Twelve O'Clock High

"[addressing the 918th for the first time at 0800] There will be a briefing for a practice mission at 1100 this morning. That's right, practice. I've been sent here to take over what has come to be known as a hard luck group. Well, I don't believe in hard luck. So we're going to find out what the trouble is. Maybe part of it's your flying, so we're going back to fundamentals. But I can tell you now one reason I think you've been having hard luck. I saw it in your faces last night. I can see it there now. You've been looking at a lot of air lately... and you think you ought to have a rest. In short, you're sorry for yourselves. I don't have a lot of patience with this, "What are we fighting for?" stuff. We're in a war, a shooting war. We've got to fight. And some of us have got to die. I'm not trying to tell you not to be afraid. Fear is normal. But stop worrying about it and about yourselves. Stop making plans. Forget about going home. Consider yourselves already dead. Once you accept that idea, it won't be so tough. Now if any man here can't buy that... if he rates himself as something special, with a special kind of hide to be saved... he'd better make up his mind about it right now. Because I don't want him in this group. I'll be in my office in five minutes. You can see me there."

"Rights, Gately? You've got a right to explain to General Pritchard cowardice, desertion of your post, a yellow streak a mile wide! And maybe he can explain it to your father so that they'll both be proud of you! You can tell him right now."

"[about Keith Davenport] He's gonna bust wide open. And he's gonna do it to himself, too. Why? Because he's a first rate guy... "over-identification with his men." I think that's what they call it."

"That is not why I am drunk tonight. I got drunk because I am confused. I was thinking, which is a thing a man should not do, and all at once I couldn't remember what any of them looked like. I, I couldn't see their faces, Bishop, Cobb, Wilson, Zimmy, all of them. All of you. They all looked alike, just one face. And it was very young. It confused me. I think I shall stay drunk until I'm not confused anymore."

"Capt. 'Doc' Kaiser: [referring to Gen. Savage's complete collapse in a state of shock] Did you ever see how bright a light bulb is just before the filament burns out? I think they call it maximum effort."

"Gregory Peck - Brig. Gen. Frank Savage"

"Hugh Marlowe - Lt. Col. Ben Gately"

"Gary Merrill - Col. Keith Davenport"

"Millard Mitchell - Maj. Gen. Pritchard"

"Dean Jagger - Major Harvey Stovall"

"Robert Arthur - Sgt. McIllhenny"

"Paul Stewart - Major "Doc" Kaiser"

"John Kellogg - Major Joe Cobb"

"Robert Patten - Lt. Bishop"

"Lee MacGregor - Lt. Zimmerman"

"Sam Edwards - Birdwell"