Un homme de fer

"Twelve O'Clock High" is my favourite WWII film; perhaps my favourite 'Gregory Peck' film; and perhaps even my favourite 'male' film of all time. If you didn't know it, 'Twelve O'Clock High' was once many men's favourite war film of all time. How many people know about this now-obscure movie or realize the weight of its faded prestige, I wouldn't like to guess. The number certainly decreases with each generation. To discover it on late night television, however, is the reward for the patient seeker of 'quintessentially American' films.

'Twelve O'Clock High' is essentially the best depiction of a particular theatre of World War II--the extremely hazardous, aerial daylight bombing campaign over Germany. This film is the archetype for that entire lineage of war film. But it is memorable for its strong performances rather than well-directed battle scenes. In fact there are no battle scenes except for borrowed aerial combat footage. Yet few other films have the look of a 'big' WWII film better than this one--even though it is shot mostly indoors or in cramped cockpits.

Gregory Peck plays an Air Force commander in England in 1943. His performance here is one of Hollywood's icons. Peck is at his best-- taut, controlled, and powerful; flawless throughout every scene as a sensitive air commander forced to whip and browbeat a demoralized and resentful B-24 squadron back into peak efficiency. Peck runs roughshod over his new outfit, but he has a secret achille's heel--he fears he will grow too fond of the men he commands, the emotional link rendering him as ineffective as his predecessor (played by Gary Merrill).

There are crisp, well-directed scenes where the stiff-necked Peck rides his men with extra fury in order to steel himself against all attachments. Yet as we and Peck learn by the end of the film, it is impossible. Despite Peck's best preventive measures, the squadron continues to suffer heavy casualties, and Peck, no matter how hard he resists, is drawn into an emotional attachment with the young pilots he must order into battle each morning.

All soldiers know that comradery is the sharpest of double-edged swords during combat. You can never predict when you will lose a buddy--thus its a common practice for soldiers to keep their relationships light. This storyline has been treated loosely by a slew of later films, but never as successfully as it is done here. Every aspect of the emotional hazards of this type of wartime bond is fully dissected, and the film is filled with scenes containing extraordinary close-ups where the actor's facial expressions alone reveals the character's bitten-back response. This is especially gripping during the film's many vehement, man-to-man exchanges involving discipline, implied cowardice or dereliction of duty.

In particular there are two wonderful subplots to the film: look for the subtle interplay between Peck and Gary Merrill (the brother officer Peck is forced to replace) with regard to the "filling of someone else's shoes" and an actual pair of flyer's boots that they borrow back and forth between them. Then there is another bit of business between Peck and a recalcitrant executive officer, Hugh O'Brian.

The scenes between Peck and O'Brian, in particular, will almost make you wince, if you have ever in your life been chewed out by anyone or tried to 'measure up' to what you thought was expected of you. The relationships between Peck and the other officers exposes issues about the choices men must make about each other and about their duty in wartime; and lays bare the emotions involved when they are forced to depend on one another; as well as what happens when they are forced to fail one another. Its simply outstanding.

'Twelve O'Clock High' stands quietly in the ranks of the few really great American films, without any ego or hype. If you can still remember how important it can be to feel part of a team, even if it was only on a kickball or dodge-ball field that when you last had that feeling then you will admire this film. Dean Jagger won a Best Supporting Actor for his role as the reservist, and there are fine performances from every other actor as well. Millard Mitchell, an absolutely wonderful character actor, is without peer in a role he played often, that of a salty WWII general. And Peck, as we know, walks away with his role.

If you have ever pondered what the real meaning of over-used words like 'loyalty' and 'devotion' mean then this film is for you. The unfettered treatment of these hard-to-pin-down ideals is what makes it one of the few really great war films, for my money (yes, guys, sorry to say, its better than "The Great Escape").

When you are tired of watching the endless parade of "smart" "slick" and "funny" films, all filled with frivolous, stereotype-mocking characters, rent this one to see the real thing.

The picture brings back the memories of excitement, terror and relief. Its a picture that the authors bring out. I knew the commanding officer portrayed by Gregory Peck, a Colonel Frank Armstrong, a replacement for Col. Overacker. Gregory Peck was a BG. The only error I saw was in the MGDb write up. Your article sites the planes as B-24 rather than B-17. We were first division originally sent to England to be transferred to North Africa. The 918 Bomb Group in the picture is 3 times 306 = 918 thats how they identified them. We had 87% casualty rate; 287 of us flew to England on Oct 21 1942, 87 survived, and are passing away rapidly now. I was 19 as a bombardier-navigator,flew two tours; the second was a pilot. The picture is my ideal. I have three copies of it and view whenever I feel depressed. Thanks for my connection of the past Im78 and need a boost eversince I gave up drinking and smoking. Horace Corigliano

This stirring war film about the Eight Air Force and their war against the German Luftwaffe was written by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr. . It starred Gregory Peck as the Colonel, Frank Savage, head of the 918th Bomber Group assigned to making winged warfare succeed where his nice-guy predecessor, ably played as always by Gary Merrill, had failed. He is aided by brilliant Dean Jagger as Harvey Stovall his exec, his honest Boss Millard Mitchell, and others; but his chief opponent turns out to be the men themselves, not the Nazis...he has to completely turn their thinking around, make them write off survival and think only in terms of getting the job done--so they will have the best chance to maintain group integrity in the air. bomb their targets, and get home safely afterward. How he does this, by stalling their requests for transfer and winning them over to his way--the American way--of making war produces a powerful story. Others in the large, but uneven cast include capable Hugh Marlowe, John Kellogg, Bob Patten, Lawrence Dobkin, Joyce Mackenzie and many others credited and not. This epic was directed by veteran Henry King in what most believe is masterful fashion in B/W. Music was supplied by Alfred Newman and cinematography was done by Leon Shamroy. Art directors Maurice Ransford and Lyle Wheeler deserve every praise for the style they infused into the entire production, mixing actual war footage with their new scenes. Sets such as the large hut where missions are outlined, HQ House, the general's office, the bar, the now-overgrown airfield, the hospital and the airplane interior shots are all memorable achievements. The climax of the film is compromised a bit by changing the original storyline; instead of merely being unable to fly and watching his men get the job done without him, in the filmed version Savage has a near-breakdown from which he rouses only when his pilots begin arriving home. But there is so much power in this film and in its message that self-assertion is better than sloppiness, cowardice, inattention, non-cooperation, defeatism, et al, the film justifiably is still a well-beloved. Frequently, it provides an unforgettable look at how U.S.'s officers and men had to grow up as military operatives in the throes of WWII. To see the men in the film have to watch their Toby mug being turned around, signaling the beginning of another call to mission is moving; the film's opening, when having found the mug again in a shop, tourist Jagger takes it with him, climbs a fence into a field and finds the already-disappearing remains of the hardtracks down which B-17s had so recently roared, carrying the fight to the enemy and men to their deaths or heroisms or both--is frankly a classic sequence; it is also the scene which leads to the film being told as a flashback recounting the events of Savage's vital assignment. Highly recommended.

Without any question, indisputably the greatest WWII film ever (except, perhaps for "Bridge on the River Kwai"; but that's a WWII story only in the same sense that "Moby Dick" is a book about a whale). There are no weaknesses in this movie. The screenplay is perfect, rooted as it is in the historical reality of the U. S.'s attempt to prove the superiority of Daylight Precision Bombing over the Brits favored strategy of night bombing. The terrible human pressures it placed on young American pilots AND their leaders has never been so well-portrayed on film. Dramatic tension is perfectly manipulated, and the characters are well-drawn, sympathetic and fully developed. Every member of this superb cast gives this great material the great acting it deserves. The usage of actual WWII bombing footage adds to the sense of reality. The psychological drama - what "maximum effort" does to people - is at the core of the story and supercedes the mere military aspect. And the device of the framing scenes - Harvey Stovall (Dean Jagger) recollecting the story while standing in the abandoned airstrip - is brilliant. It gives the tale an overwhelmingly bittersweet feeling of "long-ago" nostalgia. It is so powerful that Spielberg must have consciously had 12 O'clock High in mind when he used the same device in Saving Private Ryan to make that whole film a flashback, just as this one is. To hell with the flashy flamboyance of Citizen Kane; I would have to give 12 O'clock High a better shot at being "the best movie ever made". One mark of the film's realistic portrayal of psychological issues in warfare is that for many years it was required viewing in many military leadership classes. Film buffs &/or devotees of WWII history who haven't seen this one are living a deprived existence.

OK I'll admit up front - I am biased. My Dad was a B-17 side gunner. He volunteered before the war started to be a pilot. But he was from the rural South and could shoot the eyes out of a horsefly and not hit the horse. So they made him a gunner. He was in the early wave of crews, when they had something like a 2 percent chance of making 25 missions. He made 13. He had a high opinion of this film. That is apparently how most 8th Air Force veterans feel.

I have to subtract 1 star for the overindulgence in team spirit. Otherwise this is a great film, because it has an idea, almost as if it's a training film for officers. The action is almost contrived in order to make the points about leadership. And yet, that is exactly what makes it so compelling. This is a man's job, not a boy's. The job of the brigadier is the hardest in the service. There is no time off. You are close enough to the front to be directly involved, so that you feel the personal weight of your command decisions.

The casting here is just fantastic. These are men! It is refreshing to see men of honor doing their duty, not out of some macho bravado, but because someone has to do a nasty, hard job. Macho is for boys. Duty is for men. I particularly liked Dean Jagger. He and Peck played extremely well together. It is great to watch them interact.

The flying sequences are also remarkable. I got to crawl around in a B-17 once. I'm the same size as my Dad, and it was a tight fit. With 10 guys in there, it would be some crowd. You get that feeling from the film. And then there's the crowd of the formation. They got that right as well. These scenes have lost nothing and are still gripping, 70 years later. The expert technical advice the film makers received really shows up.

I think my favorite character is Sergeant/Private McIlhinny. I sort of see my Dad in him. There are a lot of memorable characters in this film. I can't recommend it enough, biased or not!