Balek's Movie Review™ - Twelve O'clock High

Here's a blast from the past - and when I say past, I mean circa 1949 to get us Twelve O'clock High staring Gregory Peck.  Flipping through the channels late this morning found it playing on the FOX movie channel.  This isn't the first time I've seen the movie - it was mandatory viewing for the Leadership class I took as part of my M.B.A.  If that's not enough, the U.S. Navy has it as viewing for leadership style and qualities in their Leadership and Management Training School.  I'm certain it wasn't filmed thinking that it would be used in universities across the nation and in a classroom setting, but there is a ton of value there.  Oh, and it also won 2 Oscars on 4 nominations.

The movie tells a story of a down-on-their-luck 918th U.S. bomber group during World War II.  Morale is abymsal, the officer crew has fallen apart, in short - its a disaster.  To help fix things, the higher ranks bring in a hard hitting, tough-as-nails general to take over.  He comes in thinking that tough love is what the crew needs, forcing training down their throats and raising the standard of performance to the max.  Obviously this doesn't fare well with the men, but as they start understanding how important they are to eachother, how they can make a difference in the war, and how they can be real soldiers.  This happens in parellel with the humanization of the new general, to the point where he has so much invested in the men that he starts to suffer just as his predecessor did when things to a slight bit off.

I can't recommend the movie more highly for anyone who is interested in the development of leadership personally, or within others.  Outside of Band of Brothers, and Saving Private Ryan, this would be my favorite war movie.  It really is a one-of-a-kind film that deserves your 132 minutes of life to see.