Twelve O'Clock High (1949) : Classic Movie Hub (CMH)

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Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Director(s)	Henry King
Producer(s)	Darryl F. Zanuck
Top Genres	Action, Drama, War
Top Topics	Air Force, Book-Based, World War II

Featured Cast:

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Gregory Peck
(as Gen. Frank Savage)

Hugh Marlowe
(as Lt. Col. Ben Gately)

Gary Merrill
(as Col. Ernie Davenport)

Twelve O'Clock High Overview:

Twelve O'Clock High (1949) was a Action - Drama Film directed by Henry King and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr published in 1948.

SYNOPSIS

This compelling WWII drama focuses on the emotional effects the fear and anxiety of war have on fighting men. When a compassionate bomber-squadron leader (Merrill) resists taking his scarred, jumpy men on one more near-suicidal daytime mission, he's replaced by by-the-book general Peck. After exposure to the dangers his men face, Peck becomes more uncertain than his predecessor, even suffering a nervous collapse from the stress. One of the few war films to depict the real human costs of war (based on the true story of Gen. Frank Armstrong), it also includes terrifying aerial sequences that make real the dangers the fliers faced.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Twelve O'Clock High was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1998.

Academy Awards 1949 --- Ceremony Number 22 (source: AMPAS)

Award	Recipient	Result
Best Actor	Gregory Peck	Nominated
Best Supporting Actor	Dean Jagger	Won
Best Picture	20th Century-Fox	Nominated

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Quotes from

Maj. Gen. Ben Pritchard: I believe that to a certain degree, a man makes his own luck.

Facts about

This film is frequently cited by surviving bomber crewmembers as the only accurate depiction from Hollywood of their life during the war.

The 306th Bomb Group, on which the fictional 918th is based, was the first USAAF group to strike Germany during World War II. This occurred on 27 January, 1943. The target was the battleship Admiral Scheer in the harbor of Wilhelmshaven. Colonel Frank Armstrong, on whom the character of General Savage is based, was in the lead plane on that mission. The lead bombardier was Lt. Frank Yaussi.

"Twelve O'Clock High" is an example of a pilot's enemy position call. During World War II pilots would call-out the positions of enemy airplanes by referring to their bearings via the use of a pretend face of a clock. In this case, 12 O'Clock meant the enemy was directly ahead, whereas 6 O'Clock would mean directly behind. "High" or "Low" referred to whether the enemy was above or below the airplane respectively. "Even" meant that the enemy was level with the pilot's plane.

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Twelve O'Clock High (1949)