Memorable, crazy movie

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

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

. . . but Warner Bros. was hardly subtle in 1938 with this ode to Pacifism. Rather than foreshadowing Warner's CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS (micromanaged by War-time censors four years later), DAWN PATROL could be more aptly titled DEAD DUCKS DOWN. As mid-level officers grouse amongst themselves, the Royal Air Force sends a constant stream of fresh meat (in the form of teenagers with LESS than 10 hours of flight time) to the front lines, oblivious to the fact that 75% of them are dying on their first combat mission. No doubt a source of inspiration a few years later for the Japanese Kamikazi pilots of WWII, this "Lost Generation" is figuratively marched off a cliff, abetted by a virtual news vacuum in the Pre-Twitter days. Thanks to American heroes such as Zuckerberg and Snowden, a Western government would be hard put to stampede its Youth like mindless lemmings running off cliffs nowadays. Furthermore, since the U.S. was in a De Facto state of war with Japan in 1941, it's hard to view DAWN PATROL's two "heroic" sneak attacks on military ground targets as some sort of moral high ground above Pearl Harbor. If the post-Kitty Hawk military has any true heroes left, it's surely the folks on the ground who keep soldiering away despite knowing that sneaky aerial attacks can occur at any time.

"The Dawn Patrol" came out at a strange time: a few years later and it would have been a product of Warner Bros' propaganda department, matching a vicious enemy against selfless heroes. But in 1938 war was still a long way from Hollywood, so instead we get one of the last great anti-war films of the Golden Age.The cast, as usual, is superlative. Errol Flynn and David Niven are friends and drinking buddies (in real life as well as on screen) in the Royal Flying Corps, straining against the strict discipline of their commanding officer, Basil Rathbone. Rathbone gets a different sort of role: rather than the sneering villain, he portrays a sympathetic character torn apart by his duty to his superiors and his responsibility to the men he commands. In fact, the same dramatic arc afflicts Flynn and Niven in time, and the three great actors turn in some of the best performances of their careers.The flying scenes of "Dawn Patrol" lack the scale of "Hell's Angels" or "Wings", and a lot of scenes were lifted directly from a 1930 film of the same name, directed by Howard Hawks. The California scenery distracts a little from the verisimilitude, but the squadrons of vintage Nieuport 28's and other aircraft should make up for any shortcomings in the locations. The meat of the story takes place on the ground -- unlike in "Hell's Angels" -- so the action scenes in the air serve more as punctuation marks.Like previous First World War movies, "Dawn Patrol" portrays the cynicism and fatalism of the fighter pilots. They drink a toast to "the next man that dies", sing boisterous songs to bury their grief, and even welcome an enemy captive into their mess -- who cares whose side he's on, the war's over for him, so let's get drunk. There's a lot of manly horseplay and fooling around, and probably a bottle of brandy in every scene, making for a heck of a drinking game. The awful truth of the war is hammered home in scenes of youthful recruits arriving fresh from their public schools, brimming with childish bravado, ready for a great adventure -- and totally ignorant of the fate that awaits them.

Clear eyed depiction of the cost and dangers for bombers during wartime. Errol Flynn is very good, a reminder that he was excellent not only in period pictures and westerns but quite capable in modern dress dramas. Strong supporting cast helps with Basil Rathbone standing out as a man who understands but is troubled by the weight of his duty even while others do not and is compassionate enough when the that weight has shifted to offer solace. David Niven's star moved much higher with his performance here, it would still be a few years before he moved into the top ranks but he was done with unimportant roles from this point on. Goulding's direction is steady and assured.