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 used by the U.S. Navy as an example of leadership styles in its Leadership and Management Training School. The Air Force's College for Enlisted Professional Military Education also uses this film as a education aid in its Noncommissioned Officer Academies. The film has also been used for leadership training in civilian non-military seminars.

In addition to Gen. Savage (inspired by Gen. Frank Armstrong), many characters in this film were based on real-life people. Maj. Gen. Pat Prichard (played by Millard Mitchell) is based on Maj. Gen. Ira C. Eaker, first commander of the 8th Bomber Command. Col. Keith Davenport (Gary Merrill) is based on Col. Charles B. Overacker, first commander of the 306th Bomb Group. Lt. Jessie Bishop (Robert Patten) is based on Lt. John Morgan, a B-17 co-pilot who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for landing his plane after his pilot was severely wounded during a bombing run. Maj. Joe Cobb (John Kellogg) is based on Maj. (later Col.) Paul Tibbets, who later became famous as the pilot of the B-29 "Enola Gay" which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945 (Tibbets himself served as a technical advisor for this movie). Sgt. McIlhenny (Robert Arthur) is based on Sgt. Donald Bevan, who was shot down over Germany in 1943 and became a POW. Bevan later co-wrote the play Stalag 17, with fello

After the film was made, Gregory Peck became great friends with the character he had played, Gen. Frank Armstrong, who clearly approved of Peck's portrayal of him.

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Twelve O'Clock High (1949)