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THE STORY:
An intelligent overview of the men involved in the business of dropping bombs and the anxiety of command, Twelve O'Clock High remains one of the films most closely identified with Gregory Peck and director Henry King. Peck plays a young general put in charge of a bomber command in England after his duty-weary predecessor has a breakdown, and soon, without realizing it, he discovers the same thing is happening to him.
BEHIND THE SCENES:
The role of Gen. Savage was turned down by John Wayne.
Location shooting took place at the Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire England as well as Ft. Walton Beach and Eglin Air Force bases in Florida, and Ozark Air Field in Alabama.
THE PRODUCER:
Darryl Zanuck and his son, Richard, are also the only father and son in Academy history to each produce Best Picture winners. Richard won an Oscar in for the 1989 film, Driving Miss Daisy. He was also nominated for Jaws in 1975 and The Verdict in 1982.
Of course, Darryl Zanuck won an Oscar for Gentleman's Agreement...as well as All About Eve (1950) and How Green was My Valley (1941). Many acclaimed films received nominations in addition to 12 O'Clock High; including 42nd Street (1933), Les Misérables (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), and The Longest Day (1962).
THE AWARDS:
Peck's fourth Oscar bid was again not as appreciated by the Academy as it was the New York Film Critic's Circle. The film also received an Academy nomination, but only Dean Jagger took the Oscar. Director King, cinematographer Leon Shamroy, and composer Alfred Newman, though overlooked by Oscar, were equally deserving for making one of the all-time greatest war films.
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