His second 1949 release, "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949), was released, the first of many films in which Peck embodied the brave, effective, yet human, "fighting man". Based on true events, Peck portrays the new commander of a U.S. World War II bomber squadron tasked with whipping the crew into shape, but then breaks down emotionally under the stress of the job. The National Board of Review ranked it in their top ten films of the year and it received four Academy Awards nominations, Best Actor for Peck. Peck was later recognized in the New York Film Critics Circle for the role. "Twelve O'Clock High" was a commercial success finishing tenth in the 1950 box office rankings. The film received strong reviews upon release. Recent critics maintain positive opinions. Evaluations of Peck's performance were positive, with the "New York Times" describing "High and particular praise for Gregory Peck...Peck does an extraordinarily able job in revealing the hardness and the softness of a general exposed to peril." Film historian Peter von Bagh considers Peck's performance "as Brigadier General Frank Savage to be the most enduring of his life."