I've always thought that these scenes with Dean Jagger were among the best of opening and closings of any movie. Not so much for the visual effects, but for the emotions they evoke. If you have ever come upon a lonely, quiet place that was once vibrant and full of life and felt a deep sense of memories gone by, this is it.
shareKbarada: I agree, and these scenes were filmed at Ozark Army Airfield, before Ft Rucker Alabama was re-opened as the Aviation School and Center, so when I was at Ft Rucker I went to look for the locations, one older guy knew where the scenes were shot, it was covered with runways!! This was in 1966 at Carins AAF...
Dale
"If those sweethearts won't face German bullets--They'll face French ones!"
Thanks for the information vonmazur. I always wondered where they filmed these scenes. I thought it was an abandoned field in the UK. Such is Hollywood.
For many years I lived near Hendricks Field at Sebring, Florida. This was a newly built Army Air Corps basic training facility for B-17 flight crews. Between 1941 and 1946, hundreds of crews were trained. I had occassion to visit the field many times years later. The original control tower, hangers, operations buildings, etc. were still there. The runways had high grass and weeds growing in the carcks. Once a year, the Collins Foundation would visit with their restored WWII war birds. Usually a swing band was there to play popular songs of the early 1940's. A fairly large crowd including former bomber pilots and ground crews would gather and watch the skys waiting for the first sight and sound of the planes to arrive.
The first sightings of the planes were shouted out and the band began playing "String of Pearls". Experiencing the sight and sounds of a four engine B-17 at 500 feet fly by, tip its wings, cirle and land was something I will never forget. It was like being transported back in time. I'm glad that movies like 12 O'Clock High were made. They will keep the memory of the heoric men and their aircraft forever alive.