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Command Decision Overview:

Command Decision (1948) was a War - Drama Film directed by Sam Wood and produced by Sidney Franklin and Gottfried Reinhardt.

SYNOPSIS

The agonizing decision: whether to send men on WWII missions from which they won't return. Fascinating study of Gable's struggle between doing what is right and what looks good to the public.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Command Decision BlogHub Articles:

Command Decision (1948)

By Beatrice on Apr 13, 2015 From Flickers in Time

Command Decision Directed by Sam Wood Written by William R. Laidlaw and George Froeschel from a play by William Wister Haines 1948/USA Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer First viewing/Netflix rental Elmer Brockhurst: Worth it to whom? This is a surprisingly modern look at what happens when military strategy a... Read full article

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Command Decision Quotes:

Elmer Brockhurst: [after leaving a briefing] 'Key industrial objectives!' Henh! A fine comfort for a lot of new widows back home!
James Carwood: What do you suppose is there, Brockie? Is there any one target in Germany worth 48 bombers?
Elmer Brockhurst: Worth it to whom?
[Standing next to a B-17 starting up]
Col. Edward Rayton Martin: Well... see you later.
[Col. Martin runs to get aboard the bomber]
Col. Edward Rayton Martin: Keep your temper with the big wheels!
Brig. Gen. K.C. 'Casey' Dennis: What?
Col. Edward Rayton Martin: I said; keep your temper with the big wheels! I don't want to get back and find you with a Legion of Merit and a ticket home!
Congressman Arthur Malcolm: But it seems to me our boys are paying a pretty bloody price for General Dennis' record!
Congressman Stone: Arthur!
Brig. Gen. K.C. 'Casey' Dennis: Arthur, they're paying a price for the country's record.
James Carwood: What's the answer, Brockie, all guts and no brain?
Elmer Brockhurst: No. That's putting it too simply. Dennis is one of those boys whose brain is fascinated by guts. He loves this lousy war.
Brig. Gen. K.C. 'Casey' Dennis: There's no room in this job for a personal slant, Cliff.
Brig. Gen. Clifton I. Garnet: He told me he was going to be married.
Brig. Gen. K.C. 'Casey' Dennis: Yes, I know. You can only hope you don't have to kill him before he does. It's your baby, Cliff. I found out long ago to let the chaplain handle those. He's our laison with the headquarters that decides that.
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Command Decision Facts
The movie received terrible reviews and flopped at the box office. This was largely blamed on it being too talky and seeming more like a filmed play.
This film was named in the Top Ten list of the 1948 year by both "Film Daily" and "The New York Times".
This movie is often compared to Twelve O'Clock High, as both black-and-white movies were released within a year of one another and examined World War II American Air Forces operations predominantly at the ground level (i.e. on an American air base) and with a limited amount of aerial combat action in both films.
"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 3, 1949 with Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon, John Hodiak, Van Johnson, Brian Donlevy and Edward Arnold reprising their film roles.
Robert Taylor was originally going to star alongside Clark Gable, according to an April 1947 edition of "The Los Angeles Times".
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