Audience Member
A Yank in the RAF
The title is deceptive because yes it is that but really the Royal Air Force is almost a small story.
The main story is three Royal Air Force workers trying to work hard to get one American Woman working in the British Military and is a club Dancer in her other job.
This film does something that very few WWII films show and that is dropping off leaflets over Germany.
The Yank, Tim's treatment of the leading girl Carrel played by Betty Grabel can almost be defined at some times as sexual harassment or abuss. He also breaks into her home, drinks her alcohol, and steeps at her place without permission when she is gone.
This film seems obvious on the way it is shot on when models were used, real military cut footage, and when scenes are staged. It is especially noticeable when it comes to the final battle sequence.
I was not into the movie because 2/3 of the film are just a love chase film where three guys are trying to get on girl to be their lover. Also the Yank in this film Tim I don't like because he is cocky and way too forceful.
Only 1/3 or less of the film actually has to do with the military story going on which I actually found as the interesting part of the film. And even the military portion of the film is not done with enough seriousness as far as the look or how the film is told.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Oscar nominated for Best visual effects, not a war action at all (mostly about love). Watch this as you would a some old photographs of an era gone by. Beautiful in so many ways, captures pre-war England just before Germany invades Holland. Mostly a love story.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a5/Yank_in_the_RAF.jpg/220px-Yank_in_the_RAF.jpg[/img] Note the rope pulling the plane across the Canadian border with the U.S. The start of the film references how our flyboy simply flew his plane to Canada, avoiding the neutrality of Canada.
Romantic comedy sprinkled with very early WWII action. Romance lovers will like most of the film with some action thrown in after the first hour.
A Yank in the R.A.F. is a 1941 American black-and-white war film directed by Henry King, and is considered a typical early-World War II film. Originally titled The Eagle Squadron, it is based on a story by "Melville Crossman", the pen name for 20th Century Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck.
SEE the entire film here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx71AjftYQ4
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ea/A_Yank.jpg/220px-A_Yank.jpg[/img]
REVIEWS:
60%
"A Yank in the R.A.F" is a fun, smart, well-done war/romance movie that is really worth viewing.
---More contemporary reviewers have been more critical, decrying the unrealistic portrayal of a nation at war. Recent re-releases in video and 2002 DVD have similarly brought negative reviews concerning the content and filmmaker's approach to a serious subject.
The New York Times reviewer, Bosley Crowther considered it a, "thoroughly enjoyable show ...thrilling" and filled with "pulsing action." [Monsieur Rick says: nonsense to that]
[img]http://awesomebmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RAF-11.jpg[/img] Betty Grable left, Tyrone Power right
NOTEs:
1 The film was the 4th most popular movie at the US box office in 1941.
2 The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (Fred Sersen, Edmund H. Hansen) at the 14th Academy Awards.
3 Promoted as a light-hearted look at war, and despite the studio's insistence that it was not a propaganda film...
[img]http://c300221.r21.cf1.rackcdn.com/a-yank-in-the-raf-tyrone-power-and-betty-grable-1350188768_b.jpg[/img]
Tyrone Power as Tim Baker
Betty Grable as Carol Brown
John Sutton as Wing Commander John Morley
Reginald Gardiner as Flying Officer Roger Pillby
Donald Stuart as Corporal Harry Baker
Ralph Byrd as Al
Richard Fraser as Thorndyke
Denis Green as Flight Lieutenant Redmond
Bruce Lester as Flight Lieutenant Richardson
Gilchrist Stuart as Wales
Lester Matthews as Group Captain
Frederick Worlock as Canadian Major
Ethel Griffies as Lady Fitzhugh
Fortunio Bonanova as Headwaiter
James Craven as Instructor
Directed by
Henry King
Produced by
Louis Edelman, Darryl F. Zanuck
Written by
Karl Tunberg
Darrell Ware
Melville Crossman (story)
Starring
Tyrone Power
Betty Grable
Music by
Alfred Newman
Cinematography
Ronald Neame, Leon Shamroy
Editing by
Barbara McLean
Studio
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Distributed by
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Release date(s)
September 26, 1941
Running time
98 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$200,000
[img]https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTNUakhv3Fg-MdM7thi3_UjRd4ywWGairHER4q534jFASYMgeR0[/img]
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Well directed war-drama by Henry King! satrring Tyrone Powell and Betty Grable!
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/14/23
Full Review
Audience Member
GAG! This "love story" is the worst. It's funny, some old movies shock you with their progressiveness, and some make you retch at their old-fashionedness. These days, any woman whose guy did all this would have a restraining order. The war stuff doesn't do much for me here either.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
early WWII positive propaganda
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
"A Yank in the R.A.F" is a fun, smart, well-done war/romance movie that is really worth viewing. I saw this mostly because I like Betty Grable and Tyrone Power a lot, seeing how much skill they had in so many of their movies. This might not be their best, but it's a movie really worth viewing. Both of them were huge war-time stars, Power being the "King of Romance" and Grable topping musical charts, and they both brought in loads of money for "20th Century Fox". Ty Power as usual is great here. Unlike most of the popular Fox wartime stars, he has lots of talent. He could do any kind of role, and by the end of the decade he had proved it. This was just the beginning, but even here you could tell how great he would become. He's everything here, being comedic, a soldier, wounded, and romantic, but he does it so effortlessly. Grable also does a fine job in a dramatic turn. 1941 was kind of the drama year for her, considering this and film noir "I Wake Up Screaming" were the only dramatic roles she did her entire career. The must-see? This one. Her acting talent just shines here which is nice to see-- I am not a huge fan of her Technicolor musicals, so it's good to see her without any aid but her own. For fans of her, this is worth a look for her sake. This movie was also surprisingly filled with pretty good special effects for its day. The bombs and airplane actually look authentic, and isn't even cheesy like "King Kong". It adds a lot to the film, not only making it a touching feel-good movie, but a war one too. "A Yank in the R.A.F" is actually worth seeing, so you should put it on your queue for a nice, easy-going movie.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
Full Review
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