12 O Clock High Military Leadership

Investigating the Interactions among Leaders in Twelve O'Clock High
Introduction Twelve O'Clock High is a movie that the United States Navy and Air Force utilize “as an educational aid” in their respective educational institutions (IMDb). This movie, acclaimed by New York Times critic Bosley Crowther, addresses the topic of leadership through “a middle-aged American ex-major... recalling in nostalgic sadness his experience at... [Archbury] during the... [Second World] war” (Crowther). Because Twelve O'Clock High's story incorporates militaristic topics, it inherently focuses upon the topic of leadership and followership.

Statement of the Question How does the interaction among leaders and followers serve as a positive or negative influence

on the leadership as a whole?

Synopsis Twelve O'Clock High is a story about the 918th heavy bombardment group that receives orders to execute a war strategy that often results in multiple casualties.

General Pritchard transfers Colonel Keith Davenport, the current commander of the 918th, to Bomber Command because of his resentment of this strategy. Now that the 918th now lacks a commander, General Frank Savage assumes command. The rapid growth in casualties and dissent towards General Savage demoralize the flight crews, which causes the pilots to request transfer to a different squadron. Realizing that he caused the transfer requests to a degree, General Savage asks Adjutant Major Harvey Stovall for assistance. With Major Stovall's assistance, General Savage is able to increase the time he spends with his crew and, therefore, increase morale. The 918th eventually gains a level of morale high enough to withdraw their transfer requests and execute a mission without General Savage's

presence.

Technical Details Twelve O'Clock High is a movie based on a novel written in 1948 also titled Twelve O'Clock High. Beirne Lay Jr. and Sy Bartlett are the writers of both the movie and novel. This movie, directed by Henry King, contains real “air battle scenes... photographed... by members of the United States Air Force and the German Luftwaffe” (IMDB). The director recorded the film entirely in the USA despite the setting being in England. Twelve O'Clock High won two Oscars for Dean Jagger as “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” and for having the “Best Sound [and] Recording” (IMDB). In Twelve O'Clock High, Gregory Peck, Gary Merrill, and Dean Jagger play General Frank Savage, Colonel Keith Davenport, and Major Harvey Stovall, respectively. Although the producers had access to color film technology, they likely utilized black and white film technology in order to incorporate the combat footage that they had.

Review of Literature Twelve O'Clock High is the foundation of this paper. IMDb, the Internet Movie Database, provides significant technical details of the movie. Bosley Crowther, critic of the New York Times, wrote a contemporary review that provides some contextual information with regard to the movie.

Evaluation The influence of one leader upon another and their followers in Twelve O'Clock High shows their interactions as a positive, yet equalizing experience. Although General Pritchard, Colonel Keith Davenport, Lieutenant Jesse Bishop, Major Harvey Stovall, and General Frank Savage have very different personalities, they influence each other in ways that result in a positive outcome despite many negative interactions.
At the beginning of the movie, Colonel Keith Davenport, a long-standing commander of the 918th, reports high casualties after the first test of a new war strategy. When Colonel Davenport's commanding officer, General Pritchard, asks him why casualties are so high, he is unable to provide an acceptable answer. As a result, Colonel Davenport transfers to Bomber Command and General Frank Savage takes his place as commander of the 918th. Throughout this process, Colonel Davenport asks his men not to worry and takes all of the blame in an attempt to repair the drop in morale within the 918th. Colonel Davenport readily exhibits a positive form of leadership that effectively decreases the stress of the 918th. However, General Pritchard does not see Colonel Davenport's defense and care for his crews as a positive influence on the mission. In this scene, a clash of values occurs between General Pritchard and Colonel Davenport. General Pritchard is concerned with the successful completion of missions whereas Colonel Davenport is concerned with the morale of his crews. This interaction of mindsets serves as a negative influence upon the leadership. The removal of a popular commander during a rise of tension amplifies the negative rather than mitigates it.
Much later, Colonel Davenport visits General Savage to notify him that he may soon fail. Colonel Davenport attempts to convince General Savage that he must take steps to build trust between the flight crews and himself. General Savage proceeds to ask for help and Keith immediately states that Savage “can't drive these boys” (King). In this scene, Colonel Davenport relays information that he believes is essential to the success of the 918th. Despite the fact that General Savage disregards the idea of beneficial relationships, Colonel Davenport helps General Savage realize that his determination and expectations are not sufficient to ensure that the 918th is victorious in war. As a result, Colonel Davenport's intervention serves as a positive influence upon the leadership.
After General Frank Savage asks all of the 918th who felt they were important to report to his office for transfer, Lieutenant Bishop enters General Savage's office as a representative for the entirety of the 918th. In doing so, Lieutenant Bishop lessens the chance of increased tensions by removing the direct interaction between the flight crews and General Savage. Because Lieutenant Bishop recently received a Medal of Honor, General Savage understood why Lieutenant Bishop came on behalf of the 918th. By informing General Savage of the current predicament, Lieutenant Bishop positively influences the leadership.
Much later, the Inspector General (IG) appears on base wondering why there are rumors of withheld transfer requests. Upon the IG's arrival, Lieutenant Bishop decides to withdraw his transfer request. Because of his credibility, the rest of the 918th follows Lieutenant Bishop and his actions. This series of events Lieutenant Bishop initiates relieves a significant amount of tension for General Savage. Ultimately, Lieutenant Bishop positively influences the leadership by giving the CO an opportunity to adjust.
After Lieutenant Bishop informs General Savage about the transfer requests, Major Harvey Stovall invites General Savage to coffee. During this excursion, General Savage and Major Stovall discuss the letters that Major Stovall must write to the families of the dead crewmembers and how he received such a position. When General Savage decides to return to his office, Major Stovall stops him to provide an analogical solution to the transfer request issue. Major Stovall implies that he will do what he can to help the 918th succeed in their missions. At this point, General Savage states that he needs time to which Major Stovall replies that he can stall the requests in a manner that is not inherently negligent. By inhibiting the transfer request process, thereby providing General Savage the time to adjust to the present situation, Major Stovall positively influences the leadership, despite the unethical nature of his decision.
After the withdrawal of the transfer requests, General Savage resumes his harsh form of leadership. Lieutenant Colonel Ben Gately greatly dislikes this and begins ranting about it to Major Stovall. Largely unamused, Major Stovall proceeds to tell Lieutenant Colonel Gately that the only difference between Colonel Davenport and General Savage is their heights. Through this interaction, Major Stovall utilizes his credibility to influence the perspective of Lieutenant Colonel Gately. By generating credible trust between Lieutenant Colonel Gately and General Savage, Major Stovall positively influences the leadership.
Upon his arrival to Archbury, the base where the 918th is located, General Savage successfully drives past the guard post without having his identification checked by the guard. Because of this, General Savage exits his car and proceeds to scold the guard. General Savage threatens the gate guard and anyone who is assigned to the post with death should they fail to salute him. Because of his utilization of coercion tactics, General Savage has a detrimental first impression. Since General Savage gave the guard orders to “pass the word around” (King), it is very likely that his threats made it to the flight crews, which serves to negatively influence all leadership within the base.
At the beginning of the movie, after finding his office, General Savage requests the presence of Major Stovall, the only resident officer still on base.

Upon Major Stovall’s arrival, General Savage orders him to arrest everyone who is not currently on base. Major Stovall, somewhat disdainful of his orders, executes General Savage's request. Although it is rational to expect essential officers to stay on base during a time of war, General Savages actions serve as a negatively influence on the leadership because of how he chose to execute the requirement.
Upon the arrival of the recently arrested Lieutenant Colonel Gately, General Savage decides to ignore him for a bit to instill fear within him. When Lieutenant Colonel Gately expresses his dissent for General Savage's actions, General Savage becomes infuriated and begins verbally destroying him. General Savage makes it quite clear to Lieutenant Colonel Gately that his actions within the base, such as a low number of missions flown despite the amount of experience with B-17s he has had, did not qualify his

dissent.
The resultant benefits from the interactions among leaders in Twelve O'Clock High supersedes their regressive actions. Despite the negative responses from General Pritchard and General Savage and the difference in personalities, the leaders in Twelve O'Clock High find themselves in exceptionally synergistic interactions that result in the achievement of a common goal.

Conclusion Further consideration of this film might allow the analysis of another question, such as “how does the leadership in Twelve O'Clock High influence the interactions amongst the leader's constituents?” In addition to the previous, another possible inquiry, given extra space, is “how does the context of leadership influence the approach to leading in Twelve O'Clock High?”