This is my favorite of All Time War Movies and I have a LOT of them... A most excellent movie and for anyone who enjoys War Movies, this one is a requirement, especially if you like planes!

It's a fairly low key, very low action and overwrought War film. Peck plays a strong role but it's not particularly dramatic. They set the scene well but it keeps setting the scene and the story ends in a bit of a lame way. Watched on DVD.

This movie shows the extreme heroics of our greatest generation; but the lack of literally any kind of score makes this more of a drawn-out documentary than it should be.

One of the best aviation films of WW2 I've seen, Gregory Peck who plays General Savage is savage as he turns around a squadron of American bombers based in the UK from deadbeats to top flyers, Everyone in the film acts well, makes a nice change from America winning the war single-handedly without anyone help, it explores the human reaction to fear and death, fear of one's death, the flyers would be aged 18 -15 mainly with some older guys so turning them into fear loathing killers from homesick surfer boys must have been some tough job to do, there wasn't a 918 bomber group but there was a "hard-luck" group the 306th Bomb Group at Thurleigh, which (multiplied by three) became the 918th at Archbury in the book and movie. In November 1942, Eaker (then VIII Bomber Command commander) and Spaatz (Eighth Air Force commander) visited Thurleigh and didn't like what he found and decided to turn it around, the film is based on fact, filmed at Elgin and made to look like Thurleigh, 95% in my book of watchable WW2 films.

A strong performance by Gregory Peck and the supporting cast, the film is a Classic look at life during wartime and the individual and an in depth look at what each person can take when pushed to their brink. The character Peck plays is harsh, unemotional, and downright a hardass but as the film goes on and the General played by Peck grows with his new company of men and experiences battle firsthand and the loss of others, there is a huge change in his character. We see him being pushed to the breaking point and the devastating effects and in a word; transcendence.

Made a few years after the killing and dying was over - at least until Korea! - this film portrays some of the psychological toll that combat took on the men who endured it. Some incidents that happened years into the US's involvement of the war are conveniently compressed into a story that initially appears set in 1942; those anachronisms will be lost on younger audiences but the impact of the story shouldn't be. Young men who volunteered for the US Army Air Corps may have figured they'd have it easier than infantrymen, but soon find their comrades killed or shot to pieces, which is a microcosm for entire nations embarking on war envisioning a quick and easy victory.

Twelve O'Clock High is a solid war drama- with almost no action. One thing that I did enjoy was that for the minimal action they choose to depict- they use actual footage of aerial warfare that took place during WWII. Having recently watched Tora! Tora! Tora! and Battle of Britain- I was slightly disappointed that every time the pilots gear up for an air raid- it cuts to the aftermath of them returning without ever showing what happened. I understand this was probably a limitation of the year this movie was made, as well as the budget.

Though produced shortly after the war this film doesn't play like the propaganda of other period pieces. Unlike other stories of hotshot officers whipping misfit units into shape, ‘12 O'Clock High' provides nuance and depth. Peck's hotshot officer is fallible and just barely holding himself together. The misfit outfit is shown to be composed of good, brave soldiers pushed beyond the limits of their endurance. This film doesn't revel in the glories of war or the righteousness of a cause, but rather looks at the psychological costs to the offers and men fed into the machine.

One of the astonishing things for me is that it was made in 1949, and yet the disused airfield seen at the beginning and end of the film, is just as the ones that we can still see today, more than 70 years later. The air-footage is all real, and while the crash landing 5 minutes in was done for the camera, it is real too, an old but working flying fortress was destroyed for the film. The acting may seem hammed-up, but viewers need to understand that in those days it was the military figures who were 'hammed-up', they had personas they felt were vital to lead men into battle. The story-line is such a good example of leadership underfire that the film was used as part of the training programme of RAF officers in the 1970s and 80s (I was one of those trained with it).

Peck saves the lackluster script.

Starts out — and mostly plays out — as your typical war drama about a crackerjack military official who's brought in to whip a fledgling unit into shape. Without saying too much, though, this isn't really where the film ends up going and I'd only wish it'd gotten there sooner. As a result, you do spend a good portion of the film with a distaste for the approach that the protagonist uses in instilling "discipline" into the ranks of this crew. It's not that Peck himself is unlikable or pulling a meager performance in any way. I just simply couldn't identify with the narrative's main tension. That is, until the third act rolls along and reveals to you what it's really all about. By that point, though, it may have been too little, too late for me.

really well done dramatic movie the performances were awesome.i just wish it had a bit more action.Then i would have rated it higher.

Great performance from Peck in a more intelligent war film. No oversimplified characters or situations. Patriotic without being blind and insulting. Dean Jagger did not deserve an Oscar though. He is around the sidelines, low key, well done, but not award worthy.

Twelve o clock high is a very good classic war film. One of Gregory peckâ(TM)s best films. He is one of my favorite actors. I love a few of his classic movies. They are so memorable. Twelve o clock high is when Gregory peck is a flight pilot and his men fight in the sky in a bunch of planes. Itâ(TM)s a great movie. I Personally do enjoy it.

ProbNly one of the best war films ever, even though there is little fighting in it. It accurately depicts the dangers and challenges facing 8th Air Force crews in the early years of the Combined Bomber Offensive in World War II. It focuses on the interactions among leaders and those who carry out their orders. It includes actual film taken both by US Army Air Forces and the German Luftwaffe. Don't let the fact that it is in Black and White deter you. It is a wonderful movie.

Peck is a standout in a distinctively different WWII film, but needs more footage of pilots in the air to convince me of their overall "progress."

Twelve O'Clock High is an amazing film. It is about a hard-as-nails general who takes over a bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape. Gregory Peck and Hugh Marlowe give incredible performances. The screenplay is well written. Henry King did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the drama. Twelve O'Clock High is a must see.

Smart and well-done. But probably one of the most boring films I have ever seen.

I think it's safe to say that a lot of people will not enjoy Twelve O'Clock High, because it is a war film with very little war in it. However I was really fascinated with it. First of all the war scenes, while few and far between, utilize actual footage from WWII. So it is a bit startling when you look at it through that lens, and realize real people were flying and dying in those moments and this is what a real dogfight can actually look like. It became quite difficult to track who was who and what was going on in those scenes, but when you consider this is the real thing you realize the extreme difficulty of their job. But what really fascinated me about this movie is that it was less of a movie about the war, and more of a movie about the effects of the war on those who are forced to fight. While I've never been in the military, I always respect movies that feel like an accurate portrayal of what military life looks like. The film examines how strict and harsh leadership can drive men more than kindness and caring. It also explores the limits of human endurance. I thought Gregory Peck was ideal as the tough-as-nails general, and you could see why people respected him. The actors supporting him also did a great job, and made it clear that the war was as tough on their souls as it was on their bodies. My biggest problem with the movie was differentiating all the characters. So much of the movie is simply men in a room talking about other men, and unless you can track who fits which name, it is tough to follow these conversations. It's not perfect, but I was really pleased with Twelve O'Clock High, and it's a movie I could definitely see myself watching again. In my opinion it was a deserving Best Picture nominee.

There's a great Robert E. Lee quote that stuck with me over the years: "To be a good soldier, you must love the army. To be a good commander, you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love." The characters in this film have an easy time with the former but a hell of a time with the latter. And it's enough to break even the toughest of people. Watching that is a truly sad thing but it makes for a powerful film.