MovieChat Forums > Twelve O'Clock High (1950) Discussion > The Powerful Beginning...

The Powerful Beginning...

posted 18 years ago by InfernoJones
16 replies | jump to latest

I grew up in the 1960's, and I have dim memories of liking the television series of the same name. "Stay tuned for Twelve O' Clock High!"

I didn't see the movie till sometime in the 90's. It was on AMC, I think when they still showed them sans commercials. I sat down to watch in a "serious viewing" mode, meaning I really wanted to see why this was a FOUR-STAR ranked movie. Plus, like many, I'm a Gregory Peck fan.

I just wasn't prepared to be so emotionally bowled over like I was so early in the movie...

*SPOILER SPACE*

The jovial, easy going shopping expedition...the trip across the picturesque countryside...the cuteness of the well-dressed businessman riding a bike, his new hat and boxed purchase in the handle-bar basket.

I just wasn't ready for the shift in gears...

Talk about the absolute perfect blending of music and an actor emoting with just body language and his countenance...

It really put me in a "state". One I don't like to be seen in by others. Too embarassing, if you catch my drift. I thought it was just me...

That was until an Academy Awards show where they opened with a montage of Classic movie clips, and for the ending "crescendo" they showed the scene of a man in the midst of a flood of memories...and the tall grass blowing.

I guess it wasn't just me...I'll hazard a guess and say that many are carried away in that "flood".

And watching it now...it still puts me in that "state". I'm not ashamed to admit it...

What a great movie.

************************************

[–] jamdonahoo 18 years ago

I agree the opening scenes from this film are great. Some other of my favorite opening scenes:

The Longest Day
Sunset Blvd
The Desert Fox
Jaws

Any additions?

[–] fastobe 18 years ago

"Clear and Present Danger" - When I first saw it in the theater, I could taste the salt spray on my lips. On a big-screen TV with a decent sound system, it still ranks #1 with me.

The beginning of "Patton" AFTER the speech can still bring me chills, too.

[–] kbarada 13 years ago

Very old thread, but the movies are timeless. I would add the opening of High Noon to the list.

[–] Bluesman125 18 years ago

Even more powerful and symbolic than the beginning was the closing scene - the masked raider ceramic mug - facing into the room the night before another raid, facing the wall on a 'down day' - is replaced on the mantle by an older Harvey...and it's facing the viewer.

The meaning is clear: it's OUR mission now, and we're in command of what was bequeathed to us by those unbelievably brave men.

Brief is at 0430; takeoff is at 0600.

[–] PaperShredder 18 years ago

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can ever beat the opening scene of Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West"!

Talking about power, beauty and poetry...

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mlraymond 17 years ago

I saw this movie for the first time at the age of thirteen, and didn't fully understand or appreciate it at the time. But the opening sequence of the man revisiting the abandoned airfield impressed me powerfully, more than anything else in the film. Especially when the music rises to a really dramatic surge and the propwash of the unseen B-17's ripples the grass behind him, and the camera reveals the peace time sky of England has changed to 1942 again ,and is filled with returning Fortresses. Incredibly powerful stuff, even for those of us born long after the war.

And when he crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him

[–] violeteh 17 years ago

My father, an 8th AF B-17 pilot was crippled for life when his ship was blown out the sky over Merseburg Germany.....He died in 1981.....He loved this movie.....

[–] nyntv 17 years ago

This thread has given me major chills. All great posts, especially the original. Must agree: Once Upon a Time in the West ranks right up there with awesome opening scenes. Bravo!

[–] mtkennedy1 17 years ago

It's a shame that so many short but crucial scenes were cut from this movie in the TV era when commercial breaks required a fixed length. For example, the scene where Savage explains the significance of the Toby mug is gone. The scene where the navigator (who is of German descent) who missed the check point hears some of his fellow officers calling him "a German ace" because five planes were lost through his navigation error. There are several others missing. We see the scene with Dean Jagger buying the mug and one of him putting it on the mantle in the officers' club but no explanation. We see the relief of Keith, the CO, and then the navigator leaving the Group offices. The next scene has Savage asking where everyone is and being told they are at a funeral. The missing scene explained why he took it so personally. I wish a Director's Cut would be put together with all the missing scenes. One more is the shot down Jesse in a POW camp looking up and seeing a thousand bomber raid going over. It recalls a scene when Savage told him he would see that someday when they were still talking about resignation of the pilots.

Great movie and it deserves restoration.

[–] nmitsialis 17 years ago

mtkennedy:

Cut scenes? I have to ask: Were these scenes actually filmed or are they from the Novel?

TIA

NickM

[–] InfernoJones 13 years ago

I'd like to know, too!
____

[–] njbucks 13 years ago

The answer is no. These scenes were never in the movie, but appear in the book. In the movie Bishop is treated as KIA. In the book, Savage learns, through his girl friend Pamela, that British radio traffic intercepts indicated that Bishop and his crew crashed landed and were taken prisoner. Later in the book Savage receives a Red Cross postcard from Bishpo in the Luft Stalag. In the penultimate mssion in the book, Savage deviates course (not significantly) so the Air Froce flies over the Luft Stalag where Bishop is held and Bishop is noted as saying Savage must be leading the mission. Likewise, in the book, the whole harrasment and subsequent suicide of the German-American navigator Zimmerman (who is Bishop's hut mate)is played out in much greater detail, but omitted from the film. The biggest myth that has gone around is about Stovall placing the mug on the O-Club mantle as the ending of the film. In the book this occurs at the end of the introductory chapter and is the springboard for Stovall's flashback to 1943. The film introduces the flashback in a much differant fashion and clearly has Stovall taking the toby back with him from Archbury at the end. I don't kow why folks insist that there are cuts, omissions and a directors cut for the film, but there is no evidnce these scenes were ever part of the screenplay, were filmed or were part of the completed picture as released.

[–] deeveed 13 years ago

It recalls a scene when Savage told him he would see that someday when they were still talking about resignation of the pilots.

Regarding the 'resignation' of the pilots, I'd like to ask if there were any court-martials for pilots absolutely refusing to fly missions or what the extent of it was during the war. Something tells me that this wasn't a problem.
I'd think they might have had "problems" with their CO but not with actually fulfilling missions especially if your group is doing the job.

[–] njbucks 13 years ago

I fully agree the opening to Twelve O'Clock High is among the most powerful scenes ever committed to film. A perfect combination of visual image, emotive non-verbal acting (Jagger would have copped his Oscar for this scene alone, even though he was splendid throughout the movie)and music. It is a gem which I often replay.

I'd like to suggest another opening which is quite good although it involves a flash-forward, and not a flashback. In "The Blue Max" the film opens (pre-titles) on the Western Front-1916 (or so the title card says)with Bruno Stachel/George Peppard, a German infantry man, wandering along in the mud of the trenches scavenging among the discared dead of both armies. He is interupted by an allied machine gunner obviously intent on terminating the young soldier. He flees for his life finally thrwing himelf on his back in the relative safety of a trench. As he lies there recovering from his close call, he hear the sound of engines and teh stacotto of a distant machine gun and gazes skyward to see two bi-planes dogfigting in eh crystal ble sky. The camrea contiues to follow this dogfight as the music (great Goldsmith score) comes up and the oepning cridts roll. All the hile the viewer sees the ebb and flow of the same dogfight. When the credits end, the viwer sees one pilot has triumphed over the other and the latter's stricken aircraft plunges to earth to crash in a ball of flames in what the title card says is still the Western Front, but now two years later in 1918 and the filthy Stachel, how the viewer last saw gazing skyward from the mud, is now a clean cut, newly minted pilot officer being transported to his first combat flight assignement, and away we go. Like Twelve O'Clock High, a grat combination of visual image, non verbal acting and music which sets the plot in motion with nary a word. Whatever you think of the rest of the film (and I rate "The Blue Max" way up there for war films, although many others reasoanbly differ)the opening is wonderfully done and should be seen to be appreciated.

[–] rwsmith29456 11 years ago

How right you are. The story became alive again in his memories. Great way to start a movie.