The Dawn Patrol

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

This 1938 remake of Howard Hawks' 1930 film The Dawn Patrol is faithful to the original's basic plotline. The story is set during World War I; the scene is the French headquarters of the British Royal Flying Corps, 59th division. The corps is suffering heavy losses, a fact that ace pilot Courtney (Errol Flynn) ascribes to the supposed ruthlessness of squadron commander Brand (Basil Rathbone). What the audience knows that Courtney doesn't is that Brand is distraught at losing his men, but is forced by his own superiors to push the pilots beyond their limits. After being accused day after day of being a butcher, Brand takes grim delight in turning over his command to Courtney. Soon Courtney finds himself enduring the "butcher" tag, especially after the younger brother of his best friend Scott (David Niven) is killed. To redeem himself, Courtney gets Scott drunk and takes his place in a suicidal bombing mission. Courtney is killed, Scott assumes command, and the cycle begins again. The extensive use of combat scenes from the original Dawn Patrol has led some viewers to assume that the 1930 version is the superior of the two. In fact, the remake is far better than the original on several counts, not least of which was the star power of Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in their third screen teaming. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Subtitle: Eng/Spa
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Features:
  • Warner Night at the Movies 1938 short subjects gallery: vintage newsreel, musical shorts The Prisoner of Swing and Romance Road, classic cartoon What Price Porky?, trailers of The Dawn Patrol and 1938's Four's a Crowd
  • Subtitles: English & Espanol (feature film only)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Errol Flynn - Capt. Courtney
       David Niven - Lieut. Douglas Scott
       Basil Rathbone - Major Brand
       Donald Crisp - Phipps
       Melville Cooper - Watkins
       Barry Fitzgerald - Bott
       Michael Brooke - Squires
       Morton Lowry - Donnie Scott
       Peter Willes - Hollister
       Carl Esmond - Von Mueller
       Stuart Hall - Bentham, the Singer
       James Burke - Flaherty, the Motorcycle Driver
       Sidney Bracey - Ransom, Brand's Orderly
       Herbert Evans - Scott's Mechanic
       Tom Seidel - Jones
       Tyrone Brereton
       Tim Henning
       Anthony Marsh - Rutherford
       Hal Brazeale - Gregory
       Gordon Thorpe - Smythe
       Leo Nomis - Aeronautic Supervisor
       Douglas Gordon - Orderly
       John Sutton - Adjutant
       Gilbert Wilson - Moorehead
       George Kirby - Kirby, the Orderly
       Norman Willis - German Aviator

• Director:

  Edmund Goulding

• Producer:

  Robert Lord, Hal B. Wallis

• Screenwriter:

  Seton Miller, Dan Totheroh

• Cinematographer:

  Tony Gaudio

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Leo F. Forbstein

• Composer (Music Score):

  Max Steiner

• Editor:

  Ralph Dawson

• Art Director:

  John Hughes

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  C.A. Riggs

• Special Effects:

  Edwin DuPar, Edwin A. DuPar

• Consultant/advisor:

  Captain L.G.S. Scott

• Short Story Author:

  John Monk Saunders

REVIEW:

• The Dawn Patrol is a good example of how a remake can improve on the original version. John Monk Saunders's Oscar-winning story provides a solid basis for the efforts of screenwriters Seton Miller and Dan Totheroh. Though director Edmund Goulding stays safely within the guidelines of the war genre, Dawn Patrol shows the varying attitudes of the aviators toward combat, and particularly toward enemy pilots. Complementing the material is a star-laden cast led by the charismatic team of Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone, and featuring solid supporting work from David Niven, Donald Crisp, and Melville Cooper. Brought to the screen with Warner Bros.' customary high production values, Dawn Patrol provides an excellent showcase for its stars, representing another winning entry in Goulding's prolific career. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi