| Twelve O'Clock High | |
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Paul Burke as Joe Gallagher, 1965. |
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| Also known as | 12 O'Clock High |
| Genre | Military drama |
| Created by | Sy Bartlett Beirne Lay, Jr. |
| Starring | Robert Lansing Frank Overton Paul Burke Chris Robinson Barney Phillips |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Quinn Martin |
| Producer(s) | Fred Glickman William D. Gordon |
| Running time | 60 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white (61 episodes) Color (17 episodes) |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 18, 1964 – January 13, 1967 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Twelve O'Clock High |
Twelve O'Clock High or 12 O'Clock High is an American drama series set in World War II. This TV series originally broadcasted on ABC-TV for two-and-one-half TV seasons from September 18, 1964, through January 13, 1967; was based on the motion picture Twelve O'Clock High (1949).
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The series follows the missions of the fictitious 918th Bomb Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), equipped with B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, stationed at Archbury, England (a fictitious air base). For the first season, many of the characters from the book and movie were retained, including Brigadier General Frank Savage, Major Harvey Stovall, Major Cobb, Doc Kaiser, and General Pritchard, albeit played by different actors than in the motion picture. In addition to these characters, several other infrequently reappearing characters were introduced, including Captain (and then Major) Joseph "Joe" Gallagher, who appeared in two episodes.
At the end of the first season, the studio executives decided a younger-looking lead actor was needed.[1] In the first episode of the second season, General Savage (played by Robert Lansing) was supposedly killed in action, and then replaced by Colonel Joe Gallagher, played by Paul Burke). In reality, Burke was two years older than Lansing (but Burke looked younger). According to executive producer Quinn Martin, he decided to dismiss Lansing because he had become difficult to work with. Other reported reasons were that Lansing wanted off the show because of a salary that was too low, or he did not like a possible schedule change, or because of "creative differences". Savage was killed off in a way so as not to require Lansing's participation.
For the second season, most of the supporting cast from the first season was replaced, with the exception of Major Stovall, Doc Kaiser, and an occasional appearance by General Pritchard. Other actors who did reappear after the first season played other characters. Edward Mulhare appeared twice – as different Luftwaffe officers. The actor Bruce Dern appeared four times as three different characters. Tom Skerritt appeared five times, each time in a different role.
The first two seasons were filmed in black-and-white. This was done mostly to allow the inclusion of actual World War II combat footage supplied by the U.S. Air Force and the library of 20th Century Fox movies.[2]The inclusion of combat footage was often obvious, as it was often quite degraded. Limited usable combat footage often resulted in the same shot being reused in multiple episodes. For the third season, the TV series was filmed in color, but this season only ran for 17 episodes, with the series being canceled in mid-season. Some of the combat footage used for the third season seemed to be in black-and-white footage tinted blue. Film footage from the 1940s was also used for take-offs and landings since the one B-17 that the show had access to could only taxi. In order to simulate different aircraft, it was frequently repainted.[3]
In later episodes, Gallagher flew as a "pathfinder" in a P-51 Mustang. This plot scheme was added to cut production costs. The single-engine Mustang cost less to fly than the four-engined B-17, and required only a single pilot rather than two pilots and several crewmen. There was wartime precedent for this, however. As described in Roger Freeman's book Mustang at War, General Partridge, the G-3 of the 8th Air Force, used a P-51 modified for photo-reconnaissance work to take photographs of his bomber group formations for training and critiquing purposes.
As with most television programs, Twelve O'Clock High was created in an episodic format. There is no particular order for the episodes. A trio of episodes produced about a shuttle air raid to North Africa were in fact never aired in story order, making some of the second season to be confusing. The stories themselves were often based more on character drama than action, usually involving individuals who felt the need to redeem themselves in the eyes of others. Other story lines focused on actual war events, such as the development of bombing through cloud cover by using radar, and the complexities of operating a large fleet of (often malfunctioning) B-17 bombers.
Much of the filming was carried out on the Chino Airport, just east of Los Angeles County, California in San Bernardino County. Chino had been a USAAF training field for World War II, and its combination of long, heavy-duty runways and (at the time) wide-open farmland for miles in all directions was rapidly turning the field into a haven for World War II aviation enthusiasts and their restored aircraft. Former Army Air Forces P-51 Mustangs, P-47 Thunderbolts, P-38 Lightnings, B-26 Invaders, and former U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps F4U Corsairs and F6F Hellcats could be found around there, along with a vintage B-17[4] and P-51 Mustang used in 12 O'Clock High.
The B-17 belonged to Ed Maloney's Air Museum. B-17E and B-17G models of the Flying Fortress (the latter with the chin turret) were used interchangeably. The inclusion of actual combat and crash footage often resulted in the tail designations of the bombers changing between film shots.
The segments in 1966 had the former Royal Canadian Air Force pilot Lynn Garrison coordinating the aerial footage. Garrison had been drawn to the project by his friend, Robert Lansing. Garrison owned the P-51 used in the series to cut its expenses.
The first season of Twelve O'Clock High was aired in Brazil in the sixties under the title Inferno no Céu ("Hell in the Heavens").
Dell Comics produced a comic book based on the series that ran two issues in 1965.[5] Both had photocovers and artwork by Joe Sinnott.
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Golden Globe Award | Nominated | Best TV Show |
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| Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment - Cinematographer | William W. Spencer | ||
| 1967 | American Cinema Editors | Won | Best Edited Television Program | Jodie Copelan (For episode "The All American") |
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