Twelve O´ Clock High (UK)

6 / 10
2 votes cast
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A story of twelve men as their women never knew them...
Certificate: U
Running Time: 126 mins
Retail Price: £15.99
Release Date:
Content Type: Movie

Synopsis:
Gregory Peck stars in this, one of the finest war movies ever made. He plays Brig. General Frank Savage, Commanding Officer of a perilous aerial daylight bombing campaign over Germany. He attempts to maintain an emotionless professionalism towards his men, as protection against the losses he knows they will suffer. In the end, however, there is an inevitable bond between pilots that makes fatalities, when they come, hard to bear. Twelve O` Clock High truly shows the meaning of terms such as `loyalty` and `devotion`. It boasts a sense of realistic spectacle reflected in the Oscar garnered for Best Sound, and high quality ensemble acting illustrated by the Best Supporting Actor statuette picked up by Dean Jagger.

Special Features:

Video Tracks:
Standard 1.33:1

Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 English

Directed By:
Henry King

Written By:
Beirne Lay Jr.
Henry King
Sy Bartlett

Starring:
Dean Jagger
Millard Mitchell
Gary Merrill
Hugh Marlowe
Gregory Peck

Soundtrack By:
Alfred Newman

Director of Photography:
Leon Shamroy

Editor:
Barbara McLean

Producer:
Darryl F. Zanuck

Distributor:
Twentieth Century Fox

Your Opinions and Comments

9 / 10

As a WW II historian I found this to be one of the best war movies ever made although not as brilliant visually as color counterparts of many other films. This movie goes into the personal experiences of the men in wars and the toll war takes on an emotional and psychological level. Gregory Peck portrays a hard nosed General sent in by high command to replace a commander who has gotten too close to his men. Peck tries to push his bomber group to achieve a so called Maximum Effort and is disliked by his entire unit with every man asking for a transfer. Gradually he wins the men over and morale is at its highest but casualties are mounting. Ironically Peck turns out to get too close to his men just as the commander he replaced did and cracks under the pressure of command and casualties of men he knew and liked.

In real life the casualty rate of these type bomber groups was in the 80-90% range yet these brave men rallied themseves to hopefully achieve 25 flights, a ticket home. Gregory Pack shines in this movie as he transitions himself due to the bonding of war. Dean Jagger gives a fine effort as he keeps order to the chaos of so many complex emotions including his own. I don`t mind that this isn`t all snazzy for the screen as the characters not the bomb runs get the attention here. Great supporting cast including Hugh Marlowe who later gained some sci fi fame in 50s sci fi movies. Definitely another Gregory Peck winning film and worth seeing.

posted by Lawrence Talbot on 3/5/2007 20:36