Another decent American WW2 film which seems to have dropped out of sight over the years, I'd never heard of TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH before I caught it playing on television. I'm glad I watched it because this is a film which has an excellent role for Gregory Peck, one of my favourite actors, playing the tough new general who takes over training members of an American bomber squadron stationed in England.
It's a film that looks at the nitty gritty of pilot training and the effects that death and failure can have on the morale of a group. Thus it's not an easy film to watch at times as it goes down some dark psychological alleyways, but the realism and lack of sugar coating is what makes it all the more effective. The supporting cast is fine with Dean Jagger particularly standing out in a difficult role, but it's Peck who holds things together here with a show-stopping turn as one of the coldest yet most human characters seen in a war movie. The ending of the film is moving beyond belief and the authenticity of the thing never flags, with the dog fight scenes utilising real-time war footage to add to the realism of the thing.
It's a film that looks at the nitty gritty of pilot training and the effects that death and failure can have on the morale of a group. Thus it's not an easy film to watch at times as it goes down some dark psychological alleyways, but the realism and lack of sugar coating is what makes it all the more effective. The supporting cast is fine with Dean Jagger particularly standing out in a difficult role, but it's Peck who holds things together here with a show-stopping turn as one of the coldest yet most human characters seen in a war movie. The ending of the film is moving beyond belief and the authenticity of the thing never flags, with the dog fight scenes utilising real-time war footage to add to the realism of the thing.