Errol Flynn is best known for playing swashbuckling characters, like Robin Hood. He did step away from those roles, more than a few times. The Dawn Patrol is an example of that. He doesn’t just collect a paycheck for this movie. He shows he can act with anyone. He is also able to do well against Basil Rathbone, not playing the villain role. He plays Major Brand: the commanding officer of a group of British flyers. Flynn plays Courtney; a flyer unhappy with Brand’s style of command. He is best friends with Scott, (David Niven).
The Dawn Patrol is in the vein of anti war films. It shows the men loving flying, but hating, that they, or one of their fellow flyers, won’t come back. Courtney does his best to keep up the men’s spirits. He supplies liquor, converses with them and encourages them to sing songs. These things help with the morale of the men. Courtney’s behavior contrasts with Major Brand’s. He reminds Courtney of the reality of war. He doesn’t like sending the men to face death every day, but has accepted it. He is bitter, because he is unable to join them; only watching them from the ground. Basil Rathbone shows his acting in one particular scene. It is time for the flyers to come back to the base. He counts the planes by listening in his office. He doesn’t hear the same number that went out. He shows his emotions without saying a word. It is even more gut wrenching for him, because he isnt getting reinforcements.
The point this film drives home, is how war can divide friends. A young pilot is eager to go against the enemy. Courtney because of a lack of pilots, lets him fly, without proper training. Scott pleads with Courtney to not let him fly. It doesn’t work, and the youth is shot down. This causes Scott to call Courtney a butcher, destroying their friendship. Courtney agonizes over this, and takes Scott’s place, on a suicide mission. His mission is successful, and the war goes on, with new pilots arriving taking the place of those killed.
Edmund Gould directed this movie, and was able to make a taut anti war film; twenty years after the war to end all wars. He’s done well showing the flying scenes. He also has a way of showing you what the movie’s about, in the beginning credits. They are shown with a plane’s propellor. He also does well with Basil Rathbones’s key scene, that sends a strong message.
The Dawn Patrol may not make anyone’s favorite film list. It is a film that showcases acting. All of the principles involved, show how war affects people. It should be seen mainly because of an underrated performance, by the very talented Errol Flynn.