Movies - The Dawn Patrol

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	Movies - The Dawn Patrol

The Dawn Patrol is a 1930 World War I film starring Richard Barthelmess and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. It was directed by Howard Hawks.

It was remade in 1938 by Edmund Golding with Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in the leading roles. It also featured David Niven.

The story revolves around the pilots and crew of an RAF airbase, who deal with the stress of combat primarily through nightly bouts of heavy drinking.

The two aces of the group, Courtney (Barthelmess/Flynn) and Scott (Fairbanks/Niven), have come to hate the commanding officer, Brand (Hamilton/Rathbone), blaming him for sending fresh pilots directly into combat. Unknown to them, Brand has been arguing continually with his commanders to allow him practice time with the new pilots, but command is desperate to maintain air superiority and orders them into combat as soon as they arrive. Brand is so disliked by the two he can't even easily join the men for the nightly partying, drinking alone and clearly breaking under the strain.

The tension grows worse when an elite German squadron, implied to be the Red Baron's, takes up position on the line across from them. After losing several of the squadron's long-timers the ranks become increasingly made up of new recruits, who have absolutly no chance against the Germans. In the midst of this Brand is recalled to headquarters and Courtney is promoted to commander.

It is not long before he also learns of the impossibility of the job, and his relationship with Scott quickly sours. Things grow considerably worse when his brother appears as one of the fresh recruits. He then goes through his own pleading with headquarters, only to be refused, and his brother is killed on his first mission.

The film ends when Courtney eventually discovers the only way out: after learning of what amounts to a suicide mission far behind enemy lines, he "steals" the loaded plane out from under Scott who had volunteered to take it.

The film is one of the first in which Rathbone and Flynn had to act "out of character", and both rise to the occasion with aplomb. Rathbone's portrail of the stressed-out Major Brand is particularly convincing.

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