Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
My mom asked me the other day, “Gregory Peck was so handsome. Why was he in military movies instead of love stories?” My answer was that Greg was the picture of American integrity, and what better setting is there than a war movie to stand tall, look determined, and decide that for the greater good, you’re going to do the right thing? In Twelve O’Clock High, that’s exactly what Greg does.
He plays a tough-love bombardier general called in to whip a unit into shape, but he was far too young for the part. Hollywood tried to gray him up, but he’s extremely miscast rattling off orders and acting as though he’d been a military man his entire life. When you watch him boss around Gary Merrill and Dean Jagger, and when he harshly punishes the younger boys for minor infractions, you’re supposed to respect him enough to see his point of view. Greg isn’t old enough to understand his own motivations, so how can we? It should have been Fredric March or Robert Montgomery, actors who wouldn’t have needed gray spray paint or lessons in how to be tough yet compassionate. When your leading actor’s performance is so uninspired, he starts to make Gary Merrill look good, you know your movie’s in trouble. Dean Jagger’s absurd “Oscar clip” is comical when it’s not supposed to be. He drunkenly staggers around bemoaning all the young soldiers who have died and how he can’t see their faces clearly anymore. Why did he ever get an Academy Award for, in essence, saying, “They all look alike”?
As you can tell, this isn’t my favorite war movie. It did use actual war footage during the flight scenes, which probably gave the audience a very emotional reaction, but it’s still overrated. If you like WW2 movies, try They Were Expendable instead.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Gregory Peck movies here!
He plays a tough-love bombardier general called in to whip a unit into shape, but he was far too young for the part. Hollywood tried to gray him up, but he’s extremely miscast rattling off orders and acting as though he’d been a military man his entire life. When you watch him boss around Gary Merrill and Dean Jagger, and when he harshly punishes the younger boys for minor infractions, you’re supposed to respect him enough to see his point of view. Greg isn’t old enough to understand his own motivations, so how can we? It should have been Fredric March or Robert Montgomery, actors who wouldn’t have needed gray spray paint or lessons in how to be tough yet compassionate. When your leading actor’s performance is so uninspired, he starts to make Gary Merrill look good, you know your movie’s in trouble. Dean Jagger’s absurd “Oscar clip” is comical when it’s not supposed to be. He drunkenly staggers around bemoaning all the young soldiers who have died and how he can’t see their faces clearly anymore. Why did he ever get an Academy Award for, in essence, saying, “They all look alike”?
As you can tell, this isn’t my favorite war movie. It did use actual war footage during the flight scenes, which probably gave the audience a very emotional reaction, but it’s still overrated. If you like WW2 movies, try They Were Expendable instead.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Gregory Peck movies here!