There's Homage, Ripoff, and Then...THIS
The second part of the double feature: the 1938 version of The Dawn Patrol.
While remakes of movies are nothing new, I did find it odd when I realized that the 1938 version of The Dawn Patrol was made a mere eight years after the original. Still, I was curious to see if the new filmmakers, writers, and actors would improve on the weaknesses of the original, and what other changes they might make. Imagine my surprise when it was basically the exact same movie, in more ways than one.
I don’t think it’s worth having a summary this time around. While there are a few new lines of dialogue, the story follows all the same beats as the 1930 movie, including Scott (now played by David Niven) being shot down and then safely returning, and the whole anticlimax with Hollister (Peter Willes). It’s a mostly faithful adaptation, which isn’t a surprise because the same screenwriters are credited as writing for both movies. Except, oddly enough, for Howard Hawks. This is both surprising and unsurprising, given the most notable thing about this remake…
In a brazen display of laziness, cheapness, or both, the movie lifts all of the plane scenes from Hawks’ version and uses them with only minor edits.* It’s incredibly obvious, since some of the distinctive shots (like the one I mentioned in my other review) or notable landmarks are present. I didn’t time it, but I’d be willing to bet that a quarter to perhaps as much as half the movie is just reused footage. Warner Brothers got away with it because it owned First National Pictures, the company that made the 1930 version, but they really should have given Hawks co-director’s credit if they wanted to be honest about it. But since his name is left out of the credits entirely, I can’t help but wonder if there was some bad blood behind the scenes.
That’s not to say that there aren’t some differences between the two versions, some of which are even an improvement. For one thing, this version is slightly better at portraying Scott and Courtney (Errol Flynn). If the intent was to show that Courtney is supposed to be more roguish until he gets put in charge, the 1938 version is much more successful at that. There’s also a much more genuine feel to the friendship between Courtney and Scott, which is probably because Flynn and Niven were apparently good friends in real life. This makes the later scenes have more impact, and one related plot point is changed in a way that feels more believable than it did in the 1930 version. And while it’s a tiny little detail, the opening credits transition between names with a neat little spinning effect that looks like an airplane propeller. It’s unnecessary, but it doesn’t feel like it’s only there to show off, and thus I’m inclined to appreciate it rather than roll my eyes.
Sadly, most of the other changes aren’t as good. Shortly after Scott returns from being shot down, he and Courtney get drunk and go out on a night on the town. In the 1930 version, we get an intertitle that basically says “one night of fun, and then back to business as usual”, and we open on Courtney and Scott playing cards at the canteen until they hear the planes coming in. In the ’38 version, Courtney and Scott are still out on the town, and have gotten themselves into mischief, arriving with flowers and smiles just as the planes do. On the one hand, this does tie in with what I said above about justifying Brand’s (Basil Rathbone) frustration regarding the characters, but on the other, it doesn’t exactly make the two of them look good. It is, however, more in line with the early sections of the movie, which have a slightly more comedic tone than the 1930 version did. It’s certainly not laugh-out-loud funny, but there’s a lot more banter and antics, though I couldn’t tell you if that was a screenwriting decision (meant to contrast with the serious second half) or just came about because of Flynn’s natural charisma. The change that really surprised me, though, was the way the movie scrubbed out the emotionality of the characters and the situation. Brand and Hollister’s portrayals in the 1930 version felt realistic; even if you don’t have any experience with it, it’s believable that people suffering from stress and shellshock would behave that way. In this version, everything is much more “Hollywood”; the acting and dialogue have the same sort of feel you’d get from any other movie of the era. Characters still get upset or angry, but there’s a distance to it, and thus doesn’t have anywhere near the same impact. I’m not sure why they made that change, but while it’s interesting on the one hand and possibly says something about how Hollywood started to change as the studio system and the Hays Code got up and running, I certainly wouldn’t call it a change for the better.
There’s one other change worth noting, neither good nor bad. At one point, Courtney has to talk to a new pilot, knowing full well that the pilot’s probably going to die the next day. In the 1930 version, he basically advises the young man to die with dignity. In the ’38 version, he lies that everything will turn out all right and tries to be reassuring. Furthermore, he then goes off on a tangent about how sometimes, the people in charge decide to fight wars, and then people like Courtney and the pilot get caught up in it with no idea of the reason why they’re fighting. There are other little moments like that scattered throughout the movie that were absent in the 1930 version. Given what was looming on the horizon, I have the distinct sense that that was deliberate, and was either included to try to convince the audience not to get involved in what was about to happen, or trying to warn them about what was to come. It’s a really fascinating little beat, serving as a time capsule of sorts. And while it’s a bit heavy-handed, I’d have to say that it was sadly accurate.
Given how much was ripped off or sanitized from the 1930 version, I’d say you should skip this one and just watch the original instead, even though that one has issues of its own. In an ideal world, we’d have gotten the emotionality and action from the 1930 version, with the camaraderie of Flynn and Niven in the ’38 version, and thus gotten a pretty good movie. As it stands, we’ve got two middling movies with flashes of good material, and given the cribbing on display, one winds up looking better than the other. Though as you’ve seen, it can be quite the talking point if you watch them as a double feature. Maybe it’s worth it just for that reason.
*The IMDB trivia page claims that there were new shots made of planes taking off and landing for the remake, but very little of it must have made it in based on what I saw.
While remakes of movies are nothing new, I did find it odd when I realized that the 1938 version of The Dawn Patrol was made a mere eight years after the original. Still, I was curious to see if the new filmmakers, writers, and actors would improve on the weaknesses of the original, and what other changes they might make. Imagine my surprise when it was basically the exact same movie, in more ways than one.
I don’t think it’s worth having a summary this time around. While there are a few new lines of dialogue, the story follows all the same beats as the 1930 movie, including Scott (now played by David Niven) being shot down and then safely returning, and the whole anticlimax with Hollister (Peter Willes). It’s a mostly faithful adaptation, which isn’t a surprise because the same screenwriters are credited as writing for both movies. Except, oddly enough, for Howard Hawks. This is both surprising and unsurprising, given the most notable thing about this remake…
In a brazen display of laziness, cheapness, or both, the movie lifts all of the plane scenes from Hawks’ version and uses them with only minor edits.* It’s incredibly obvious, since some of the distinctive shots (like the one I mentioned in my other review) or notable landmarks are present. I didn’t time it, but I’d be willing to bet that a quarter to perhaps as much as half the movie is just reused footage. Warner Brothers got away with it because it owned First National Pictures, the company that made the 1930 version, but they really should have given Hawks co-director’s credit if they wanted to be honest about it. But since his name is left out of the credits entirely, I can’t help but wonder if there was some bad blood behind the scenes.
That’s not to say that there aren’t some differences between the two versions, some of which are even an improvement. For one thing, this version is slightly better at portraying Scott and Courtney (Errol Flynn). If the intent was to show that Courtney is supposed to be more roguish until he gets put in charge, the 1938 version is much more successful at that. There’s also a much more genuine feel to the friendship between Courtney and Scott, which is probably because Flynn and Niven were apparently good friends in real life. This makes the later scenes have more impact, and one related plot point is changed in a way that feels more believable than it did in the 1930 version. And while it’s a tiny little detail, the opening credits transition between names with a neat little spinning effect that looks like an airplane propeller. It’s unnecessary, but it doesn’t feel like it’s only there to show off, and thus I’m inclined to appreciate it rather than roll my eyes.
Sadly, most of the other changes aren’t as good. Shortly after Scott returns from being shot down, he and Courtney get drunk and go out on a night on the town. In the 1930 version, we get an intertitle that basically says “one night of fun, and then back to business as usual”, and we open on Courtney and Scott playing cards at the canteen until they hear the planes coming in. In the ’38 version, Courtney and Scott are still out on the town, and have gotten themselves into mischief, arriving with flowers and smiles just as the planes do. On the one hand, this does tie in with what I said above about justifying Brand’s (Basil Rathbone) frustration regarding the characters, but on the other, it doesn’t exactly make the two of them look good. It is, however, more in line with the early sections of the movie, which have a slightly more comedic tone than the 1930 version did. It’s certainly not laugh-out-loud funny, but there’s a lot more banter and antics, though I couldn’t tell you if that was a screenwriting decision (meant to contrast with the serious second half) or just came about because of Flynn’s natural charisma. The change that really surprised me, though, was the way the movie scrubbed out the emotionality of the characters and the situation. Brand and Hollister’s portrayals in the 1930 version felt realistic; even if you don’t have any experience with it, it’s believable that people suffering from stress and shellshock would behave that way. In this version, everything is much more “Hollywood”; the acting and dialogue have the same sort of feel you’d get from any other movie of the era. Characters still get upset or angry, but there’s a distance to it, and thus doesn’t have anywhere near the same impact. I’m not sure why they made that change, but while it’s interesting on the one hand and possibly says something about how Hollywood started to change as the studio system and the Hays Code got up and running, I certainly wouldn’t call it a change for the better.
There’s one other change worth noting, neither good nor bad. At one point, Courtney has to talk to a new pilot, knowing full well that the pilot’s probably going to die the next day. In the 1930 version, he basically advises the young man to die with dignity. In the ’38 version, he lies that everything will turn out all right and tries to be reassuring. Furthermore, he then goes off on a tangent about how sometimes, the people in charge decide to fight wars, and then people like Courtney and the pilot get caught up in it with no idea of the reason why they’re fighting. There are other little moments like that scattered throughout the movie that were absent in the 1930 version. Given what was looming on the horizon, I have the distinct sense that that was deliberate, and was either included to try to convince the audience not to get involved in what was about to happen, or trying to warn them about what was to come. It’s a really fascinating little beat, serving as a time capsule of sorts. And while it’s a bit heavy-handed, I’d have to say that it was sadly accurate.
Given how much was ripped off or sanitized from the 1930 version, I’d say you should skip this one and just watch the original instead, even though that one has issues of its own. In an ideal world, we’d have gotten the emotionality and action from the 1930 version, with the camaraderie of Flynn and Niven in the ’38 version, and thus gotten a pretty good movie. As it stands, we’ve got two middling movies with flashes of good material, and given the cribbing on display, one winds up looking better than the other. Though as you’ve seen, it can be quite the talking point if you watch them as a double feature. Maybe it’s worth it just for that reason.
*The IMDB trivia page claims that there were new shots made of planes taking off and landing for the remake, but very little of it must have made it in based on what I saw.