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American military drama TV series set in WWII

12 O'Clock High is an American military drama television series set in World War II. It was originally broadcast on ABC TV for two and one half TV seasons from September 1964 through January 1967 and was based on the 1949 film of the same name. The series was a co production of 20th Century Fox Television (Fox had also produced the movie) and QM Productions (one of their few non law enforcement series). This show is one of the two QM shows not to display a copyright notice at the beginning, but rather at the end (the other was A Man Called Sloane) and the only one not to display the standard "A QM Production" closing card on the closing credits.

The series follows the missions of the fictitious 918th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the U. S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), equipped with B 17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, stationed at Archbury Field, England (a fictitious air base). For the first season, many of the characters from the book and 1949 movie were retained, including Brigadier General Frank Savage, Major Harvey Stovall, Major Cobb, Doc Kaiser, and General Pritchard, albeit played by different actors from in the motion picture. In addition to these characters, several other infrequently reappearing characters were introduced, including Captain (later Colonel) Joseph "Joe" Gallagher, who appeared in two episodes (episodes 1 and 24) as well as being the central character for seasons two and three. At the end of the first season, the studio executives decided a younger looking lead actor was needed. In the first episode of the second season, General Savage, played by Robert Lansing, was killed in action and replaced by Colonel Joe Gallagher, played by Paul Burke. (Burke, though considered more youthful looking than Lansing, was actually two years older, which TV critics were quick to point out.) The decision to replace Lansing with Burke proved unpopular and the ratings began to drop quickly. The character Joe Gallagher's father was Lt. General Maxwell Gallagher, played by Barry Sullivan. Burke and Sullivan had previously worked together in the TV series Harbormaster. In an interview given by Lansing on The Mike Douglas Show in 1965, Lansing mentioned that had he known what a boost to his career 12 O'Clock High was, he never would have fired himself. Savage was killed off in a way so as not to require Lansing's participation. According to TV Guide, ABC moved the show from a 10:00 pm Friday time slot to a 7:30 pm Monday time slot for the second season to capture a younger audience. It was hoped that TV viewers would identify more with a colonel rather than an Army Air Corps general. 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 midseason. 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 to which the show had access could only taxi. To simulate different aircraft, it was frequently repainted. 12 O'Clock High was created in an episodic format, with no particular order for the episodes. A trio of episodes produced about a shuttle air raid to North Africa was in fact never aired in story order (episode 44 "We're Not Coming Back", episode 37 "Big Brother", and episode 38 "The Hotshot"). The stories 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 using radar, and the complexities of operating a large fleet of (often malfunctioning) B 17s. 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, Republic P 47 Thunderbolts, Lockheed P 38 Lightnings, B 26 Invaders, and former U. S. Navy and U. S. Marine Corps F4U Corsairs and F6F Hellcats could be found, along with a vintage B 17 and the P 51 Mustang used in 12 O'Clock High. The B 17 belonged to Ed Maloney's Air Museum, B 17E, F, and G 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. As of February 2020, the Heroes & Icons channel broadcasts the series as part of its Saturday night lineup.

Year Award Result Category Recipient1965 Golden Globe Award Nominated Best TV Show 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")

Dell Comics produced a comic book based on the series that ran two issues in 1965. Both had photocovers and artwork by Joe Sinnott.