I haven't seen the original French film, with Annabella, Charles Vanel, and Jean-Pierre Aumont, but this version is pretty good. The three leads- Paul Muni, Miriam Hopkins, and Louis Hayward, play very well together. Some of the supporting actors have broad American accents, which detracts a little from the French milieu, but not enough to upset the film. Anatole Litvak also directed the 1935 French version, and you have to wonder how this film compares with that one. I'm guessing that the older film is the better of the two, as it is a French film dealing with French fliers in World War I, in the original language. Sometimes these stories lose something in translation. That may not be the case, however- one would obviously have to see both films to make that judgment. Anyway, the 1937 American film is worth a look, too.
The three-way romance is pretty standard and predictable, but still engaging, due to the stars' good performances. I like all three leads, as they were always interesting, even in films that were beneath their talents. Some of Muni's "highbrow" biographical dramas don't really hold up now, but he was always good as working-class, average sorts of guys (see "Black Fury," "Bordertown," etc.). He plays such a man here. Miriam Hopkins also enlivened any film she was in. Watch her in the 1932 "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," for example. It's hard to take your eyes off of her. Ditto "The Smiling Lieutenant," "Trouble in Paradise," and lots of other films. Louis Hayward eventually became kind of a "poor man's" Errol Flynn, starring in "A-" or "B" level swashbucklers. He was excellent in "The Man in the Iron Mask," "Son of Monte Cristo," and some others, but his career never reached "A" level heights. He could also be good as the nasty character, as in "Ladies in Retirement."
The aerial scenes are fairly standard for this kind of film, and not as good as the ones in "Hell's Angels," "Wings," or "The Dawn Patrol." But they do the job well enough. The scenes in the pilots' mess, with lots of eating and drinking, are perhaps more effective. The sense of camaraderie among the fliers is well-portrayed. They really cover each other's backs. Character actor Paul Guilfoyle has some especially good scenes here, as a pilot whose wife has just had a baby.
The standout performance in the aerodrome scenes is, to my thinking, that of Colin Clive. This was in fact his last film. According to IMDb, it was released in April, 1937. Clive died in June, 1937- just two months later. He'd been ailing for some time, suffering from the effects of alcoholism, and, reportedly, tuberculosis. The cause of death seems a little vague. He was only 37, and had only been in movies since 1930, when he made his breakout film, "Journey's End." He had become a star in the London production of that play, and, when it was decided to film it, the original director, James Whale, and Clive, were brought on board. It was a critically-acclaimed film, and established them both in Hollywood. Everyone knows that Whale used Clive in both of his Frankenstein films, and Clive otherwise spent the next seven years playing an assortment of leads and supporting parts. He worked with Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Peter Lorre, William Powell, Charles Boyer, and Jean Arthur, among many stars. He was an excellent actor, though he became somewhat typecast as neurotic, semi- hysterical characters- much like the ones he played in "Journey's End" and the Frankenstein films. I was prepared for such a characterization in this film, but, to my surprise, he plays a very genial, friendly guy. He's the commandant of the squadron, and is watchful over his men, and very popular with them. His last scene is kind of sad, and foreshadows his real-life fate just a few months later. It's nice that he could go out on a good film like this, and that, for once, he got to play a regular guy, one who likes drinking with his men, and having a good laugh. It's too bad he didn't live longer, as he could have been in films for many more years.
This film is very hard to get hold of. If you get a chance to see it, I would recommend it. The story isn't too bad, the three leads are excellent, and there are some good supporting performances. And, if you're a Colin Clive fan, you can see his last film, one with a different kind of part from his usual roles.
The three-way romance is pretty standard and predictable, but still engaging, due to the stars' good performances. I like all three leads, as they were always interesting, even in films that were beneath their talents. Some of Muni's "highbrow" biographical dramas don't really hold up now, but he was always good as working-class, average sorts of guys (see "Black Fury," "Bordertown," etc.). He plays such a man here. Miriam Hopkins also enlivened any film she was in. Watch her in the 1932 "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," for example. It's hard to take your eyes off of her. Ditto "The Smiling Lieutenant," "Trouble in Paradise," and lots of other films. Louis Hayward eventually became kind of a "poor man's" Errol Flynn, starring in "A-" or "B" level swashbucklers. He was excellent in "The Man in the Iron Mask," "Son of Monte Cristo," and some others, but his career never reached "A" level heights. He could also be good as the nasty character, as in "Ladies in Retirement."
The aerial scenes are fairly standard for this kind of film, and not as good as the ones in "Hell's Angels," "Wings," or "The Dawn Patrol." But they do the job well enough. The scenes in the pilots' mess, with lots of eating and drinking, are perhaps more effective. The sense of camaraderie among the fliers is well-portrayed. They really cover each other's backs. Character actor Paul Guilfoyle has some especially good scenes here, as a pilot whose wife has just had a baby.
The standout performance in the aerodrome scenes is, to my thinking, that of Colin Clive. This was in fact his last film. According to IMDb, it was released in April, 1937. Clive died in June, 1937- just two months later. He'd been ailing for some time, suffering from the effects of alcoholism, and, reportedly, tuberculosis. The cause of death seems a little vague. He was only 37, and had only been in movies since 1930, when he made his breakout film, "Journey's End." He had become a star in the London production of that play, and, when it was decided to film it, the original director, James Whale, and Clive, were brought on board. It was a critically-acclaimed film, and established them both in Hollywood. Everyone knows that Whale used Clive in both of his Frankenstein films, and Clive otherwise spent the next seven years playing an assortment of leads and supporting parts. He worked with Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Peter Lorre, William Powell, Charles Boyer, and Jean Arthur, among many stars. He was an excellent actor, though he became somewhat typecast as neurotic, semi- hysterical characters- much like the ones he played in "Journey's End" and the Frankenstein films. I was prepared for such a characterization in this film, but, to my surprise, he plays a very genial, friendly guy. He's the commandant of the squadron, and is watchful over his men, and very popular with them. His last scene is kind of sad, and foreshadows his real-life fate just a few months later. It's nice that he could go out on a good film like this, and that, for once, he got to play a regular guy, one who likes drinking with his men, and having a good laugh. It's too bad he didn't live longer, as he could have been in films for many more years.
This film is very hard to get hold of. If you get a chance to see it, I would recommend it. The story isn't too bad, the three leads are excellent, and there are some good supporting performances. And, if you're a Colin Clive fan, you can see his last film, one with a different kind of part from his usual roles.
