The Dawn Patrol

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Steve D Solid work but not as good as the original. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/24/23 Full Review Audience Member The 1930 version edited by inserting Errol Flynn and David Niven into the starring roles, with Basil Rathbone as principle supporting character. Warner Brothers made the original so they reused most of the flying sequences. I think the original had a bit more grit to it in the scenes on terra firma. Flynn single-handedly blows up most of the German war effort using the limited payload of a WW1 biplane fighter which of course is utterly implausible, but so did Richard Barthelmess in 1930. WB doubtless made this to cash in on Flynn's box office appeal and capitalize on the anti-war sentiment in the US just before the inevitable outbreak of another global catastrophe. Not bad, but check out the original. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Basil Rathbone is the commander of a bomber squadron during WWI. His superiors continually order him to send his men on increasingly dangerous missions, which gives him a reputation as a butcher among his men, especially squadron leader Errol Flynn. Flynn does not realize the strain on Rathbone, but becomes acutely aware of it when Rathbone promotes him to his own job. Flynn gains the same reputation, especially with his former friend and new squadron leader David Niven. This remake of Howard Hawks's 1930 film is a solid little flick. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Strange how men like that can annoy me... Courtney and Major Brand are constantly at odds during World War I. Courtney is worn out from seeing his countrymen brought in, sent up in airplane dog fights, and brutally shot down. It has gotten so bad that most of his soldiers have less than 15 hours of flight experience before flying into war. Courtney sinks deeper and deeper into depression as he watches his troops be murdered and the missions keep coming from Major Brand... "You don't think I enjoyed losing those boys do you?" Edmund Goulding, director of Grand Hotel, The Trespasser, The Broadway Melody, Dark Victory, That Certain Woman, Riptide, and The Devil's Holiday, delivers Dawn Patrol. The storyline for this picture was very well done and a nice war time drama. The characters and script were well written and executed. The cast includes Errol Flynn, Basil Rathborn, David Niven, Donald Crisp, and Barry Fitzgerald. "Those are the orders." I recently came across this on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and couldn't wait to see this Errol Flynn classic. He is very good in this movie. He's often a fun loving, charming character; but in this, he plays a very dramatic easy to root for character. I loved his performance and recommend catching this. "He's killed all of our men." Grade: B Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Love the Herman Goering lookalike in the final dogfight Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Top Gun with bi-planes, but actually far better than that glib phrase might suggest. The Dawn Patrol is an exciting "boys own" tale (literally, not a single female cast member) on the one hand, with requisite exciting battle scenes in the air, and lots of tally-ho hard-drinking camaraderie and romantic "flying ace" cliches like celebrating your opponents on the ground. But on the other hand, it's a lot more - an anti-war acknowledgment on the tiny turnover time of increasingly young men being sacrificed as cannon fodder due to older men's folly and insensitivity, and especially a nod to the weight of command/leadership - the "it's always lonely at the top" thingy. I love the way the responsibility for the corp gets passed down across the three lead characters, helping each understand their predecessor better. And of course the film is crammed with stiff-upper-lipped star power of the highest order. So forget the uppteenth rerun of Maverick, Goose, and Viper next time it's on, and give this one a go instead. You won't regret it. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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