Directed by Edmund Goulding
Written by Seton I. Miller and Dan Totheroh from a story by John Monk Saunders
1938/USA
Warner Bros.
First viewing
[box] Lt. ‘Scotty’ Scott: It’s a funny war.
Phipps: [sadly] No, not awfully.[/box]
I really enjoyed the acting in this all-male war film.
In 1915 France, Major Brand (Basil Rathbone) commands a unit of the Royal Fighting Corps. He loses pilots on every mission and these are replaced by increasingly green recruits. Flying aces Courtney (Errol Flynn) and Scott (David Niven) buck the odds and spend their evenings drinking and engaging in devil-may-care banter. The mood darkens when Brand is promoted for a successful daring raid by Courtney. Courtney then takes over the heavy task of executing the orders from the High Command straining relations with his former comrades. With Donald Crisp as an aide-de-camp.
The story didn’t particularly stand out for me but I thought all the leads were fantastic. It was nice to see Basil Rathbone without a sword in his hand. The film makes a good contrast from the many heroic RAF WWII dramas that would come just a couple of years later.
Trailer
Errol Flynn actually showed he could act in this film, as does Rathbone as the tortured group commander. I have read that they used some of the dog fight film from the first Dawn Patrol starring Richard Barthlemess in this one. I like this film and it has a great supporting cast.
Did you ever notice what a little mouth David Niven has?…….tiny.
I was sorry I couldn’t get my hands on the first Dawn Patrol, but they say this one is better. On Niven, I’ll pay attention for that next time.