Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

A hard-as-nails general takes over a bomber pilot unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Sy Bartlett (screenplay), Beirne Lay Jr. (screenplay),

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill

Won 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gregory Peck	...	Gen. Frank Savage
Hugh Marlowe	...	Lt. Col. Ben Gately
Gary Merrill	...	Col. Ernie Davenport
Millard Mitchell	...	Maj. Gen. Pat Pritchard
Dean Jagger	...	Maj. Harvey Stovall
Robert Arthur	...	Sgt. McIllhenny
Paul Stewart	...	Capt. 'Doc' Kaiser
John Kellogg	...	Maj. Cobb
Robert Patten	...	Lt. Bishop (as Bob Patten)
Lee MacGregor	...	Lt. Zimmerman
Sam Edwards	...	Birdwell
Roger Anderson	...	Interrogation Officer

Storyline

In this story of the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a "hard luck" bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a diciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over thier targets. Actual combat footage is used in this tense war drama.

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Plot Keywords:

bomber | general | pilot | combat | bomber pilot | 

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Taglines:

A story of twelve men as their women never knew them...

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1950 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Un homme de fer

Filming Locations:

Eglin Air Force Base, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

William A. Wellman was attached to direct at one point.

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Goofs

During the bombing mission depicted in the film, the tail gun of General Savage's "Picadilly Lily" B-17F airplane is shown briefly, but it is a late-war model "Cheyenne"-type tail turret - incorrect for the time period during which the events in the film take place.

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Quotes

Major Harvey Stovall: That is not why I am drunk tonight. I got drunk because I am confused. I was thinking, which is a thing a man should not do, and all at once I couldn't remember what any of them looked like. I, I couldn't see their faces, Bishop, Cobb, Wilson, Zimmy, all of them. All of you. They all looked alike, just one face. And it was very young. It confused me. I think I shall stay drunk until I'm not confused anymore.

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Connections

Featured in American Masters: A Conversation with Gregory Peck (1999)

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Soundtracks

"The Whiffenpoof Song"
(uncredited)
Written by Tod B. Galloway, Meade Minnigerode, George S. Pomeroy and Rudy Vallee

User Reviews

How did Gregory Peck do so many great films?

In writing reviews for IMDb, I have begun to notice just how many exceptional movies Gregory Peck did. Yes, I know he made a few stinkers (such as Days of Glory and Boys From Brazil), but look at all the great movies he did--3 of the best Westerns ever made (The Big Country, The Gunfighter and Yellow Sky), some dandy dramas (To Kill a Mockingbird, Cape Fear) and two of the best war pictures of all time (The Guns of Navarone and this movie, Twelve O'Clock High).

Twelve O'Clock High is exceptional in every way. It is very similar to the excellent movie Command Decision, but goes deeper into the emotional and psychological cost of commanding the bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. Whereas Gable is all alone and hated in Command Decision, Peck goes a step further and actually goes on bombing runs with his men--only to become deeply scarred emotionally in the process. As a result, this movie is a fantastic look at the psychological effects of war--something that only rarely gets addressed in war movies.