The Dawn Patrol (1938)

Must See Movie...

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Although I'm a classic movie aficionado and have seen more old movies than anyone I've ever met, I'd only ever seen Errol Flynn in a bit part in the Doris Day comedy It's a Great Feeling. So, for all intents and purposes, I'd never seen an Errol Flynn movie until I rented The Dawn Patrol. After only a few minutes of absorbing his performance, I was filled with awe and admiration. I haven't gone on a renting spree just yet, but I look forward to watching many more of his films in the time to come.All Quiet on the Western Front is often hailed as the greatest WWI movie ever made, but now I have a new favorite. In The Dawn Patrol, Basil Rathbone is in charge of a flying squadron and is forced to send his boys off on high risk missions. More often than not, the boys don't make it home, and there's a constant influx of new recruits whom Basil and Captain Errol Flynn have to train and prepare for the worst. This is a very unusual method of storytelling, putting the audience on pins and needles every time someone flies out, and filling them with sadness every time new characters grace the screen. There's a very natural camaraderie between the men, and most acutely between Errol Flynn and fellow soldier David Niven. They were close friends in real life, and when the camera captures their scenes, it feels like it's projecting backstage footage instead of scripted dialogue. The soldiers have more of a brotherly bond than in any other war movie I've ever seen. In singling out the leading men for their performances, I fear I'll be slighting the young boys with smaller parts; everyone in this movie gives very heart-wrenching and realistic performances. There are times when it's hard to watch, but it's an extremely well-made, well-acted film. I was very surprised at Errol Flynn's acting style. I'd expected him to overact like silent movie stars or at least ham up his scenes like a classic swashbuckler. His delivery and expressions were so realistic and modern, it's a wonder he even knew how to give such a performance, since no one else in that era did. I have a strong desire to rent The Last of Robin Hood, because I'm sure Kevin Kline will give a perfect imitation of Errol Flynn. Not only is the physical resemblance striking, but the subtlest of expressions and mannerisms are also mirrored. It was almost as if Errol Flynn were giving a Kevin Kline impression!Obviously, I highly recommend this movie, even though parts of it are very sad and remind us of the tragedies of war. It's a wonderful old movie to watch if you don't normally like old movies, because besides the color scheme, it doesn't even feel like you're watching one.

Being someone who likes Errol Flynn, David Niven and Basil Rathbone and who has liked/loved a good deal of the films of all three, 'The Dawn Patrol' is a must watch for anybody who likes either actor or all three and for anybody who likes war films.A remake of the 1930 Howard Hawks film, this is hardly inferior (quite the opposite). Even with scenes lifted from the earlier film, it's a good-looking film, is very nicely shot and has a good deal of authentic atmosphere. Edmund Goulding's direction is very much assured while pacing scenes in a methodical but never overly so way. Max Steiner's score is lushly orchestrated and stirring.'The Dawn Patrol' has a gripping script, making its points without veering into heavy-handedness while the story is ceaselessly compelling, perfectly conveying the futility and passion of war, the comrades' horrors and conflicts and showing grace even under pressure.Characters are not stereotypes in any way, instead compellingly real characters with human and relatable conflicts. The sterling supporting cast has Donald Crisp in particular standing out, but the three leads are what make 'The Dawn Patrol' particularly worth watching.Rathbone has rarely been more tortured and Niven epitomises innocent grace, but it's Flynn's film in a performance that's genuinely moving (proof that he could act and had more range than given credit for when allowed).In summary, a wonderful and powerful film. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Warner Brothers more than most of the other major studios had a habit of simply recycling the old plots of their films and repackaging them. A good example would be the boxing film Kid Galahad remade a few years later as The Wagons Roll at Night with the setting now changed to a circus. But in this case we didn't get a remake of The Dawn Patrol, we got practically a carbon copy.I finally saw the original The Dawn Patrol that was made in 1930 by Howard Hawks and found that this film was practically a word for word remake of the Hawks classic. Of course it was no surprise to learn that all the aviation sequences were just lifted bodily from the first film, but probably more than that was done. Several long-shots looked exactly the same.In a way this might have worked out because director Edmund Goulding who was not known for action films could concentrate on the actors and he got very good performances out of Errol Flynn, David Niven, and Basil Rathbone who step into the parts that Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Neil Hamilton did the first time around.Still after seeing first one version, than the other, one might be complaining of double vision at that.

I first saw the film as an eight-nine year old boy...and wanted to be a pilot....and became one in the USAF...over the years I've revisited the film for the story..and the inspiration. Not only the acting, excellent, but the reality of the stress of commanding an outfit where your actions may result in the deaths of others. And of course the camaraderie of those linked by their time and place in a struggle...and then there was the one time gallantry of those who fought. The captured German pilot being treated as he was...and the return of the pilots cap and goggles speak of another time. Few films will reach the level of truly honorable conduct displayed here.