Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

★ 7.1 2h 12m IMDb

Action Drama War

In the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a 'hard luck' bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a disciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over their targets.

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Cast

Gregory Peck as Brigadier General Frank Savage Died 2003 · La Jolla, California, USA Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-g...

Hugh Marlowe as Lieutenant Colonel Ben Gately Died 1982 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Hugh Marlowe (January 30, 1911 – May 2, 1982) was an American film, television, stage and radio actor. Marlowe was born Hugh Herbert Hipple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and began his stage career i...

Gary Merrill as Colonel Keith Davenport Died 1990 · Hartford, Connecticut, USA Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series,...

Millard Mitchell as Major General Patrick Pritchard Died 1953 · Havana, Cuba From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Millard Mitchell (August 14, 1903 – October 13, 1953) was an American character actor whose credits include roughly thirty feature films and two television appe...

Dean Jagger as Major / Lieutenant Colonel Harvey Stovall Died 1991 · Columbus Grove, Ohio, USA Dean Jagger was an American film, stage, and television actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Twelve O'Clock High (1949). Other notable films in which Jagger appear...

Director Henry King

Cast Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard Mitchell, Dean Jagger, Robert Arthur, Paul Stewart, John Kellogg, Robert Patten, Lee MacGregor

John Chard 8/10 May 11, 2015

Under Pressure.

Twelve O'Clock High features one of Gregory Peck's best performances as Brigadier General Frank Savage, a tough no nonsense martinet brought in to shake up a World War II Bomber Squadron. The men are shattered emotionally and after it's deemed that their previous commander (Gary Merrill) has been soft with them, there is no chance of that happening with Savage - but is he himself taking too much on?

Split into two parts, the first half of pic deals with how a group of men in war time can reach their lowest ebb. Fear of the jinx, fear of cracking under the strain, these men are by definition demoralised. Things are further compounded by the appointment of Savage, who drags the group further down the battered emotional scale. Second half softens things for a short while as Savage's methods begin take a hold, then there's the missions, which in turn builds to the film's revelation, which as it happens lets Peck become a revelation as well.

Director Henry King is on form, showcasing the skill of directing an ensemble cast, which sees Dean Jagger add mighty heft to the work of Peck, Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Paul Stewart and Millard Mitchell. The flying sequences are expertly photographed (Leon Shamroy), with the real footage splicing very effective, while the writing allows the piece to exude a realism factor, which then offers up a more humane war film that is delving into psychological stings. 8/10

CinemaSerf 7/10 Jul 09, 2022

Gregory Peck is on top form in this gritty, authentic looking recounting of the actions of a battle-weary USAF squadron during WWII. Peck is "Gen. Savage" drafted into replace an extremely popular, but no longer effective squadron commander. Initially, his hard-nosed approach to them, their training and their attitudes engenders hostility, but over a period of time - and with the assistance of the intelligent camp adjutant/chief administrator "Maj. Stowell" (Dean Jagger) he sets about trying to change these opinions (and some of his own) before his entire squad transfers out. Henry King has managed to create a film that unsentimentally encapsulates some of the senses of frustration, fear, low morale and trauma that went with the relentlessness of constant missions - regardless of rank - not knowing who might return. The supporting cast - featuring Hugh Marlowe and Gary Merrill compliment the star well; some excellent original aerial battle cinematography and the Sy Bartlett screenplay has pace and detail enough to make this 2¼ hour assessment of leadership under enormous pressure a thoroughly entertaining and at times thought-provoking watch.