The Dawn Patrol - based on a book my John Monk Saunders is the story of a RFC squadron in France during the Great War.
If has three good central performances - Basil Rathbone showing an array of hyper tense emotions - David Niven changing from a happy go lucky drunken fool to a hardened leader of men and the best, by far, Errol Flynn as a guilt ridden hero whose nerves are torn to shreds.
Flynn has had so much bad press over the years and people forget that he was a great actor in the early days. This film demonstrates that superbly. There are no women in this film, no distractions. It's about men up against it, and having to watch their comrades die needlessly against overwhelming odds.
The film has moments of silence, laughter, terror all mixed together with some superb skewed camera angles in the mess to give a feeling of drunken hopelessness.
Flynn's relief at seeing Niven when he thought he was dead is a moving performance. His quiet moments when he talks about England, his control when trying to convince Nivens younger brother to go up for the first time - these scenes show real presence and talent. You feel for him and all around him.
Coming out just before the beginning of WW2 it would have given the home audiences great understanding of what they faced - a hard and bloody task, where young men will die as surely as the older ones will order them to fight.
This film should be reissued on DVD and shown around the world - it's that good. Let's write some more scripts like this and start making some decent films again.
If has three good central performances - Basil Rathbone showing an array of hyper tense emotions - David Niven changing from a happy go lucky drunken fool to a hardened leader of men and the best, by far, Errol Flynn as a guilt ridden hero whose nerves are torn to shreds.
Flynn has had so much bad press over the years and people forget that he was a great actor in the early days. This film demonstrates that superbly. There are no women in this film, no distractions. It's about men up against it, and having to watch their comrades die needlessly against overwhelming odds.
The film has moments of silence, laughter, terror all mixed together with some superb skewed camera angles in the mess to give a feeling of drunken hopelessness.
Flynn's relief at seeing Niven when he thought he was dead is a moving performance. His quiet moments when he talks about England, his control when trying to convince Nivens younger brother to go up for the first time - these scenes show real presence and talent. You feel for him and all around him.
Coming out just before the beginning of WW2 it would have given the home audiences great understanding of what they faced - a hard and bloody task, where young men will die as surely as the older ones will order them to fight.
This film should be reissued on DVD and shown around the world - it's that good. Let's write some more scripts like this and start making some decent films again.