Episode
12 O'Clock High: The Hero
Overview
A Legendary World War I fighter ace acting as a Ferry Pilot arrives at Archbury on his way to SHAEF HQ. On the way in the pilot gets killed when Hartley in the co-pilots seat engages some German fighters. The co-pilot is badly wounded while trying to take over the plane. The co-pilot later dies but not before mentioning the incident. Colonel Hartley turns out to be Savages mentor. The 920th Bomb Group will be arriving shortly and General Stoneman is looking for an experienced commander. Savage suggests Major Cobb, then asks Stoneman to consider Colonel Hartley. Hartley is temporarily assigned to the 918 and ignores orders several times. On a final mission Hartley takes his own route & crashes his plane into the target killing himself.
Details
- Series
- 12 O'Clock High
- Season
- Season 1
- Episode
- Episode 32
- Air date
- 1965-05-07
Episode context
The Hero is Episode 32 in Season 1 of 12 O'Clock High. It aired on 1965-05-07.
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More episodes from this season
Episode 30: P.O.W. (1)
Episode 29: V for Vendetta
Mission to bomb Mannheim. Major Gus Denver has returned to flight duty. On a previous mission he suffered a breakdown after the death of his first crew. Brigadier General Hoagland has just been assigned from the States. He is now the acting Wing Commander in the absence of General. Stoneman, but the job he really wants is 918th Group Commander. He tells Savage that he is out to get him. Major Denver overhears this. Hoagland flies with Savage on a mission to Einhoven and on the way back the plane is hit by flak and two engines go out; Savage orders everyone to bail out. The engines start up again, only Hoagland makes it out and he is strafed by fighters and killed. There is an enquiry, and Major Denver asks to speak with the IG thinking that Savage engineered Hoagland's death. Denver puts himself on the sick list, but Savage gets him back to duty. On the next mission, Denver's entire crew is killed, and he is going to bail out knowing he will be killed by the same fighter, Savage talks
Episode 28: The Cry of Fallen Birds
Savage and the Piccadilly Lily are coming in damaged & low from a mission to Blaustadt. On the approach they almost hit some trees and a mansion which is on the approach to the new runway. Savage wants the trees and the mansion removed and goes to see General Stoneman who is receiving an award from the Archbury Town Council. The house is the ancestral home of the Earl of Archbury, the current resident is Lady Catherine Hammet. Savage goes to see Lady Catherine and is mistaken for a burglar, Corporal Smith is hurt. Later Savage tries again and meets Group Captain Evans who explains that Catherine has not been outside since the death of her fiancé two years before. Returning from a mission, Savage crashes his plane rather than hitting the house and is badly hurt. He is billeted in Lady Catherine's. house on the orders of Major Kaiser. Savage & Lady Catherine fall in love but she still won't leave the house. In order to set her free Savage orders the destruction of the house.
Episode 27: The Mission
Savage and the Piccadilly Lily are given a special mission to bomb an oil line in the Säär Valley. Captain Dirksen is a Lead Bombardier from Wing down for the mission. Captain Walters as the alternate Lead Bombardier. Savage's crew has rotated home, so he is using a new crew but needs two new waist gunners. He chooses Waller & Maglie. Waller is actually a bombardier but has excellent gunnery scores. The navigator First Lieutenant Gunther does not want to fly with ""Wash-out"" Waller. Savage chews Waller out for his negative attitude. Waller has a chip on his shoulder because he washed out of flight school then graduated from bombardier school as a Flight Officer and not a Second Lieutenant. On the mission, a bomb gets hung up on the rack and the crew blames Waller as he supervised the bomb loading. Later Waller saves Gunther's life. Captain Dirksen is killed, and the aircraft carrying the alternate lead bombardier is shot down so Waller takes over and makes a perfect bomb run. The plane
Episode 26: Mutiny at Ten Thousand Feet
Major Andy Towson, an exceptional pilot & squadron C.O. cracks up after landing. He is a friend of Savages and has flown about same amount of missions as Savage and has always been a rock. Towson's co-pilot Lieutenant Kemp suggests that as Savage's crew is rotating back to US, Towson's crew is ready to fly with him. Phil Reese is being blackmailed by Kemp who knows that his real name is Phil Chapman and that while drunk he hit and killed a young child back home. Kemp wants Reese to support him to take over the plane and fly it to Switzerland. Kemp distracts Lieutenant Patterson in the pharmacy and steals some uppers & downers from the base pharmacy and then says that they belong to Savage. General Stoneman assigns them to fly a mission to drop leaflets around Innsbruck. In the air Kemp acts as though Savage has cracked up. Savage gets the crew to back him by convincing them that they will be court-martialed and that Kemp is using them. Reese comes to Savages aid and Kemp shoots him. Sa
Episode 25: The Threat
Axis Sally is broadcasting some very accurate information about the 918th. Including that Savage is going to be killed. When a bomb blast injures 2 men it turns out to be sabotage. Getting treatment for a minor injury, Savage is almost killed by an overdose of 20,000 cc's of morphine administered by a new Nurse, Lt Dietrich. Colonel Reed from G-2 arrives to investigate. Savage leads the next mission and no German planes shoot at Piccadilly Lilly, but shoot down 2 other planes and badly damage 5 more. At base Savage learns that Axis Sally's has made a new broadcast. He aircraft was not shot at as she wants him to die on the 13th. Colonel Reed arrests several people in the Group including Lieutenant Dietrich. Unknown to all Gilly Bright the barber turns out be the spy and he and Savage are going fishing on the River Wye. Gilly tries to shoot Savage on the day after Friday the 13th but at 13:00 hours in compartment 13 on the train; Savage throws him off the train.
Episode 24: The End of the Line
A Squadron Commander, Major Joe Gallagher scrubs himself from a mission and his replacement Captain Larry Hollander is killed. Gallagher feels responsible and goes to meet Hollander's girl May. May is a sweet young British girl living with her Aunt Nell. He finds out that they were going to be married, and May thinks he is there to check her out for security so that she and Hollander can be married. When she realizes why Gallagher is there she breaks down. Gallagher starts to look after May and they fall in love. Gallagher finds out that she is pregnant and offers to marry her. He talks with General Savage who will not approve as she has not yet been cleared. May tries to kill herself and Gallagher goes back to Savage. Savage asks Major Stovall to check her out, he calls and she is apparently out at a seedy bar. Savage & Stovall go to check and she is out drinking with another man. When Gallagher confronts her she denies everything then when Gallagher asks her to take a pregnancy test
Episode 23: The Trap
While working on a plan to bomb Strassbourg, Savage gets trapped in a cellar during an Air Raid. Trapped with him are Lady Constance, Dr Glenway, Miner Bert Higgs and a pregnant woman Eleanor Nicholls. We learn more about the each of the people as they try to free themselves. Dr. Glenway turns out to be Archie Lewis, a lower class con man who redeems himself. After they are freed, Lady Constance decides to open Penrose Hall up as a home for young women like Eleanor.
Episode 22: The Ticket
The Brauberg Damn needs to be bombed. Savage thinks that a specially equipped P-51 with 2 500 lb bombs can take it out. He asks Paul Stiger a Kentucky farm boy who takes risks and volunteers for a all special missions. Stiger volunteers the wins the football pool £ 20,000. He begins to realize that there is more to life. He falls in love with Myra his girl and wants to get married. Savage denies his request. He goes on mission and survives Crain becomes friend tries to help him.
Episode 21: The Clash
General Savage is shot down while on a bomb run to the Sub Penn's @ Trondheim. The onlly suvivor of his crew, he ends up in a life raft with a Luftwaffe ME-109 Pilot near the Faroe Islands, 150 miles west of Trondheim. Oberst Dieter does not want to be captured and orders Savage to row (at gunpoint) towards Norway. Back at base, General Crowe orders Harvey to make another attack at Trodheim. Savage & Dietter enage in a battle of wills, and match wits over whether the Germans of Allies will rescue them. Washed ashore on a deserted isle, Savage is forced to kill Dieter.