Twelve O’Clock High (1949)

Every so often you get thrown a gem of a classic, this time it's 1949's Twelve O'Clock High, starring (most notably) Gregory Peck.  Instead of a wartime epic full of heroes and battles and celebrating the machines and the glory of victory, we get to examine the toll of constant action on the men, as command wants to find out exactly what "maximum effort" means.

Really its unusual in a way for an earlier film like this to get into the psychology of combat so deeply.  Well as deeply as they dared, anyway.  After a brief introduction where the base adjutant revisits the grown-over airfield in the future, we witness a bomber group returning from a mission that didn't go so well.  Even though we're not shown the grisly details, it's described to us in painful and gory detail what happened to the crew of the current wing commander Davenport's (Gary Merrill) ship.  That should give a clear indication of where we're headed.

Turns out that Archbury airfield is gaining a reputation for being at the bottom of the barrell, and so command relieves Davenport for getting too personally involved, and replaces him with the hardnosed General Frank Savage (Gregory Peck.)  His job is to push this group of pilots, planes, and crewmen right to the edge, and to turn the group's reputation around.

In the process, though, he learns the hard way about the toll it takes on the group, and on each man.  He loses several of his best, and eventually finds himself in the same shoes as Davenport.

Not to be outdone, he tries to get on one last mission, but cracks under the stress of it all.

The air combat scenes are almost painful to watch, as with each bomber going down (which was culled from the AAF archives) you realize that there's one more crew who was helplessly lost.  Really there isn't a lot of combat action to speak of, but that's not the point of this picture.

The acting on all fronts is superb, especially Peck, Merrill, and Stovall.  You really feel the desperation and tension as the movie rolls out.

Twelve O'Clock High is one of those that should be seen, just to show what happens when you ask 110% of people 100% of the time.

Technorati Tags: war movie review, twelve o'clock high, world war ii, army air force, bombers, b-17, gregory peck, hugh marlowe, gary merrill, millard mitchell, dean jagger, maximum effort

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Description

This gritty World War II action drama staring Gregory Peck, Oscar winner Dean Jagger, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill and Millard Mitchell is seen as one of the most realistic portrayals of the heroics and perils of war. Convinced an air force commander (Gary Merrill) is at the breaking point, Brigadier General Savage (Peck) takes over his struggling bomber group. Kind and understanding, he adopts a crushing discipline to revitalize the demoralized troop. At first resentful and rebellious, the flyers gradually change as Savage guides them to amazing feats. But the stress of command soon takes it's toll and the weary general reaches his own breaking point.

The wartime memories of surviving World War II bomber squadrons were still crystal clear when this acclaimed drama was released in 1949--one of the first postwar films out of Hollywood to treat the war on emotionally complex terms. Framed by a postwar prologue and epilogue and told as a flashback appreciation of wartime valor and teamwork, the film stars Gregory Peck in one of his finest performances as a callous general who assumes command of a bomber squadron based in England. At first, the new commander has little rapport with the 918th Bomber Group, whose loyalties still belong with their previous commander. As they continue to fly dangerous missions over Germany, however, the group and their new leader develop mutual respect and admiration, until the once-alienated commander feels that his men are part of a family--men whose bravery transcends the rigors of rigid discipline and by-the-book leadership. The film's now-classic climax, in which the general waits patiently for his squad to return to base--painfully aware that they may not return at all--is one of the most subtle yet emotionally intense scenes of any World War II drama. With Peck in the lead and Dean Jagger doing Oscar-winning work in a crucial supporting role, this was one of veteran director Henry King's proudest achievements, and it still packs a strong dramatic punch. --Jeff Shannon

DVD Information

Binding: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Brand: Fox
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Original Release Date:
Actors:

• Gregory Peck
• Hugh Marlowe
• Gary Merrill
• Millard Mitchell
• Dean Jagger

Reviews

Related posts:

1. The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
2. Battleground (1949)
3. The Guns of Navarone (1961)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 19th, 2007 at 5:45 am and is filed under 1940s, Reviews, World War II Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.