Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

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

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Russ Conway	...	Operations officer (uncredited)
Leslie Denison	...	RAF officer (uncredited)
Lawrence Dobkin	...	Capt. Twombley, group chaplain (uncredited)
Don Gaudagno	...	Dwight, hospital patient (uncredited)
Don Gordon	...	First patient in base hospital (uncredited)
Don Hicks	...	Lt Wilson (uncredited)
Ray Hyke	...	Corporal bartender at Officer's Club (uncredited)
Barry Jones	...	Lord Haw-Haw, German radio commentator (voice) (uncredited)
Harry Lauter	...	Radio officer (uncredited)
Paul Picerni	...	Bombardier (uncredited)
William Short	...	Lt. Pettingill, 918th Bomb Group pilot (uncredited)
Kenneth Tobey	...	Sgt. Keller, guard at gate (uncredited)
John Zilly	...	Sgt. Ernie, Gen. Savage's driver (uncredited)

Directed by
Henry King

Writing credits
Sy Bartlett		(screenplay) and
Beirne Lay Jr.		(screenplay)
Beirne Lay Jr.		(novel) and
Sy Bartlett		(novel)
Henry King		uncredited

Produced by
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Alfred Newman

Cinematography by
Leon Shamroy

Film Editing by
Barbara McLean

Art Direction by
Maurice Ransford
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little
Bruce MacDonald		(as Bruce Macdonald)

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Roy Stork	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
William Eckhardt	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
F.E. 'Johnny' Johnston	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Paul Mantz	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
John McKee	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Charles Graham	....	grip (uncredited)
F. Bud Mautino	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Leo McCreary	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (as Edward Powell)

Other crew
John H. deRussy	....	technical advisor: air force
Teresa Brachetto	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Centfox (1958) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1955) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)

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:

Factual errors: 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.

Quotes:

General Frank Savage: [to the bomber crews] Well, I can tell you right now what the problem is. I saw it in your faces last night. I can see it there now. You've been looking at a lot of air lately, and you feel you need a rest. In short, you're feeling sorry for yourselves. Now I don't have a lot of patience with this "What are we fighting for?" stuff. We're in a war, a shooting war. We've got to fight. And some of us have got to die.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Star Wars (1977)

Soundtrack:

Deep in the Heart of Texas

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.