A golden anniversary Twelve O'Clock High

This Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Video may be ordered for $19.98 from The Armchair Dogfighter: (800) 365-2104; or purchased at Wal-Mart stores.

"Gentlemen, this is it." Capt. John Regan, a B-17 pilot with the 306th Bomb Group, will long remember the morning of January 27, 1943, when the group commander ordered the blue curtains pulled back in the Thurleigh operations hut. Two hundred pairs of eyes traced the colored yarn pinned to the wall map; it ran from their English base across continental Europe to their destination.

"Initially, there was stunned silence," recalled the 306th captain, "and then the room erupted with shouts of exultation and wonderment, as the significance of the mission sank in." For the first time in its young and trying career, the 8th Air Force was going to bomb Nazi Germany, and Regan's squadron, the 368th, was to lead the formation! It was an unparalleled about-face for what had, until very recently, been a thoroughly demoralized unit. And the turnaround had been accomplished in a remarkably brief 23 days by its new, decidedly hardedged commander, Col. Frank A. Armstrong Jr.

It is this dramatic-and true23-day saga of redemption that rests at the heart of "Twelve O'Clock High." It's an extraordinary film whose artistic and critical reputation has grown over the years since its premiere half a century ago. [Editors' note: for a more in-depth review, see the "Bomber Baron" article's sidebar in this issue.]

In a bit of a departure for this column and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the release of "Twelve O'Clock High," I would also like to bring to readers' attention a fine collectible offered by Pete Plumb's Air Corps Classics. It is a reproduction of the "918th" Bomb Group Toby Jug that plays such a key emotional role in the film. A beautiful ceramic piece priced at $89.95, the Toby comes with two excellent 8x10-inch stills of scenes from the film that feature the Toby, as well as a pamphlet offering a brief history of the original studio Toby. Sadly, we learn that the original, presented by director Henry King to Gen. Armstrong after the filming and a cherished Armstrong family heirloom, was stolen in the early 1990s.

A decidedly special, signed, limited-edition Gen. Savage Toby, designed in cooperation with Gregory Peck, will be ready for market by press time. Price: $495. -James H. Farmer

Copyright Air Age Publishing Dec 1999
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