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- Command Decision Full Movie Online Free
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- General Dennis of the US Force in England in World War II finds that he must order his planes deeper and deeper into Germany to prevent the production of military jet planes that will turn the tide of battle to the Germans. He must fight congressmen, and his own chain of command to win the political battle before he can send his planes out. His problem is complicated by a very narrow window of good weather necessary to allow his effort to be successful. Adapted from a stage play, it attempts to look at the challenges of command in the political arena.
- Army generals struggle with the decision to prioritize bombing the German factories producing new jet fighters over the extremely high casualties the mission will cost.
- Reviewer kellyadmirer makes some good points about the historical inaccuracies in Command Decision. Germany didn't put jet planes into the air until near the end of the war. And they could have flown a heck of a lot faster than shown in the surveillance footage in CD. <br/><br/>But CD doesn't claim to be non-fiction, and I have long since abandoned expectations of historical accuracy from any Hollywood film, even those claiming to be non-fiction. In CD, the target is jet fighter factories; in Twelve O'Clock High it is ball bearing factories. <br/><br/>The point is not historical details such as this, but whether the film realistically depicts the events and time period. In this regard, CD is accurate, I assume, as is TOH. CD is somewhat cerebral, it is not so emotionally gripping. But then when you realize that Clark Gable actually flew bombing missions over Germany, it gives the film a whole new sense of reality. <br/><br/>I viewed Dawn Patrol (1938), then Command Decision, and then TOH, which is also the order they were released. I would suggest other viewers do the same, as they are all on the same theme. CD is good, but TOH is the best, and so it is better to watch it last. But they each enhance the other by providing additional perspectives. <br/><br/>(There is a fourth movie you should watch: Battle of Britain (1969), along with the BBC documentary on the subject. It is the most historically accurate, and is essential to understanding perhaps the most important battle of WWII, and the incredible bravery of WWII Allied aviators.)<br/><br/>It is amusing comparing the style of CD and TOH. Even without seeing the credits, many viewers would recognize CD as an MGM film from its Hollywood style. TOH has a grittier, more realistic style. But in its defense, CD is set at a higher level of command, so the housing of these officers is a lot classier, which fits the MGM approach. However, I can't help wondering if CD was hurt by the somewhat formulaic film production approach at MGM. <br/><br/>I see from IMDb that CD did not do well in its original release. Perhaps audiences wanted more action and less talking from a war movie. Ironically, TOH also has relatively little battle action. But I think CD has held up well over the years, and perhaps can be better appreciated by today's viewers precisely because it is not about battle scenes. It is about the human drama of having to make difficult life and death decisions, where you can be certain many under your command will die the next day, but if you don't take that course, many more will die later in the year. <br/><br/>The calculus of war depicted in CD reminds me of Sergeant York, who finally decided killing was justified in war if it stopped the killing sooner, and resulted in fewer people dying. He killed because he wanted to stop the killing. <br/><br/>Despite the inaccuracies, CD is right about the threat posed by German jet planes. I say "planes" because Hitler, strangely enough, didn't want to use jets for fighters! He felt fighters were defensive weapons, and he wanted to build offensive weapons, so he felt jets should be used for bombers, and for revenge on England. And he thought the war would be over sooner, so he initially rejected building jets. <br/><br/>The British were offered design plans for jet planes before WWII began, with Power Jets beginning design in 1936. Some say the British military were slow to accept the idea, though not after the war began. The Gloster Meteor first flew in 1943, and entered combat in 1944.<br/><br/>The German's Me 262 could accelerate to 530 mph, 93 mph faster than any Allied prop fighter. The Me 262's first test jet flight was in July 1942, in line with CD. But it didn't enter combat until April 1944. Did Allied bombing delay its manufacture, as depicted in CD? <br/><br/>Actually, if Hitler had begun mass producing jet fighters earlier, as depicted in CD, Hitler might have won the war. By 1944, the Allies were building so many aircraft they had nearly complete dominance over European skies. But a German jet fighter could have been a serious threat.
- It's a shame this film has been overlooked by viewers and critics for so long. Based on a stage play, it was released at approximately the same time as the also-excellent "12 O-Clock High", with which it has been compared ever since. In a sense the two are comparable in that they both deal with the U.S. Army's strategic bombing campaign against Germany. However, 12 O-Clock High is concerned with the problems of a Bomber Group, while Command Decision, as the title implies, is concerned with a much higher level of administration. While the decisions taken by the protagonists in 12 O-Clock High affect the day-to-day survival of individuals, the characters in Command Decision are concerned with decisions that have far-reaching strategic and political ramifications. As a result, Command Decision includes a great deal less action than 12 O-Clock High because most of the protagonists of the former are senior officers of the sort who plan campaigns. They are far above the level of those who actually have to fight. This is not to imply that the story isn't equally dramatic, it's simply drama set at a higher level of war, that of strategic planning. Highly recommended.
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