Twelve O’Clock High (1949)

(On TV, November 2019) By the late 1940s, war movies had changed—it wasn’t necessary to produce propaganda pieces any more, so the way was open for filmmakers to take a somewhat more balanced look at the war. At the same time, there were plenty of hardware lying around and veterans of the war to ensure authenticity, and an audience with vivid memories of the events portrayed on-screen. Accordingly, Twelve O’Clock High is not the kind of war-hurrah films that would have been produced during the war, nor the war-is-hell antipropaganda that would emerge from the 1970s.  It’s a sober-minded film that takes a look at American aviators stationed in England and running bombing missions against Germany—with a clear emphasis on the logistics and the people-management aspect of running airborne warfare. Much stock footage (from both sides of the war) is used to complement the original material, although that material famously includes a shot of a bomber deliberately crashing. (The stunt pilot survived as planned.)  Twelve O’Clock High is a film that spends a surprising amount of time on the ground before getting up in the air: The focus here is on the tension of the group effort as entire crews never come back, as the war drags on and on, and as bomber crews are often easy pickings for nimble fighter pilots if not escorted. There’s a unique blend of period attitude, production means, lived experiences and filmmaking skill (having Gregory Peck in a lead role helps) that helps makes the film feel credible—indeed, it got top marks from real American aviators regarding its authenticity upon release and was long featured in US military training. That realism, and slightly off-combat focus still makes Twelve O’Clock High worth a watch even if you think you’ve seen most of what WW2 aviation movies have to offer.