History Film / TwelveOClockHigh

Adapted by Creator/QuinnMartin into a [[RecycledTheSeries TV drama]] that aired on Creator/{{ABC}} from 1964–67.

* WarIsHell: Established in an early scene when a man is taken off one of the bombers with the back of his head shot away, but still alive and conscious, raving. The crew of that same plane also have to dispose of the severed arm of another crew member. This is based on real events, except the real incident was ''even worse''.
* WhatTheHellHero: Savage chews out Gately for sitting out the vast majority of the 918th's missions and failing to properly support Colonel Davenport. General Savage believes that Gately shares no small part of the blame for Davenport ending up relieved of command. And then there is the small issue of Gately going AWOL to get drunk as soon as he found himself in acting command of the Group.

** The 918th uses it as a bearer of unwelcome news. It's supposed to be the face of Robin Hood, but the black mask makes it look like a caricature of an enemy spy. Normally it sits atop the fireplace mantle in the Officer's Club, facing the wall. When it's turned around to face the room, it tells everyone that they have a mission planned for the next day.

* AFatherToHisMen: Colonel Davenport. Too much so, as his feelings for his 'boys' have reduced his effectiveness as a combat commander despite his personal bravery and diligence. Savage comes in barking orders and handing out punishments in order to avoid this effect. His breakdown at the end reveals how much Savage felt like AFatherToHisMen even if the men did not know it.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: General Savage conspires with the Group Adjutant, Major Stovall, to [[ExploitedTrope exploit this trope]]. As the new commander, Savage's policies are so harsh that ''all'' of the pilots put in for transfers. Savage needs time (ten days is his estimate) to prove that his policies will work, but is at a loss as to how to proceed. To the rescue comes Major Stovall, formerly a civilian lawyer who knows all the tricks of the bureaucracy. He outlines a plan that will delay processing any transfer requests for quite a while: get everything else on his plate done first; check all those transfer requests for mistakes (since [[SarcasmMode of course the General doesn't want incomplete paperwork coming out of the Group]]). Stovall guesses that every one of those requests will have to be returned to the squadrons[[note]]A Group would generally consist of three to five Squadrons; the 918th has three.[[/note]] to be redone, then checked again. By the time the whole process is done, Savage will have his ten days and probably more. Savage remarks that it's "a hell of a way to run a war."

* TitleDrop: German fighters are called out as approaching "twelve o'clock high", meaning from straight ahead (12 o'clock on a clock face) and from a higher altitude.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Done in a darkly humorous fashion. After General Savage takes over the 918th Group, he institutes policies that are seen as excessively harsh, leading to all of the pilots putting in for transfers. Savage needs time to prove that he is right, but is at a loss as to how to proceed. To the rescue comes the Group's Ground Adjutant, Major Stovall, formerly a civilian lawyer. He points out that it would be best to wait a while before starting to process them, to make sure that every person who wants to file one has. Then all those transfer requests will have to be carefully checked, since of course the General doesn't want incomplete paperwork coming out of the Group. Many requests will have to be returned to the squadrons[[note]]A Group would generally consist of three to five Squadrons. Since the Air Force separated from the Army 1948, Squadrons are roughly the equivalent of Companies, Groups are Battalions, Wings are Regiments/Brigades[[/note]] to be redone, then checked again. By the time ''all'' of the requests are ready to be submitted to higher headquarters, Savage should have been able to convince the crews that his methods are justified. Savage remarks that it's "a hell of a way to run a war."

* BaitAndSwitchTyrant: Savage's efforts to instill discipline and order on the group are not well-received initially, but the men eventually recognize his competence, and the improvements in success rate and morale are evident.
** In this case, an InvokedTrope. His orders were to essentially be a DrillSergeantNasty in order to whip the demoralized unit into shape, knowing full-well that they would probably hate him for it. The ending also reveals how much he'd come to love his men and the stress that he was feeling over having to send them into deadly combat.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: General Pritchard is hesitant to accept General Savage's conclusion that Colonel Davenport is the cause of the 918th's apparent hard luck. That said, he encourages Savage to explain his thinking, and they both go to meet with Davenport the next day to share their concerns about his leadership style. It's only when Davenport refuses to discipline a young navigator for a costly mistake (which resulted in the loss of five planes and crews) that Pritchard relieves him of command.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The raid on the ball-bearing plant late in the film is obviously inspired by the infamous [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Raid_on_Schweinfurt Schweinfurt raid]], in which the Eighth Air Force took disastrous losses (77 B-17s shot down and 121 more damaged). And as Wiki/TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_O%27Clock_High#Historical_counterparts_of_characters_and_places notes]], most of the major characters were loosely based on real people.

Adapted into a [[RecycledTheSeries TV drama]] that aired on Creator/{{ABC}} from 1964–67.

* ChromosomeCasting: Nearly; it takes nearly 75% of the movie before we see any women. There are only three total, with about five lines between them.
* ColonelBadass: Gen. Savage points out that Colonel Gately should by all rights ''be'' one of these, being the single most experienced pilot in the Group, except for the fact that he just ''isn't being'' one. He sits out most of the Group's missions and spent his brief time as acting Group Commander by getting drunk. Savage puts Gately in command of a single plane, the "Leper Colony", manned by all of the Group's worst men, and they end up becoming the Group's top performers before the end of the film.

* DrivenToSuicide: Lt. Zimmerman, a navigator who feels a duty to prove himself because his parents were German-Americans who supported Hitler, kills himself after Savage relieves him of duty for screwing up a mission.

* AFatherToHisMen: Col. Davenport, too much so, as his feelings for his men have reduced his effectiveness as a combat commander despite his personal bravery and diligence. Savage comes in barking orders and handing out punishments in order to avoid this effect. His breakdown at the end reveals how much Savage felt like AFatherToHisMen even if the men did not know it.
* FramingDevice: In London in 1949, Lt. Col. Stovall happens to find the toby mug that used to sit over the fireplace in the officer's club at Archbury. He buys the mug and then takes the train to Archbury. After he arrives at the overgrown, abandoned airfield, the movie plays out. Then it ends with Stovall getting on his bicycle and pedaling away.

* TokyoRose: Or rather Lord Haw-Haw, who is heard on the radio taunting the Allies, and demonstrating detailed knowledge of a raid in which the 918th took severe casualties.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Done in a darkly humorous fashion. After General Savage takes over the 918th Group, he institutes policies that are seen as excessively harsh, leading to all of the pilots putting in for transfers. Savage needs time to prove that he is right, but is at a loss as to how to proceed. To the rescue comes the Group's Ground Adjutant, Major Stovall, formerly a civilian lawyer. He points out that it would be best to wait a while before starting to process them, to make sure that every person who wants to file one has. Then all those transfer requests will have to be carefully checked, since of course the General doesn't want incomplete paperwork coming out of the Group. Many requests will have to be returned to the squadrons[[note]]A Group would generally consist of three to five Squadrons. Since the Air Force separated from the Army 1948, Groups have become "Wings"[[/note]] to be redone, then checked again. By the time ''all'' of the requests are ready to be submitted to higher headquarters, Savage should have been able to convince the crews that his methods are justified. Savage remarks that it's "a hell of a way to run a war."