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Click above to purchase "Twelve O'Clock High" at amazon.com
Twelve O'Clock High
review by Anthony D.
Studio: Fox
Running Time: 132 minutes
Starring Gregory Peck, Dean Jagger, Gary Merrill, Hugh
Marlow, Millard Mitchell
Written by Sy Bartlett and Bierne Lay, Jr.
Directed by Henry King
Retail Price: $24.98
Features: Theatrical Trailers
Specs: 1.33:1 Full Frame, English Stereo, English
Mono, French Mono, English Closed Captions, English
Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles, Chapter Search
Brigadier General Gregory Peck takes on a squadron of
angst and fear-ridden greenhorns and helps them to find the
bravery within as they fly unheard of daylight bombing
missions against the Germans. "Twelve O'Clock High" presents
a phase of the second World War which has rarely been
presented on film.
In the European Theater of War, at Archbury air base,
just a short train trip from London, the Allies are having a
very disquieting time. The have launched a new series of
bombing raids which take place in broad daylight. These were
the only Americans fighting in Europe in this early stage of
WWII, as the film is set in the latter part of 1942. The
precision daylight missions have not been as precise as they
could have been, with heavy losses and sparing
reinforcements. The 918th Air Force Group loses five bombers
(out of twenty-one), and the government only allots them
three replacements. The German Lord Haw-Haw actually uses
the radio to taunt and jeer the Archbury denizens, tallying
their losses across the airwaves. The crews' leaders are
living (just barely) on cigarettes and coffee, showers and a
freshly-pressed uniforms are luxuries they cannot afford.
The crews themselves are a motley crew of recruits not
accustomed to the nerve-wracking perils of war. These
fledglings, once having seen the gore, are not eager to fly
from their nests again, claiming illnesses when they're
really ill at ease.
The 918th needs a firm commander, and it comes in the
form of the Brigadier General handsomely portrayed by
American Icon Gregory Peck. For the usually charismatic,
charming Peck, this role is quite the turn-a-round. He's
fierce, he's a hard-ass; a by-the-book sort who will not
accept a salute from a sergeant out of uniform while on duty
- - he promptly demotes him to private. Peck's General wins
no favor with the upper echelon, either. When he arrives for
duty, the guys have been to the officers' club to down a few
and escape the trials of the day. Upon checking the entire
staff's service records, and finding the most likely not to
reach the breaking point, promptly closes the officers' club
until further notice. I was constantly amazed at Peck's
performance, finding him officious to the max, and
reminiscent of many roughnecks I've met through my family's
armed forces connections. He may seem to be a first-class
bastard; but he's REAL. To watch Peck's characterization is
to watch an acting genius at work, to watch his final fate
(with all of its ironic components) is what makes this film
special.
Peck is given ample support by his surrounding cast, we
the viewers don't even see Peck until the twenty-minute
mark; and his character doesn't really kick into action for
a while after that; an Academy Award was given to Dean
Jagger for his nuanced dipsomaniac whose character also
serves as the film's framing device. Soon to reunited in
1950's "All About Eve"are the ever-reliable Hugh Marlowe and
Gary Merrill. Merrill's roughshod officer is another quality
performance from this underrated character actor.
But the true star of the film is the aerial photography.
This is actual battle photography captured by both American
servicemen as well as from Germany's flying forces. This
stark black and white photography has the urgency normally
associated with documentaries, and give the viewer a true
"you are there" experience.
The more that I thought about this film, the more that I
liked it. It has one of the finest wartime scripts which
stresses the human element without patronizing. On first
viewing, I found myself becoming involved with these
characters (especially Peck's highly unlikable one) and
began to feel for what would eventually happen to them. It
is a gritty story, and well told. My familiarity with
director Henry King was basically limited to his 1955
Cinemascope production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's
"Carousel," which I often have found to lack the darkness of
its stage counterpoint. After viewing "Twelve O'Clock High,"
with all its darkness, and its anti-heroics, I can
understand why King was chosen to direct "Carousel," and
after some careful research, found that King did indeed
direct a darker version of that film, which FOX execs were
hesitant to release, so King was forced to endure studio
enforced reshoots to make the film more palpable to public
sentiments. If nothing else, "Twelve O'Clock High," ended up
being a very educational experience for me.
Some films from the Golden Age of film making have been
blessed with vibrant, rich digital transfers, several from
Fox; remastered to the point of their original glory. The
transfer used for "Twelve O'Clock High" in its full frame
black and white original format, is problematic to the max.
For starters, for the majority of the feature, there is what
appears to be a vertical water-mark running annoyingly on
the screen's left side (facing the screen, the viewer's
right). I sincerely doubt that this flaw is in the film's
negative, or that it was part of 1949's release print. This
flaw is obvious enough to detract the viewer from the
magnificent story being told. A multitude of scratches and
artifacts also affect the presentation. Early on, there is a
narrow white line running through the vertical center of the
screen. Now quite a few of the action scenes rely on
authentic World War II flier film, and those sections are
readily identified by the graininess and lack of sharpness
associated with amateur photography. These scenes are not
flawed as the actual film is, and I harbor no ill will
towards their documentary feel. Somewhere, beneath the mire
of artifacts, there is a very finely detailed print: the
opening shots, set seven years after the events of the film
show a nice studio-feel and once Peck arrives and gives his
infamous training speech, I was struck by the fact that
Peck's face is as riddled with pockmarks as the late Richard
Burton's was. You don't find these kind of details every
day. If a transfer ever cried out for a restoration, "Twelve
O'Clock High" lays on the crocodile tears.
An restoration effort has been brought to "Twelve O'Clock
High," though. With the original mono track available, and
for a 1949 film, it isn't bad. The mono track is firmly
centered, however, and with a film full of aerial sequences,
the additional Dolby-ized stereo track makes the film sound
more action&endash;packed. Don't expect to hear a reference
quality soundtrack however. The additional channels merely
spread the soundstage a little wider without ruining the
integrity of the original sound. Additional bass support
comes into play once the film takes flight. The rear
channels are used effectively but infrequently, most
significantly in the final third of the film. Dialogue is
always clear and concise, with a military crispness. Lionel
Newman, once again contributes a score filled with
melancholic strains befitting the framing device of the
film.
Significantly lacking, but tied in to the release of the
theatrical film "Pearl Harbor," are "Twelve O'Clock High's"
Special Features. Under the heading of "FoxFlix," the
trailers for the World War II films, "The Longest Day,"
"Patton," "Sand Pebbles," "The Thin Red Line" and "Tora!
Tora! Tora!" may be found. There is not a trailer for the
film itself, nor a newsreel clip of the Oscar night when
"Twelve O'Clock High" took home its two Academy Awards.
A memorable movie, marred by an indifferent presentation
- - FOX's fine film deserved better - - this time around,
"Twelve O'Clock High" rates a rental fee. World War II
afficionados will undoubtedly fine a space for it in their
DVD libraries.
 (4.5/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (2/5)
 (3/5)
 (1/5)
 (2.5/5, NOT an average)
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