This is an extremely well-made WWI aviator film. The flying sequences are excellent and realistic, the story keeps your attention throughout, the direction is good and the actors are at their best. This is a great example of the type of movies Warner Brothers was capable of making--maybe not quite as elegant as those from MGM, but certainly highly entertaining and filled with their old standby actors (in this case Flynn). Along with the ever-exciting to watch Flynn are David Niven (providing wonderful support), Basil Rathbone and Donald Crisp. What a cast! Now if the movie had any shortcoming it might be argued that the material is a bit familiar--you know, guys risking and living beside death and all the accompanying tensions. BUT, it's not just the broad plot outline that make up the movie and everything else is just so well executed you can overlook this minor aspect of the film.

Being someone who likes Errol Flynn, David Niven and Basil Rathbone and who has liked/loved a good deal of the films of all three, 'The Dawn Patrol' is a must watch for anybody who likes either actor or all three and for anybody who likes war films.

A remake of the 1930 Howard Hawks film, this is hardly inferior (quite the opposite). Even with scenes lifted from the earlier film, it's a good-looking film, is very nicely shot and has a good deal of authentic atmosphere. Edmund Goulding's direction is very much assured while pacing scenes in a methodical but never overly so way. Max Steiner's score is lushly orchestrated and stirring.

'The Dawn Patrol' has a gripping script, making its points without veering into heavy-handedness while the story is ceaselessly compelling, perfectly conveying the futility and passion of war, the comrades' horrors and conflicts and showing grace even under pressure.

Characters are not stereotypes in any way, instead compellingly real characters with human and relatable conflicts. The sterling supporting cast has Donald Crisp in particular standing out, but the three leads are what make 'The Dawn Patrol' particularly worth watching.

Rathbone has rarely been more tortured and Niven epitomises innocent grace, but it's Flynn's film in a performance that's genuinely moving (proof that he could act and had more range than given credit for when allowed).

In summary, a wonderful and powerful film. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I first saw this movie when I was 16, and didn't understand a lot of its subtleties; I just thought it was an exciting & dramatic war film with a lot of great flying sequences. I caught it again when I was 34 and was surprised at its depth.

I like to watch this movie whenever my own job gets crazy and hectic, with unrealistic deadlines and insufficient support, because it reminds me that I really don't have it so bad after all. The men in this movie were sent up daily in obsolete equipment in a bad state of disrepair; as the film progressed the squadron had about a 70% turnover as the combat veterans were shot down and replaced by green kids whose limited training could not possibly have prepared them for what they would face.

The characters are all dissected, even lesser, supporting roles receive excellent character studies, and the stars of course are downright fascinating. It's a thrill to learn that Errol Flynn (Captain Courtney) really could act, as well as just jump around and wave a sword; David Niven is wonderfully innocent and almost childlike as "Scotty," and Basil Rathbone, a truly great actor who seldom got the chance to strut his stuff since he was usually typecast as a "bad guy" or as Sherlock Holmes, gives a nerve-wrenching performance as Major Brand, who's floundering under the strain. He proves a profound point -- it is often easier to go to your own death than to order others to do so, a lesson Captain Courtney and Lt. Scott must reluctantly learn as well.

I'm now 44, and have seen this movie a couple dozen times, but it never ages. The flying sequences are still exciting; the chivalry and wild antics of the fliers never becomes tiresome or old, and the anguish of war is still as heartbreaking. Truly a movie that will last.