![]() With enemy resistance intensifying as the air war advances deeper into Germany, missions become longer and riskier and many of Savage's best men are shot down or killed. Gately goes on to win Savage's respect and admiration by demonstrating extraordinary leadership and courage in combat. Savage also softens his attitude towards the men as he becomes more closely involved with them. But, led by Bishop, the pilots withdraw their requests. When the Inspector General arrives to investigate the pilots' transfer requests, Savage packs his belongings, expecting to be relieved of command and possibly court-martialed. Savage also acquires a surrogate son in Lieutenant Jesse Bishop, a Medal of Honor recipient who is Savage's eyes and ears among the combat aircrews. Though Pritchard is furious, Savage claims that he did not hear the recall due to a radio malfunction and instead persuades Pritchard to recommend the group for a Distinguished Unit Citation. The 918th successfully bombs the target and is the only group to do so. When the group returns to combat, all the groups are ordered to abort their mission due to heavy weather. An attorney in civilian life, Stovall knows how to use bureaucratic red tape to his advantage. Savage asks the Group Adjutant, Major Stovall, to delay processing their applications to buy him some time. Upset by the contrast of Savage's stern leadership with Davenport's easygoing ways, all of the group's pilots apply for transfers. Savage conducts a series of training missions and waits for an opportunity to restore the group's pride in its abilities. Rough-and-ready Major Cobb impresses Savage with his independent spirit and replaces Gately as Air Exec. Savage assigns Gately only the most incompetent crewmen, ordering him to paint the name "Leper Colony" on his airplane. He begins by reprimanding Gately, demoting him to aircraft commander and insisting that he henceforth fly every mission. Savage takes a harsh approach to restoring the group's discipline and morale. Davenport is relieved of command and Savage is asked to take over. ![]() Pritchard realizes that Savage is right: Davenport has become over-protective and is unwilling to discipline his men, even for costly mistakes. That night, Pritchard and Savage visit the group headquarters to investigate the cause of the mission's heavy losses. Later, Savage reluctantly shares with Major General Pritchard, the commanding general of VIII Bomber Command, his belief that Davenport has become emotionally too close to his men and may no longer be fit to command. Ordered to fly another mission the next day, at a dangerously low altitude, Davenport protests to his friend, Brigadier General Frank Savage, the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations at VIII Bomber Command. His defeatist attitude spreads to other senior leaders of the group, including his Air Exec, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Gately. After a particularly disastrous mission, group commander Colonel Keith Davenport appears exhausted and demoralized. In a flashback, the setting shifts to 1942, when the 918th Bomb Group at Archbury has gained a reputation as the "hard luck group". Convinced that it is the same jug which used to stand on the mantel of the airfield's officers' club, he buys it and journeys to the derelict airfield, where he reflects on his wartime experiences. In 1949, former United States Army Air Forces officer Harvey Stovall spots a familiar Toby Jug in the window of a London antique shop and learns that it came from Archbury, an airfield where Stovall served during World War II. 3 Historical counterparts of characters.In 1998, Twelve O'Clock High was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won two: Dean Jagger for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Thomas T. It stars Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard Mitchell, and Dean Jagger. ![]() The film was adapted by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr., with uncredited contributions by director Henry King, from the 1948 novel 12 O'Clock High by Bartlett and Lay. The climax includes a thinly disguised version of the Black Thursday strike against Schweinfurt. Void addNotificationListener() throws Exception interface.Twelve O'Clock High is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force, who flew daylight bombing missions against Nazi Germany and Occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II.
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