The Dawn Patrol

Released Dec 24, 1938

1h 43m

War

Drama

List

Reviews

83%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Major Brand (Basil Rathbone), the commander of the 59th division of the British Royal Flying Corps in 1915 France, is frantic over the many casualties his squadron has suffered. When Captain Courtney (Errol Flynn) and his buddy Scott (David Niven) lose another of their best friends in a dangerous mission, Courtney lashes out at Brand, who hands Courtney the reins. Now in control, Captain Courtney soon sees things from Brand's perspective as more good men are killed in the line of duty.

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Steve D

Solid work but not as good as the original.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/24/23

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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 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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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 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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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 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Audience Member

Love the Herman Goering lookalike in the final dogfight

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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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 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

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Edmund Goulding

Director

Errol Flynn

Captain Courtney

David Niven

Lieutenant Scott

Basil Rathbone

Major Brand

Donald Crisp

Phipps

Melville Cooper

Sergeant Watkins

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Without going too deep into anti-war commentary or focusing too much on the action, The Dawn Patrol is pleasant entertainment—equally emotional and exciting.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 8, 2024

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Graham Greene

The Spectator

It is quite a good picture, well-directed and in some cases well-acted, but I don't believe it's true-a great deal of self- pity and romanticism have gone to the making of this excellent ham-sandwich.

Sep 11, 2019

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John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

...camaraderie and dogfights and bombing runs and stiff upper lips.

Rated: 7/10

Apr 21, 2010

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Competent remake of the 1930 Howard Hawks film of the same title.

Rated: B-

Aug 31, 2006

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Synopsis

Major Brand (Basil Rathbone), the commander of the 59th division of the British Royal Flying Corps in 1915 France, is frantic over the many casualties his squadron has suffered. When Captain Courtney (Errol Flynn) and his buddy Scott (David Niven) lose another of their best friends in a dangerous mission, Courtney lashes out at Brand, who hands Courtney the reins. Now in control, Captain Courtney soon sees things from Brand's perspective as more good men are killed in the line of duty.

Director: Edmund Goulding
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre: War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 24, 1938, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016
Runtime: 1h 43m

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