret Manhattan Project, which was created to develop and deploy a new and devastating weapon, the atomic bomb. The film explores the secret mission to select and train an elite crew to test and fly the air force’s new bomber, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Frank and Panama would also take on co-director duties and a fine cast was hired, including Robert Taylor as Tibbets, Eleanor Tibbets as Lucy Tibbets, and James Whitmore as Major Bill Uanna. With USAF backing Frank and Panama impressed MGM studio executives with their story, and they were given reins to produce the film with a budget of $1.4 million. LeMay fully supported this, gave his consent, and Lay provided his outline to screenwriters Melvin Frank and Norman Panama who collaborated with USAF technical advisors Lt. He suggested a new film that would explore the experiences of Colonel Paul Tibbets, the commander of the historic 509th Composite Group, which was responsible for dropping the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima during WWII. To that end he met with Air Force General Curtis LeMay, commander of the Strategic Air Command (SAC).
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In 1951 he conceived a new screenplay for a WWII story he felt needed to be told.
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Hollywood screenwriter Beirne Lay Jr., a retired USAF bombardier, gained fame after the war for his screenplay to the 1949 film 12 O’Clock High.