Twelve O'Clock High

Whilst not strictly based on a true story, Twelve O'Clock High at the very least is inspired by the 918th Bombing Group, based in England during 1942. These were American flyboys instrumental in the trialing of daylight bombing runs over Nazi Germany during World War II. Until that point, daylight bombing runs were considered too dangerous.

Commanded by Colonel Keith Davenport (Gary Merrill), the group have proven to be quite successful in their mission when the film opens, despite some casualties. However, the top brass are convinced it could be more successful and, working on the belief that every man has a point he reaches where he can no longer be completely relied upon to do his job like he once did, they replace Davenport with General Frank Savage (Gregory Peck). Savage immediately sets to, barking orders at just about everyone, in an effort to restore pride and morale. Against advice he continues with this method of command, until he faces a virtual mutiny.

Weathering that storm, and with a few bombing raid successes under his belt, the men slowly learn more about their new commanding officer and his genuine desire to see them reach their full potential. This includes flying missions himself, and as he slowly builds the men into a sharper outfit, it becomes clear that each man does indeed have a breaking point, including Savage himself.

Twelve O'Clock High is not your run of the mill black and white war film. You know the ones, lots of bombs, soldiers riding around aimlessly in the back of jeeps and carrying pictures of their girl back home in their wallet. This film is about the effect of war on people, and in particular the way in which people react to the stress and the unusual demands made of them during wartime. There is no female lead, and very few female characters at all. There is no love interest, and there are no letters written to sweethearts back home. This film is about leadership, determination, self-belief, and the ability to meet expectations.

Gregory Peck is particularly good as General Savage, who at first appears to be a somewhat watery character, but soon becomes quite menacing and authoritative, as only Gregory Peck can. The supporting cast is generally good, though one or two of the more emotional outbursts look a little wooden. There is good use of real air battle footage that has been gathered from various sources and filmed by actual combat fighters in World War II. Apart from these scenes, there are no real action sequences, but the film is actually better for it. Even those that aren’t keen on war films should enjoy Twelve O'Clock High.

Presented in a full frame aspect ratio, and therefore not 16x9 enhanced, this is very close to the original film aspect ratio of 1.37:1. Filmed in 1949 (and nominated for Best Picture at that year's Oscars) this is a black and white film, and while there has been no real restoration attempted, effort must have been expended in finding a decent copy for the transfer. There is a very good range of greys used in the film, and blacks are generally looking good, even and deep. There is no evidence of low-level noise, but grain can be seen in numerous passages. The original air battle footage is heavily grained, but as genuine footage it's a great addition to the film. Shadow detail is quite good, and the general contrast too is good.

Film artefacts are quite frequent throughout, but mostly limited to small white flecks and specks of white, though several lengthy passages are very clean. The exception is a vertical line that makes at least two appearances for ten and twenty seconds respectively at 14:39 and 66:04. There is almost no aliasing or shimmer, but there is a strange shimmering on the right hand side of the screen that is occasionally visible, akin to looking out of a window on a rainy day, though this was only intrusive in one short scene.

The audio transfer is Dolby Digital 2.0 and is adequate at best. There is a hiss that can be heard for much of the film, but it is close to inaudible in many scenes. The opening music sounds a fraction distorted and thin, but this seems to improve even though the score is used sparingly. The audio is clear and there are no problems with synchronisation. The overall low-level sounds are not particularly impressive, but there are limitations in the source no doubt.

There is some noticeable panning and separation in the front speakers in such things as trucks and planes, but mostly the sound is even. There is no signal from the subwoofer or centre and rear speakers.

The layer change is well placed between scenes at 69:13.

There are no extras, unless you count the subtitle selection, which we don't.

This is an enjoyable wartime drama. It is not a typical war film full of gung-ho boys with guns, and while the Germans are referred to as the enemy, we never actually see any. Even the American characters are actually flawed for a change. There are no testosterone monkeys with grenades, and no Rambos winning the war singlehandedly. It is this human approach to war that makes this enjoyable viewing. It is not pro or anti war, it is just a film about people at war, with the enemy and with themselves.