Errol Flynn has never been given enough credit for his acting talents, not even when his career was at its peak. The Dawn Patrol in particular is an excellent example of what he could do with a truly substantial role.
(Originally posted on Channel Awesome on January 27, 2014) Errol Flynn has never been given enough credit for his acting talents, not even when his career was at its peak. The Dawn Patrol in particular is an excellent example of what he could do with a truly substantial role. The Dawn Patrol was a remake of a 1930 film of the same name and with the same plot, based on John Monk Saunders's short story "The Flight Commander." (The remake even re-used the footage from the aerial battle scenes, except for the close-ups). The stars of the original were Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (son of the Silent Era star), and Neil Hamilton (yes, the same Neil Hamilton from the Adam West Batman series). In the remake, we have Errol Flynn, David Niven, and Basil Rathbone stepping into their roles respectively. I've never seen the original, so I won't be comparing it to this version. The Dawn Patrol (1930) WARNING: Here be spoilers! Read further at your own risk! The film is set in France towards the early part of World War I. Major Brand (Basil Rathbone) is the commander of the 59th Squadron of Britain's Royal Flying Corps, which is being forced to send battered planes and inexperienced pilots on one dangerous mission after another at a relentless pace. The stress of sending so many young pilots to their deaths and the lack of regard for their welfare by Wing Command is driving Brand to despair. To make things worse for Brand, he is seen as a heartless butcher by one of his flight commanders, Captain Courtney (Errol Flynn). Courtney bitterly quarrels with Brand about the need for more planes and better-trained men, but Brand's hands are helplessly tied, and he's forced to tell Courtney to make do with what he has. After Courtney and his best friend Scotty (David Niven) stage a daring two-plane raid on a German base, Brand ends up getting promoted and has his chance to teach Courtney a lesson by assigning Courtney to be the new squadron commander. Now it's Courtney's job to send ill-equipped rookie pilots on suicide missions, driving a bitter wedge between him and Scotty in the process - especially when one of those rookies happens to be Scotty's younger brother Donnie (Morton Lowry). The Dawn Patrol benefits from a well-written script and a talented cast to bring it to life. I do, however, want to particularly focus for a bit on Flynn's performance, since as I said earlier, his acting abilities are frequently underestimated. There are moments where he's the brash, charismatic action hero audiences knew and loved, but his quiet, more emotional scenes are superb. He doesn't make the mistake of overdoing his grief or torment, and the scenes where he talks of his longing for the comforts of home and concern for his men's welfare are convincing because of that same natural subtlety. I especially enjoy the scenes of Courtney and Brand behaving cordially to each other. Given how Flynn and Rathbone literally crossed swords with each other in their previous films together, Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), it's a pleasure to see them playing comrades in arms, if not exactly friends. The rest of the cast is equally superb. David Niven shows a lot of range as Scotty (no surprise from an actor of Niven's high caliber). He and Flynn play off each other extremely well, just as they did in 1937's The Charge of the Light Brigade (plus, they roomed together for a while after Flynn's divorce from Lili Damita). When the rift between their characters happens, the end of their friendship is just as sad to watch as the circumstances that lead up to it. As for Basil Rathbone, it's rare for me to see him in a sympathetic role, and I like it when actors play against type (especially when they succeed as well as Rathbone does here). In addition to our three leads, all of whom deliver fantastic performances, we also have Warner Bros. regulars Donald Crisp as Phipps, the squadron commander's adjutant, and Melville Cooper as the fussy Sergeant Watkins. Not all the performances are convincing, however - Peter Willes as Hollister, a pilot traumatized by the loss of his best friend, does okay in his silent brooding scenes, but as soon as he starts to talk or rant, it's a bit too overblown for my taste, especially compared to the more nuanced performances of our leads. Technically, the film is well-paced, moving fluidly from tense aerial action sequences to more somber moments. The cinematography and shot framing are effective, as is the use of sound (something I also commented on in my Twelve O'Clock High review). Max Steiner's musical score is only heard during the opening and closing titles, and the complete silence of certain scenes is very disquieting. Some of the visual effects are pretty dated (cringe-worthy in one shot towards the end), but they were good for the time this film was made. The director, Edmund Goulding, transitioned to films from acting, writing, and directing for the stage, and there are times when The Dawn Patrol feels very much like a play (which isn't a complaint). Unlike Michael Curtiz, who had a very toxic working relationship with Flynn, Goulding and Flynn reportedly got along very well together, although they only had the chance to work together once. For all its moments emphasizing the heroics of Courtney and his fellow pilots in the 59th Squadron, The Dawn Patrol is very much an anti-war film, and not at all in a subtle way. Besides the speeches and musings on the wastefulness of war, there's also the way British and German pilots treat each other with a great deal of respect, saluting each other and even drinking with each other after they've been shooting at each other (or even worse, their friends). Given the timing of when The Dawn Patrol was made and what we now know about the atrocities perpetrated by the Axis nations during World War II, there may be some modern viewers who are uncomfortable with this anti-war message, and that's perfectly understandable. Keep in mind, however, that this film was made three years before America's entry into World War II, and isolationist sentiments in the United States were very strong at this time. Also, the film's message and sentiments about the price of war are timeless, easily applicable to most armed conflicts. The Dawn Patrol is not only an excellent showcase for Flynn's acting abilities, but also a well-made war drama in its own right, and definitely worth seeing. Of all of Flynn's non-swashbuckling films, this is probably my favorite.
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