Twelve O'Clock High

Rating:
Summary: Twelve Oclock ...is very HIGH!!
Review: Thanks to Henry King( dir) and screenwriters Barlett and Lay we have one of a handfull of stalwart WW 2 dramas.

The B 17 is the big star and the cast is hand picked. This is a film that can be viewed again and again. Leon Shamroy,s cinematography is superb, Alfred Newman,s considerable talents add to the whole piece...and there are no punches pulled in the script.

Miles and altitudes higher than most films of this type.

CP

Rating:
Summary: 12 O'Clock High, a great film about leadership
Review: 12 O'Clock High is one of the best films on leadership ever made. The story opens with the return to England of American bomber pilots from a daylight bombing mission over Nazi occupied Europe. Colonel Keith Davenport (Gary Merrill) is the commander of a squadron whose task it is to destroy German military installations. He is a competent professional officer who cares deeply for his men. Unfortunately, in his zeal to keep them from being killed, he forgets his mission and is relieved of his command.

Col. Davenport is replaced by General Frank Savage (Gregory Peck), who says to the pilots at his first meeting with them, "Consider yourself already dead." This speech signals a completely different approach to leadership. General Savage relentlessly trains the pilots and succeeds in building a first-rate fighting unit. His hard line does not come without a price. His men rebel and want to be transferred out of the unit. Only with the help of his adjutant (Dean Jagger) does Savage hold the group together and begin to build competence and esprit de corp.

The effects of contrasting leadership styles have seldom been so effectively portrayed. Colonel Davenport is a first-rate officer who over identifies with his men and fails miserably. The moral of the story is that the appropriate leadership style is essential to accomplish challenging goals and objectives. It is not enough to be hard working, conscientious, and caring. Leaders must analyze the situation, know the competence and commitment of their people, and then select the style of leadership appropriate for the task at hand.

The dramatic scenes between Davenport, Savage, and the American pilots are expertly written and filled with tension. Actual war footage is used for several of the action scenes and the film moves forward at a steady pace. The performances of the entire cast are excellent with Gregory Peck, always a reliable actor, at the top of his form. Dean Jagger took home the Academy Award for best supporting actor in a film that deserved similar honors.

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting story
Review: This is a good film. A little hard to watch these days because we are so used to incredible special effects. But, once the film gets going and the story unravels, it is a good film. The characters are both complex and easy to follow.

At times, you hate Peck. As the movie progresses, you begin to understand and respect his character.

Good film. A must see for any WW II movie buff.

Rating:
Summary: superb adaptation, no bull
Review: excellent acting and dialogue by all. as close as you can get to being there. 8th air force buffs like myself should commend a movie as good as this one.i could go on and on but i think i've put the point across.they don't make them like they used to

Rating:
Summary: Powerfull war movie!
Review: With the war still very fresh in most peoples minds (1949), this movie, i.e., Twelve O'Clock High VHS , is very powerfull in its portrayal of war and the hell that it creates for its participants. It does not glorify nor glamorize the combat and it shows war for what it really is; hell on earth. Gregory Peck is awesome in his role as the commander and the dialogue and scipt are both very well crafted. Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Twelve O'Clock High
Review: A great WW2 movie with a lot action in the air. Must see if you love aerial combat.

Rating:
Summary: "Leadership is not a candy" or "The only virtue of the War"
Review: This was the first time I saw this movie, and is not going to be the last!! not only because Peck is one of my favorite actors is because this movie deals with an important matter: a real radiography of the first days in the Daylight Bombing Missions in Europe by the U.S. Air Force during WWII. The plot is simple: watch the general who have to push the bombing missions until he reach his breakpoint.

Some people told me that this is not an antiwar movie but you can see the devastating effects of the war in the soldiers. In the reviews said that ItÂ's not a figth movie but you can fly one mission and saw the real thing, you are watching real people die. Perharps ItÂ's not a moral movie but sure you are gonna make your own conclusions.

I can compare this movie with "The grave of the fireflies" an anime japanese that reflects the effects of a bombing mission in Japan. No, the bombing missions never were a party in the sky or in the ground, but for both it was full of anonimous acts of heroism. At last the war can do this: take out the best and the worst of the people, and this is I think the only virtue of the war.

Fact: the brittish did the bombing in the nights but looking for bombing precision ( always so practical )the americans did their missions in the daylight, we saw only one scene of battle: we fly in one mission with real footage of the conflict, and you have to think that this people had a lot of courage doing this, only you can compare with the guys in the submarines.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Twelve O'clock High is a perfect example of leadership at its finest.

Rating:
Summary: DVD Version
Review: One of my favorites!

Wish we could hear the award winning sound of the B-17's landing in the opening scenes insteaded of the muffled droaning.

Have gotten used to extras: stories behind the film. I'm sure a great story could be told about the making of 12 o'clock high.

Rating:
Summary: Great leadership film
Review: The two top films that show brilliant examples of leadership, as rated by executives polled by IBM, were #1) 12 O'Clock High, and #2) Apollo 13. This film is a classic that should be viewed by anyone going into any kind of leadership position!