TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH: Blu-ray (2oth Century-Fox 1949) Fox Home Video
Produced with the full cooperation of the United
States Air Force and modeled loosely on Colonel Frank A. Armstrong’s war-time
battle fatigue experiences, Henry King’s Twelve O’clock High (1949) is
an exhilarating anti-war movie starring that perennial man of integrity –
Gregory Peck as Brig. Gen. Frank Savage. Initially, the role had appealed to Clark
Gable, who actually served in the USAAF during World War II. But Gable had
already played a similar role in 1948’s Command Decision. Interestingly,
John Wayne was first offered the part, as was Burt Lancaster, James Cagney,
Dana Andrews, Van Heflin, Edmond O'Brien, Ralph Bellamy, Robert Preston, Robert
Young, and Robert Montgomery. Finally, it fell to Peck, who initially disliked
its parallels to Command Decision but was persuaded to accept because of
his admiration for director, Henry King, whom he knew would be able to unearth
a kernel of empathy for these characters. Indeed, the symbiosis between Peck
and King proved so palpable, they would go on to make 5 more movies together: The
Gunfighter (1950), David and Bathsheba (1952), The Bravados (1958),
and Beloved Infidel (1959).
Deriving its title from the practice of calling out
the positions of enemy aircraft by referencing an imaginary clock – with ‘high’,
being above the bomber – the picture is a sobering post-war reflection on what
is today better understood as post-traumatic stress disorder (or PTSD). During
the war years, the valor of fighting men and the courage of their women at home
was deliberately romanticized in the movies; Hollywood, seeing it as their duty
to create a mythical escapism from the horrors of the conflict. However, as the
guns fell silent there emerged a more progressive resistance to this sort of
make-believe and a concerted effort by filmmakers to inform the public of the war’s
harsher realities. Indeed, by 1946, the emotional fallout inflicted on the
soldier class could scarcely be camouflaged. John Huston’s devastating
documentary, Let There Be Light had let the proverbial ‘cat’ out of its
bag, prematurely silenced for chronicling some of the more disturbing
after-effects of the war. Even today, this hour-long account is heart-breaking
and, once seen, indelibly etched into the collective consciousness. Twelve O’clock
High is based on a novel by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay Jr., the duo,
returning to author the screenplay, with Bartlett’s wife, actress Ellen Drew,
actually the one responsible for giving the book its title.
As for Peck’s Frank Savage; he emerged as a composite
of several group commanders, though heavily influenced by Armstrong’s command
of the 306th Bomb Group. Savage’s near-catatonic breakdown was,
however, inspired by similar circumstances afflicting Brigadier General Newton
Longfellow – though, not directly based on any documented incident. Virtually
all of the characters in the picture, had their basis in real people: Major
General Pritchard (Millard Mitchell) modeled on Major General Ira C. Eaker; Major
Harvey Stovall (Dean Jagger), on William Howard Stovall, a World War I flying
ace, returned to active duty as a Major in the week following Pearl Harbor, and,
Colonel Keith Davenport (Gary Merrill) on Colonel Charles B. Overacker, whose
nickname was Chip. For all its verisimilitude, Twelve O’clock High’s
closest parallel came early on, when Davenport confronts Savage about his orders.
Virtually all of the fictional characters who appear in the movie have roots in
real-life heroes of the war, lending even more cache to the production as a
work of thinly-veiled fiction. 2oth Century-Fox chieftain, Darryl F. Zanuck
paid a whopping $100,000 for the film rights, and reportedly, another $100,000 in
escalator and book club clauses, motivated in his urgency after learning
director, William Wyler was similarly pursuing the property over at Paramount.
For authenticity, Zanuck scrapped his initial decision
to shoot in Technicolor after he gained access to some death-defying real
combat footage for the battle scenes already shot in B&W. Zanuck also hired
stunt pilot, Paul Mantz to perform certain aerial stunts, with Eglin Air Force Base
near Fort Walton, Florida used as the picture’s primary location, with additional
footage shot at Ozark Army Air Field near Daleville, Alabama, and, RAF Barford
St. John, a satellite of RAF Croughton in Oxfordshire, England. For his part, Mantz,
one of the industry’s premiere stunt pilots, was paid a record $4500 to deliberately
wreck his B-17 bomber. All of this meticulous planning evidently paid off, as
veterans readily cited Twelve O'clock High as one of the most accurate
depictions of their war-time combat experiences. The movie also punctuated Hollywood’s
shift away from the flag-waving spectacles made during the war, the slant now
squarely focused on a more tenacious pragmatism.
The picture is book-ended by a pro- and epilogue set in
1949; retired Colonel Harvey Stovall, spying a Toby Jug in the window of a
London antique shop. Discovering its Archbury origins, Stovall is convinced
this is the same jug from the airfield's officers' club, and buys it to make his
pilgrimage back to the derelict airfield. From here, we regress into flashback.
The year is 1942, and Archbury is home to the 918th Bomb Group – a.k.a.,
the 'hard luck group'. After a principally calamitous mission, Colonel Keith
Davenport is dog-tired and dispirited. His fatalistic outlook infects the
morale of other senior leaders, chiefly, Air Exec, Lieutenant Colonel Ben
Gately (Hugh Marlowe). Charged with another mission, Davenport launches a
formal protest to Brigadier General Frank Savage, the Assistant Chief of Staff
for Operations, who also happens to be his friend. Savage takes the advice to
heart, but later confides in Major General Pritchard he believes Davenport has
become too emotionally involved and should be relieved of his command. Pritchard
and Savage investigate the previous mission's heavy casualties, with Pritchard
realizing Savage was right. As such, Savage replaces Davenport, taking an austere
approach to restoring obedience and confidence. Lt. Col. Gately is demoted to
aircraft commander, assigned only inept crewmen, and ordered to paint ‘Leper
Colony’ on his aircraft. Serviceable Major Joe Cobb (John Kellogg) imprints his
self-reliance and supplants Gately as Air Exec. Discontented with Savage's Teutonic
management, Squadron’s pilots apply for transfers. But Savage asks the Group
Adjutant, Major Stovall, to delay their applications to buy him time. An
attorney in civilian life, Stovall knows how to effectively stonewall the
process.
Savage ignores the order to abort their mission due to
inclement weather and, in fact, successfully bombs the target with all of his
crew returning safely to base. Pritchard is incensed. But Savage claims miscommunication,
and, instead coaxes Pritchard to endorse the group for a Distinguished Unit
Citation. Savage also acquires a true loyalist in Lieutenant Jesse Bishop
(Robert Patton), a Medal of Honor recipient. When the Inspector General arrives
to investigate the transfer requests, Savage anticipates he may be relieved of
his command, or even court-martialed. However, led by Bishop, virtually all of the
pilots withdraw their requests. In gratitude, Savage slackens slightly on his
iron-fisted rule of the men, and, as time wears on, becomes more personally
invested in their lives. Gately earns Savage's approbation for his unexpected leadership
and bravery in combat. As enemy resistance strengthens, Savage’s company
endures heavy casualties. Pritchard implores Savage to return to a staff job.
However, Savage is not entirely certain the company can survive without him. Ordered
to return to the same target after a particularly brutal raid, Savage becomes
physically incapacitated. Gately takes his place. However, while waiting for
the group’s return, Savage becomes unresponsive, restored to his sanity when he
hears the squadron returning to Archbury. We flash forward to 1949, as Stovall,
with his jug in tow, pedals away from Archbury.
One of 2oth Century-Fox’s most prolific and steady
employed directors, Henry King is today, also a sadly underrated one. In his prime,
King was a beloved of Zanuck and one of the most sought-after workhorse
directors on the backlot, responsible for such iconic Fox fare as State Fair
(1933), Lloyd's of London (1936), In Old Chicago (1937), Alexander's
Ragtime Band (1938), Jesse James (1939), The Black Swan (1942), The
Song of Bernadette (1943) and Zanuck’s opus magnum, Wilson (1944);
the latter two, for which he was justly Oscar-nominated, but did not take home
the coveted Academy Award. Twelve O'Clock High is neatly situated at the
start of King’s third-act at the studio, consistently followed in quality by The
Gunfighter (1950), David and Bathsheba (1951), King of the Khyber
Rifles (1953), Untamed (1955) and Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
(1955) – again, merely to name a few of his highlights. One of the 36 founding
members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, King remained its
last survivor. After directing more than 100 films, he died of a heart attack
at his home in 1982, age 96! Twelve
O’clock High remains one of King’s finest contributions to American movies
– a profoundly moving, yet ironic tribute to imperfect heroism. King’s
direction is assured and tight – delivering a war movie with genuine guts that
brings home a more gritty and honest depiction of the hardships of war. Stepping
outside his comfort zone, Gregory Peck’s performance commands our attention and
offers, perhaps, the first signs of Peck’s ability to delve into complex men of
action, for which his most celebrated role, as Atticus Finch in To Kill A
Mockingbird (1962) is the likely benefactor.
Twelve O'Clock High arrives on Blu-ray in a less than
impressive hi-def transfer. If I had to
guess, I’d say Fox is cribbing from HD files that were already used to master the
DVD, bumped up to a 1080p transfer. Contrast is anemic. There are no deep
blacks or bright whites. Everything falls into a mid-register tonal gray. The
other shortcoming here is grain – lacking the texture and layering, and, with
some built-in digital noise that suggests over-processing of the image. The
'real' aerial footage is in rougher shape. The re-channeled 5.1 DTS is adequate,
while revealing the shortcomings of vintage Westrex sound recording. Fox also
gives us a DTS 1.0 original mono option – actually, preferred for vintage authenticity.
Extras have all been duplicated from Fox’s original 2-disc DVD Cinema Classics
DVD and includes an audio commentary shared by Rudy Behlmer, the late Nick Redman,
and, John Burlingame – a great listen. commentary. We also get featurettes,
each running well under 10-minutes. There is also a puff piece from General
Frank A. Armstrong Jr., topping out at 12-minutes. Bottom line: Twelve O’clock
High is a sobering reminder of the valor and sacrifices made by the ‘greatest
generation’ and is a movie not to be missed. While the Blu-ray is not
altogether satisfying, the movie is definitely worth your coin and time.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
5
VIDEO/AUDIO
3.5
EXTRAS
3
Comments