Not too much is new in THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK. It's an anti-war story about fliers, the men in command and the new men who are really just kids and who lose their lives in what seems like a senseless string of tragedies.
It's been done before in stories like DAWN PATROL--and more effectively when it concentrated on the men and their relationships under stress. Here, for no apparent reason, CAROLE LOMBARD has a brief ten minutes of screen time as "a beautiful woman" who gives emotional support (and more) to FREDRIC MARCH, who is hell bent on trying to forget the casualties of war under his command.
The anti-war sentiment is hammered home pretty hard with March as the stressed out lieutenant who has to cope with the losses around him and animosity in his relationship with CARY GRANT, a tail gunner who confronts him in cynical distrust and appears to be jealous of March's medals. Their unstable interplay is the only aspect of the story that is given a new twist, especially toward the end.
There are plenty of good flying scenes and most of the performances are smooth, but Lombard's part is little more than a bit at a time when she had the leading femme role in many other films. The decision to use her here is questionable.
Grant hadn't yet developed his lighter persona but is reasonably good as the conflicted gunner and March is excellent as the equally conflicted top gun.
Personally, I prefer DAWN PATROL to this World War I tale of men under combat stress.
It's been done before in stories like DAWN PATROL--and more effectively when it concentrated on the men and their relationships under stress. Here, for no apparent reason, CAROLE LOMBARD has a brief ten minutes of screen time as "a beautiful woman" who gives emotional support (and more) to FREDRIC MARCH, who is hell bent on trying to forget the casualties of war under his command.
The anti-war sentiment is hammered home pretty hard with March as the stressed out lieutenant who has to cope with the losses around him and animosity in his relationship with CARY GRANT, a tail gunner who confronts him in cynical distrust and appears to be jealous of March's medals. Their unstable interplay is the only aspect of the story that is given a new twist, especially toward the end.
There are plenty of good flying scenes and most of the performances are smooth, but Lombard's part is little more than a bit at a time when she had the leading femme role in many other films. The decision to use her here is questionable.
Grant hadn't yet developed his lighter persona but is reasonably good as the conflicted gunner and March is excellent as the equally conflicted top gun.
Personally, I prefer DAWN PATROL to this World War I tale of men under combat stress.