L'aigle et le vautour

The Eagle and the Hawk are Fredric March and Cary Grant, a couple of enlistees in Britain's Royal Flying Corps in World War I. March is Grant's training officer and he washes him out as a pilot. Grant resents this of course and bops him one on the snoot. He gets to be a tailgunner.

When they get over there March becomes an air ace. But soon all the deaths of comrades around him really gets to him. He's a sensitive soul and he starts to crack up. By then Grant is on the scene as his tailgunner, but they're still not getting along.

The Eagle and the Hawk covers a whole lot of the same ground as The Dawn Patrol did. But the players here know their business and serve the clichés up well done. Cary Grant plays very much against type. A few years later the public would never have accepted him in the part he plays here.

Jack Oakie is around to do the comic relief. Carole Lombard is in this as well for about 10 minutes as a woman March encounters while on a 10 day leave. I'm not quite sure what her purpose is in this film other than to give the men in the audience something to gape at.

It's a good anti-war film and the ending will surprise you.

THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK (Paramount, 1933), directed by Stuart Walker, is not a national geographic story about birds in the wilds of the forest but a vivid account of three men (two Americans, one British) from different walks of life serving in the British Flying Corps during the World War. Featuring Fredric March, Cary Grant and Jack Oakie as the three men in question, the plot revolves mostly on the March character as he slowly goes through mental strain.

Without wasting much time in plot development on these three central characters, their backgrounds are depicted briefly during the opening credits, leaving some indication to the audience to whom there are: Fredric March as Jerry Young riding his horse in a polo match, indicating he comes from a rich family; Cary Grant as Henry Crocker as foreman in a construction site socking one of his workers for speaking up to him, indicating he's a common man with a quick temper; and Jack Oakie as Mike Richards, a happy-go-lucky fellow shown eating a sandwich in a diner, indicating a simple-natured fellow good for a lot of laughs. Before the story gets underway in France, Richards is seen going on a scale to get his weight, then taking a card popping from the machine that reads, "You will soon be facing great danger." Next scene finds Mike in uniform, laughing loudly while reading the book, "A Night in the Turkish Harem." Jerry Young, an ace pilot, chooses several men to accompany him in England. He excludes Crocker, whom he doesn't like. Because of this decision, Crocker socks him in the jaw. After losing five observers within two months, Young not only becomes embittered by seeing these young men die in action before his eyes, but soon acquires Crocker as his new ace fly together on several missions. Regardless of their bitter disagreements, especially after Crocker kills a helpless enemy on a parachute, it is Crocker who sees the strain Young is going through, especially at night while talking in his sleep during one of his recurring nightmares. Realizing his emotional state, Crocker recommends for flight commander Major Dunham (Sir Guy Standing) to send Jerry on a ten-day leave, which Jerry does take. While in England, Jerry encounters an attractive blonde (Carole Lombard) at a social function who takes an interest in him. Upon his return to battle, things become seriously worse for Jerry, especially after the death of Richards in one of his air missions and witnessing John Stevens (Kenneth Howell) plunging to his death by falling out of the airplane without a parachute.

Based on a story by John Monk Saunders, one who specialized in war related themes, notably WINGS (Paramount, 1927), the first Best Picture Academy Award winner, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK is one to give the impression of being more inspired by another aviation war drama, THE DAWN PATROL (Warner Brothers, 1930) starring Richard Barthelmess and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., where two men in the same corps with their dislike one another teaming up on flying missions. Quite underrated and leisurely paced, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK offers more than just an all-star cast but a realistic view on the mental breakdown of a war hero during his day-to-day air battle of aerial combat with the enemy and himself. Aside from many medals, bar drinks with his buddies and hero worshiping by others, the Jerry Young character gets to tell the new recruits, "You're fighting for humanity and for the preservation of civilization." Quite relevant today as it was then, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK adds more through its narrative in both speech and in actions.

One of the big surprises in THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK is the casting of fourth billed Carole Lombard. Her role, coming 45 minutes into the start of the movie, in what's basically an extended eight minute cameo. First shown in white gown in a drawing room observing one of the guests (March) who tells the son (Douglas Scott) of the hostess (Virginia Hammond) the true meaning of war, she then follows Young into a cab where the two meet, and soon get acquainted while sitting on the bench in the park. Lombard's character, in expensive looking fur coat, bears no name and several extreme close-ups during the park sequence. Following this scene, she's never seen or heard about again. Cary Grant, years before specializing best in romantic comedies, shows his dramatic skills in several key scenes. In 1936, Grant was also featured in another World War I story, that being SUZY (MGM) starring Jean Harlow. Interestingly, both films come to similar conclusions.

Commonly broadcast on commercial television before slowly fazed out by the 1970s, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK had its share of cable TV exposure in later years, notably on American Movie Classics (1992-93) before making its Turner Classic Movies premiere October 20, 2008. Distributed to home video in 1997 by MCA which includes original theatrical trailer, the video box to THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK features Cary Grant and Carole Lombard rather than the leading performer, Fredric March.

While the aforementioned DAWN PATROL was remade by Warners in 1938 with Errol Flynn and David Niven, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK was not, contrary to the same title used for the Paramount's 1950 production, a western starring John Payne, Rhonda Fleming and Dennis O'Keefe. That's where the similarity ends. Not as well known as some other aviation dramas, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK makes fine viewing, especially for Memorial or Veteran's Day. (**1/2)

Criminally underrated war picture details the adventures of a group of WWI volunteer pilots whose excitement turns to anguish and despair when they are confronted with the reality of combat. Director Stuart Walker helms this unabashedly grim WWI drama with tact and honesty, featuring some above average aerial footage and an unflinchingly blatant anti-war message that is still quite surprising and daring for a depression-era studio film. The acting is uniformly excellent, with Fredric March delivering a marvelously conflicted turn in the lead, and Cary Grant is convincingly cast against type as a hot-headed, violent brute. Perhaps a bit too a head of it's time when originally released, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK is a terrific film that is ripe for rediscovery.

As the others have said, this surprisingly turned out to be a realistic, antiwar movie. Frederick March gives an Academy-Award-worthy performance as the jaded fighter pilot, and Cary Grant gives a good performance as his rival. Since Hollywood made more pro-war movies than isolationist movies up to Pearl Harbor, this one was a bit startling, judging from its era and its title. Perhaps that is why it has not received its due rewards. Those who have experienced war usually try to prevent its recurrence, and the grim reality of its death and destruction are shown in this film about as graphically as they were allowed at that time. I have heard that even Germany's greatest ace in WWI, the "Red Baron," was very disillusioned when he went home the last time before his death. When his mother asked him who his friends were in a photo, he told her sadly when each of them had been killed. War is only glamorous from a great distance and in games. "The Eagle And The Hawk" captures the real essence of so many wasted lives in the Lost Generation and the destruction of prewar civilization.

THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK is well on the way to being the best film of it's day and contains Frederic March's most impressive performance, nicely set against Cary Grant who had yet to make his own screen presence identifiable.

This stands along side any of it's cycle of aviation films - the great WINGS, HELL'S ANGELS, THE LOST SQUADRON, the draggy Hawks version of DAWN PATROL, THE LAST FLIGHT. The impact is not from the air action but from the way the familiar breaking point material is worked out in terms of character. The mess hall climax and subsequent resolution can't be faulted.

It is amazing that a film saying something so substantial, so well was not singled out by critics or subsequently "discovered." The same may be said of several of March's other films of the day. He remains the most underestimated film star we have.

Though credited to Stuart Walker, it is widely held that the film is the director debut of Mitchel Leisen who did the later and presentable plane movie I WANTED WINGS.

Though just over an hour the film does not have the feeling of slightness. It's tempo is impeccable. I'm impressed every time I run this one.