On this Veteran's Day, let's take a look at the premiere episode of the World War II drama 12 O'Clock High, which ran from September 1964 to January 1967 on ABC. It was based on the 1949 film of the same name. The show featured the missions of a U. S. Army Air Force group stationed in England, with Robert Lansing starring in the first season as Brigadier General Frank Savage. (Side note: whenever we saw Lansing on a television show, Kitty would exclaim, "Oh. There's the 12 O'Clock High man!" I still don't know how much of a 12 O'Clock High, fan Kitty was, but she sure was a fan of Robert Lansing.)
In this first episode, Savage feels that Captain Joe Gallagher (Paul Burke), a member of a military family, "is too quick to abort missions at the first sign of engine trouble. Savage rides Gallagher hard and chews him out, assigning him a crew of slackers and misfits and ordering Gallagher to paint the name 'Leper Colony' on his plane. Gallagher must turn his crew into an efficient outfit and prove himself, but he despises Savage and wants to do anything to get a transfer." Regular cast members included John Larkin and Frank Overton; also featured in this episode were Joby Baker and Bruce Dern (Dern would appear four times over the series as three different characters). Burke would appear twice durng the first seasomn but would be promoted to Colnel and appear as the central character in the series for Seasons Two and Three, replacing Lancsng.
This first episode was directed by Don Medford (who directed twelve episodes of the series, as well as 32 episodes of The F.B.I., 19 episodes of Baretta, and 27 episodes of Dynasty). Al C. Ward wrote this and five other episodes of the series, as well as 15 episodes of Big Town, eleven episodes of The Lone Wolf, and 171 episodes of Medical Center.
Enjoy this well-constructed first episode of a classic television show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Q7NSR8aZ8
Posted a day early because I was asleep at the wheel. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteAll is forgiven, says the man who hasn't posted in a month. TOH began a month after I was born, but I have looked at the occasional repeat over the years...Lansing as permanently TOH Guy is pretty amusing...I'm not sure I've liked a war drama series on TV better than CHINA BEACH, even given how much I liked the early M*A*S*H...but TOH was well-made. A few of the series around the Civil War, of course, were pretty memorable, as well (as nearly every good and/or long-lasting western would draw on it as recent history, at very least).
ReplyDelete