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Wednesday) February 1) 1950 m m 1^:,: n„ , I ' Gregory Peck & Hugh Marlowe With cold passion, inner tormenL 1H of' '] M' w> - #■ ! ] •tf I %\ >u, \ k'- i\\\ ,{ s^oy Wj j S5 % f' i ¥i l;v\^ iSii I ■ m B. i. m m i: i- Twelve O'clock High (20th Century- Fox) is the freshest and most cdnyincing movie of the current cycle about World War IL It successfully blends an artistry all too seldom shown by Hollywood and the high technical skill that only Holly- Wood commands. Scripted by Sy Bartlett and Beirne r.ay Jn from their own scenario-like novel about a heavy bomber group- in the U,S. .ArmyV Eighth Air Force (in which they both seiircd), 0'^^ High has ithe uncommon merit of restraint. It avoids such cinemilitary booby traps as Eelf-conscious heroics^ overwrought battle scenes and the women left behind or picked up along the way. (In fact, women appear only in bit parts.) The picture concentrates oh an engrossing human cri- sis posed b^ the demands of the early air war’s “maximum effort.” Twelve P*Clock High is the story of a stubborn flying general’s mission: rebuild- ing a bomber group whose shattered mo- rale under heavy losses threatens to i) discredit precision daylight bombing, and 2 ) undermine the whole aerial offensive against German-held Europe. Brigadier General Frank Savage* (Gregoty Peck) goes at the job with the cold passion of a martinet \and the inner torment of a man of good will. He breaks subordinates, can- cels privileges, harangues his crews (“Con- sider yourselves dead”), disgraces misfits, f mts the Outfit through elemehtary train- ng paces and WOOS such resentment that every pilot accepts his blanket invitation to apply for transfer. Then the shock treatment begins to pay off, first in bombing results, gradually in grudging admiration for Savage, finally in ih^^esprit de corps that he has been driv- ing for. But as the group’s record vindi- cates the general’s inhuman regime, his own humanity betrays him into physical collapse. The generars fight to mend the morale of the group—which takes almost two- thirds of the film—is a self-contained story so absorbingly pictured that some cinemagoers may feel a letdown when there seems nothing left to fight but the Germans. But Director Henry King makes the most of his only combat sequence: a trim, exciting pattern of re-enacted shots intercut with official U.S. and German Wartime film. Nothing about Producer Darryl P. Zan- uck’s painstakingly made film is better than its performances. As a paunchy, middle-aged adjutant. Dean Jagger with- out his toupee seems to have launched ah entirely new career. Broadway’s Gary Merrill, playing the general’s nerve-racked predecossor, adds considerably to the pic- ture’s conviction. Hugh Marlowe,, Robert Patteh, John Kellogg, Millard Mitchell and Paul Stewart are all able actors in top form. If Holly wood had no star system, the difficult central role would call for ah actor of more physical maturity than Gregory peck^ Nonetheless, Star Peck rises above the handicap with a strong^ beautifuily modulated performance that never lets the role down. V TIME, JANUARY m 1950 CiNTURY>rOX