Reception
Twelve O'Clock High premiered in Los Angeles on December 21, 1949, opened in New York on January 26, 1950. It went into general release in February 1950.
An influential review by Bosley Crowther of The New York Times was indicative of many contemporary reviews. He noted that the film focused more on the human element than the aircraft or machinery of war. The Times picked Twelve O'Clock High as one of the 10 Best Films of 1949, and, in later years, it rated the film as one of the "Best 1000" of all time.
After attending the premiere, the Commander of the Strategic Air Command, General Curtis LeMay, told the authors that he "couldn't find anything wrong with it." The film is widely used in both the military and civilian worlds to teach the principles of leadership. It is required viewing at all the U.S. service academies, in college ROTC programs, Coast Guard Officer Candidate School, Air Force Officer Training School and the U.S. Air Force's Squadron Officer School for junior Air Force officers, where it is used as a teaching example for the Situational leadership theory.
In its initial release, the film took in $3,225,000 in rentals in the U.S. alone.
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