The scathing theater world of Bette Davis's aging actress in "All About Eve" (1950) went on to win six Oscars at the Academy Awards; the disturbing questions of a bomber squadron leader Gregory Peck in "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949) challenged wartime patriotism. Both showed Zanuck's ability to create box-office hits via brilliant films with unflinching examinations of demanding, hierarchical worlds. Zanuck continued to tackle social issues other studios would not touch, but he stumbled with idealistic projects. "Wilson" (1944), an expensive picture that was unsuccessful at the box office, and an attempt to make a film of "One World", a memoir by politician Wendell Willkie of his tour of war-damaged Europe, a project that was aborted before shooting began.