THE SILVER LADY

Twelve o'clock high revisited, as Lt. William Starrett molds his bomber crew into the semimystical community necessary for the survival of men and plane (the Silver Lady, from whence the title) during those 30 bombing missions. The main conflict (outside of World War II) is between ball-turret gunner Tom Wyatt, who forsakes his Quaker principles (and eventually his life) in quest of ""Peace in our time,"" and Hagen, the cynical friend who is taught the meaning of life (the meaning of life is that life has meaning) by Wyatt's death. The crews of the other planes disintegrate with petty rivalries and near-exhaustion but the Silver Lady flies on, while the Skipper turns down a promotion to captain the lead ship in order to stay with his men. The style is that of an advanced boy's adventure story, full of ""stirring"" dialogue and moralistic patter.