This film is one of my favorite WWII movies. It's a Hollywood movie, with all that implies, but it was filmed only 3 years after the war. It's genesis, first as a novel, then a play, is evident in the relatively static interior sets which dominate the film. However, the director adds quite a bit of B&W newsreel footage to make the film feel less stage-bound, and along with some not very convincing model shots, makes an attempt open up the action in a way not possible for a play.
The real drama here is the tension between BGen. Dennis, played excellently by Clark Gable, and his CO, MGen. Kane, also excellently portrayed by Water Pidgeon. Dennis, privy to knowledge of a new German jet fighter which will make the Allied air forces obsolete, is determined to destroy its factories at any cost before the Germans can deploy their new weapon. And the cost is high, losing upwards of a thousand men over three days of daylight precision bombing over the German interior. His immediate superior, Kane, who's fighting a political war with the other service branches and second guessers back home, as well as the Germans, is appalled by the incredible losses Dennis has incurred, and worries the high casualty rate will cause the Joint Chiefs to cancel the daylight precision bombing campaign.
The cast is very ably supported by Brian Donlevy, Van Johnson, John Hodiak and a very young Cameron Mitchell. I think this is a better film than Twelve O'Clock High because there's less melodrama and more serious examination of the burdens of command and the necessity of all US generals to placate and pacify a variety of interests back home.
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