Editing Twelve O'Clock High (section)

==Reception==
''Twelve O'Clock High'' premiered in Los Angeles on December 21, 1949, and opened in New York City on January 26, 1950.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041996/releaseinfo "Release dates: Twelve O'Clock High (1949)."] ''IMDb''. Retrieved: October 21, 2009.</ref>  It went into general release in February 1950.<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/94088/twelve-oclock-high#notes "Notes: Twelve O'Clock High."] ''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: October 16, 2022.</ref> 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.<ref>Crowther, Bosley. [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E05E3DF173DE03BBC4051DFB766838B649EDE "Twelve O'Clock High (1949)."] ''The New York Times'', January 28, 1950. Retrieved: March 1, 2011.</ref> 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.<ref name=amgawards>[https://www.allmovie.com/movie/twelve-oclock-high-v51292/awards "Awards."] ''Allmovie''. Retrieved: October 16, 2022.</ref>

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." It was required viewing at all the U.S. service academies, college/university [[Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps]] detachments, Air Force [[Officer Training School]]s, the U.S. Navy's former Aviation Officer Candidate School, and the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School, where it was used as a teaching example for the [[situational leadership theory]], although not currently used by the USAF. The film is also widely used in both the military and civilian worlds to teach the principles of leadership.<ref>Correll, John T. [http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2011/January%202011/0111high.aspx "The Real Twelve O’Clock High."] ''Air Force Magazine'', Vol. 94, No. 1, January 2011. Retrieved: February 7, 2014.</ref>

Michael Gebert declares it the best film of 1949.<ref>Gebert, Michael (New York, 1996) "The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards", St. Martin’s Press, p. 143.</ref> and Christopher Tookey writes, it is "probably the best picture about the pressures which war imposes on those at the top."<ref>Tookey, Christopher (London, 1994), "The Film Critics’ Film Guide", Boxtree Ltd.</ref>

In its initial release, the film took in $3,225,000 in rentals in the U.S. alone.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041996/business "Business data: Twelve O'Clock High (1949)."] ''IMDb''. Retrieved: October 21, 2009.</ref>