It starts out with a couple of beautiful sequences. A middle-aged man finds an object in a thrift store that reminds him of the war, then there is a flashback to a poetic, almost wordless sequence where a bomber squadron returns after heavy losses. It all promises a fine movie, but the rest doesn't deliver. Gregory Peck stars as the no-nonsense General who takes over an `unlucky' unit and whips them into shape. The film consists of little more than Peck playing the same note over and over. I like Peck a lot; of all the great actors to die in the last couple of years, only his death brought a tear to my eye. But this is a cliché role and a cliché movie. It goes on forever with the same stuff. There is only one air battle shown and it is constructed with stock footage. Since this footage is inevitably scratched up and easily identifiable, it feels really cheap. That technique never works. 6/10.
Review of Twelve O'Clock High
