Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

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

Release Date:

13 February 1950 (Brazil)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Bomber | General | Pilot | Bomber Pilot | Combat

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

12 O'Clock High (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | West Germany:16 (f) | USA:Approved (certificate #13818) | Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:S | Spain:T | UK:U | Sweden:15 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

John Wayne turned down the leading role that later went to Gregory Peck.

Goofs:

Continuity: Col. Davenport is relieved of command late one night. He is replaced by General Savage, who agrees to take over early the next morning. Yet during those few hours, one officer has committed suicide and already had his funeral, and other officers are deemed to be AWOL who were present and on duty late the previous evening.

Quotes:

General Frank Savage: [Addressing the 918th for the first time at 0800] There will be a briefing for a practice mission at 1100 this morning. That's right, practice. I've been sent here to take over what has come to be known as a hard luck group. Well, I don't believe in hard luck. So we're going to find out what the trouble is...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 'White Christmas': A Look Back with Rosemary Clooney (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Bless 'em All

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.