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Twelve O'Clock High is a 1949 American war film directed by Henry King and based on the novel of the same name by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr. It stars Gregory Peck as Brig. General Frank Savage. Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard Mitchell, and Dean Jagger also appear in supporting roles.
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won two: Dean Jagger for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Thomas T. Moulton for Best Sound Recording. In 1998, Twelve O'Clock High was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
In 1949, former United States Army Air Forces officer Harvey Stovall spots a familiar Toby Jug in the window of a London antique shop and learns that it came from Archbury, an airfield where Stovall served during World War II. Convinced that it is the same jug which used to stand on the mantel of the airfield's officers' club, he buys it and journeys to the derelict airfield, where he reflects on his wartime experiences.
In a flashback, the setting shifts to 1942, when the 918th Bomb Group at Archbury has gained a reputation as the "hard luck group". After a particularly disastrous mission, group commander Colonel Keith Davenport appears exhausted and demoralized. His defeatist attitude spreads to other senior leaders of the group, including his Air Exec, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Gately. Ordered to fly another mission the next day, at a dangerously low altitude, Davenport protests to his friend, Brigadier General Frank Savage, the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations at VIII Bomber Command. Later, Savage reluctantly shares with Major General Pritchard, the commanding general of VIII Bomber Command, his belief that Davenport has become emotionally too close to his men and may no longer be fit to command. That night, Pritchard and Savage visit the group headquarters to investigate the cause of the mission's heavy losses. After a discussion that ends in Davenport's refusal to demote failed navigator Lt. Zimmerman, Pritchard realizes that Savage is right, relieves Davenport of command, hands the command to Savage.
Savage takes a harsh approach to restoring the group's discipline and morale. He begins by reprimanding Gately, demoting him to aircraft commander and insisting that he henceforth fly every mission. Savage assigns Gately only the most incompetent crewmen, ordering him to paint the name "Leper Colony" on his airplane. Rough-and-ready Major Cobb impresses Savage with his independent spirit and replaces Gately as Air Exec. Savage conducts a series of training missions and waits for an opportunity to restore the group's pride in its abilities. Upset by the contrast of Savage's stern leadership with Davenport's easygoing ways, all of the group's pilots apply for transfers. Savage asks the Group Adjutant, Major Stovall, to delay processing their applications to buy him some time. An attorney in civilian life, Stovall knows how to use bureaucratic red tape to his advantage.
When the group returns to combat, all the groups are ordered to abort their mission due to heavy weather. Savage ignores the recall order. The 918th successfully bombs the target and is the only group to do so. All of its crews return safely. Though Pritchard is furious, Savage claims that he did not hear the recall due to a radio malfunction and instead persuades Pritchard to recommend the group for a Distinguished Unit Citation. Savage also acquires a surrogate son in Lieutenant Jesse Bishop, a Medal of Honor recipient who is Savage's eyes and ears among the combat aircrews. When the Inspector General arrives to investigate the pilots' transfer requests, Savage packs his belongings, expecting to be relieved of command and possibly court-martialed. But, led by Bishop, the pilots withdraw their requests. Savage also softens his attitude towards the men as he becomes more closely involved with them. Gately goes on to win Savage's respect and admiration by demonstrating extraordinary leadership and courage in combat.
With enemy resistance intensifying as the air war advances deeper into Germany, missions become longer and riskier and many of Savage's best men are shot down or killed. Pritchard tries to get Savage to return to a staff job at VIII Bomber Command, but Savage feels that the 918th is not yet ready to do without him. Reluctantly, Pritchard leaves him in command. Ordered to return to the same target after a particularly brutal raid on a ball bearing factory, Savage finds himself physically unable to haul himself up into his B-17. Gately takes his place as lead pilot and strike commander for the mission. While waiting for the group's return, Savage becomes catatonic. Only as they return to Archbury does he regain his composure and fall asleep.
Read more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_O'Clock_High
The Unknown Soldier (Finnish: Tuntematon sotilas, Swedish: Okänd soldat) is a 2017 Finnish independent war drama film, an adaptation of the bestselling 1954 Finnish classic novel of the same name by Väinö Linna, literature considered part of the national legacy. Directed by Aku Louhimies, it is the first one based on the novel's manuscript version, Sotaromaani ("the war novel"). Previously adapted in 1955 and 1985, the World War II film is presented from the point of view of a machine gun company (Finnish: konekiväärikomppania) of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944. It was the most expensive Finnish motion picture at its release, with a budget of €7 million.
The film opened to mixed reviews domestically on 27 October 2017, part of the official 100th anniversary of Finnish independence program, breaking the opening weekend record for a local-language film. The international premier was on 23 November 2017 at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, followed by premiers in Ireland, Sweden, Iceland and Norway. The film was described by critics as gritty, forlorn, honest and realistic as well as a pacifist piece confronting less pleasant sides of Finnish history. The film won four Jussi Awards for Best Actor (Aho), along with Best Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Sound Editing, from a total of eleven nominations. With a €13.5 million domestic gross at the 2017 box office, it was the most successful film of the year in Finnish cinema.
Plot
The machine gun company is deployed in June 1941 from their barracks to the staging area to prepare for the invasion of the Soviet Union. The company's first attack is over a swamp on Soviet positions. Following a series of battles, the soldiers advance into East Karelia. In October 1941, they interact with the locals while positioned in the captured and pillaged city of Petroskoi (Petrozavodsk). The company is ordered to defend against a Soviet winter attack along the Svir river. Lahtinen is killed during a Soviet breakthrough, but Rokka halts a flanking 50-strong enemy unit by ambushing them with a Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun from high ground. The film follows the trench warfare period of the war from 1942 to 1943. The soldiers drink kilju (a home-made sugar wine) until intoxication during Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim's birthday celebrations, a new recruit is killed by a sniper and replacements reinforce the company.
The Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive of summer 1944 forces the Finnish Army to start a withdrawal from the conquered area and to stall the Soviet advance with counter-attacks. Hietanen is first wounded by artillery and later dies when his ambulance is attacked. In the subsequent fighting, the company suffers large numbers of casualties, including Captain Kariluoto, and abandons its machine guns during a retreat from a hopeless defence. Shortly afterwards, the company must hold the line against another Soviet attack. Koskela is killed while disabling a Soviet tank with a satchel charge. After the last counter-attack by the Finns, the war ends in a ceasefire in September 1944. The soldiers rise from their defensive fighting positions after the final Soviet artillery barrage stops and they listen to the first radio announcements on the eventual Moscow Armistice. The film closes with a montage of the impacts of the war and actual war-time footage.
Themes
The film was described as honestly confronting the less pleasant aspects of Finnish history, such as the nature of the war as Finnish aggression, military cooperation with Nazi Germany, and Adolf Hitler's secret visit to celebrate Field Marshal Mannerheim's 75th birthday in June 1942. For example, military historian Lasse Laaksonen said that the film's positive aspect is that it allows Finns to learn about their history. Likewise, the film was described as a gritty, forlorn, pacifist and realistic outlook on the Continuation War. Director Louhimies commented that he intended to highlight the individuals taking part in war instead of glorifying conflict and stay true to Väinö Linna's views. Allusions were drawn from the film's patriotic nature to contemporary foreign policy of Russia, tensions in the Baltic region and Mannerheim's description of Russia as Finland's “hereditary enemy from the East”. However, the film was described as using Russian actors, such as Diana Pozharskaya playing Vera in the conquered Petrozavodsk, to humanize the war.
Read more:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_Soldier_(2017_film)