"Twelve O'Clock High" premiered in Los Angeles on December 21, 1949, and opened in New York on January 26, 1950. It went into general release in February 1950. An influential review by Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" was indicative of many contemporary reviews. He noted that the film focused more on the human element than the aircraft or machinery of war. The "Times" picked "Twelve O'Clock High" as one of the 10 Best Films of 1949 and, in later years, it rated the film as one of the "Best 1000" of all time.