"A Yank in the R.A.F." is the first World War II movie I've ever seen where I was actually rooting for the Nazis to shoot down the hero's plane and kill him!
The story centers on Tim Baker (Tyrone Power), an arrogant hotshot American pilot who flies a fighter plane from Canada to Britain, as part of the Lend Lease Act, in the days before the London Blitz begins. Tim decides to stay in London and join the R.A.F. after he runs into an old flame, Carol Brown (Betty Grable), an American showgirl living in London.
Tim and Carol had a thing going back in Kansas City. She left him because he kept cheating on her with other girls. But now, Tim insists they should get back together, even though Carol tells him she wants nothing to do with him. Tim follows her around London, forces his way into her apartment, turns on his oily charm, kisses her, and suddenly she's all his again, even though she calls him a "worm."
The inevitable "love triangle" follows. Carol meets John Morley (John Sutton), an R.A.F. bomber pilot who turns out to be Tim's commanding officer. Morley is a true English gentleman, who falls in love with Carol, appreciates her for who she is, and could probably make her very happy. But Carol turns down his marriage proposal, even though she says she doesn't really love Tim.
Tim is a world-class a—hole! He treats Carol like dirt, and yet she seems to be putty in his hands. When he's not chasing Carol, Tim is chasing after every other pretty girl he sees. After being shot down in Holland, he escapes back to England and ends up in the hospital – and immediately propositions the pretty nurse by his bedside.
When they have a date, Tim stands Carol up to go drinking with his R.A.F. buddies, then gets mad when he comes to her apartment and finds she's gone out with Morley. Finally, Carol gets fed up with Tim and throws him out of her apartment. I was hoping she'd throw some things at him, or maybe kick him in the nuts, but I guess Daryl Zanuck thought that wouldn't be a good use of Betty Grable's famous legs.
Up until this point in the movie, I really hated Tim Baker. After what happens next, I started to loathe him. Tim goes to Carol's apartment, wearing his arm in a sling and walking on a cane, pretending he was injured when he crashed in Holland. Carol sees through his ruse ("I'm dumb, but I'm not THAT dumb.") and tells him to get out.
Instead, Tim pulls out an engagement ring, throws Carol down on the couch, jumps on top of her, and forces the ring onto her finger while kissing her face as she screams in protest. He tells her, "You're my girl, like it or not. And when I come back, I'll make it official and marry you."
Engagement by rape. How romantic! If I were Carol, I'd buy a gun.
The climax of the movie has Tim Baker in a British Spitfire, going "mano a mano" with a German fighter pilot during an air battle. Tim is wounded in the exchange. I was hoping his plane would burst into flames and kill him, but no such luck.
Instead, the move cuts back to England – and whaddaya know, Carol is worried sick about Tim, crying her eyes out, afraid he was killed because he hasn't returned from Dunkirk. It turns out she actually loves him! (Hey, guess what? She really IS "that dumb.")
Carol and Morley go to the London docks to meet the last hospital ship bringing home wounded soldiers from Dunkirk. Carol spots Tim on the gangplank, runs up to him, and kisses him! She happily shows him the engagement ring that he forced onto her finger, which she couldn't get off. Tim smiles at Carol – then immediately gives the "brush off" to the lovely nurse that he met on the hospital ship, whom he was about to go out on a date with. "Sorry, honey, I won't be needing you tonight."
What an incredible jerk! Tim and Carol head off together, and they are right back where they started. He will keep cheating on her, even after they're married; she will keep forgiving him. These two deserve each other!
The movie has a few good points. It features some actual footage shot in England by future director Ronald Neame ("The Poseidon Adventure") of R.A.F. fighters and bombers flying and taking off. There are some realistic depictions of R.A.F. bombings over Berlin, and some exciting aerial dogfights between English and German fighters, plus a good on- the-ground depiction of the evacuation at Dunkirk. The special effects in the movie are well done for their time.
"A Yank in the R.A.F." was made in 1941, before the U.S. entry into World War II. Had the picture been made a year later, it probably would have included a patriotic "Hooray for our English allies" theme, and more wartime propaganda speeches. As it is, it's a romantic melodrama with shallow, stupid characters that trivializes the war and is best forgotten.
The story centers on Tim Baker (Tyrone Power), an arrogant hotshot American pilot who flies a fighter plane from Canada to Britain, as part of the Lend Lease Act, in the days before the London Blitz begins. Tim decides to stay in London and join the R.A.F. after he runs into an old flame, Carol Brown (Betty Grable), an American showgirl living in London.
Tim and Carol had a thing going back in Kansas City. She left him because he kept cheating on her with other girls. But now, Tim insists they should get back together, even though Carol tells him she wants nothing to do with him. Tim follows her around London, forces his way into her apartment, turns on his oily charm, kisses her, and suddenly she's all his again, even though she calls him a "worm."
The inevitable "love triangle" follows. Carol meets John Morley (John Sutton), an R.A.F. bomber pilot who turns out to be Tim's commanding officer. Morley is a true English gentleman, who falls in love with Carol, appreciates her for who she is, and could probably make her very happy. But Carol turns down his marriage proposal, even though she says she doesn't really love Tim.
Tim is a world-class a—hole! He treats Carol like dirt, and yet she seems to be putty in his hands. When he's not chasing Carol, Tim is chasing after every other pretty girl he sees. After being shot down in Holland, he escapes back to England and ends up in the hospital – and immediately propositions the pretty nurse by his bedside.
When they have a date, Tim stands Carol up to go drinking with his R.A.F. buddies, then gets mad when he comes to her apartment and finds she's gone out with Morley. Finally, Carol gets fed up with Tim and throws him out of her apartment. I was hoping she'd throw some things at him, or maybe kick him in the nuts, but I guess Daryl Zanuck thought that wouldn't be a good use of Betty Grable's famous legs.
Up until this point in the movie, I really hated Tim Baker. After what happens next, I started to loathe him. Tim goes to Carol's apartment, wearing his arm in a sling and walking on a cane, pretending he was injured when he crashed in Holland. Carol sees through his ruse ("I'm dumb, but I'm not THAT dumb.") and tells him to get out.
Instead, Tim pulls out an engagement ring, throws Carol down on the couch, jumps on top of her, and forces the ring onto her finger while kissing her face as she screams in protest. He tells her, "You're my girl, like it or not. And when I come back, I'll make it official and marry you."
Engagement by rape. How romantic! If I were Carol, I'd buy a gun.
The climax of the movie has Tim Baker in a British Spitfire, going "mano a mano" with a German fighter pilot during an air battle. Tim is wounded in the exchange. I was hoping his plane would burst into flames and kill him, but no such luck.
Instead, the move cuts back to England – and whaddaya know, Carol is worried sick about Tim, crying her eyes out, afraid he was killed because he hasn't returned from Dunkirk. It turns out she actually loves him! (Hey, guess what? She really IS "that dumb.")
Carol and Morley go to the London docks to meet the last hospital ship bringing home wounded soldiers from Dunkirk. Carol spots Tim on the gangplank, runs up to him, and kisses him! She happily shows him the engagement ring that he forced onto her finger, which she couldn't get off. Tim smiles at Carol – then immediately gives the "brush off" to the lovely nurse that he met on the hospital ship, whom he was about to go out on a date with. "Sorry, honey, I won't be needing you tonight."
What an incredible jerk! Tim and Carol head off together, and they are right back where they started. He will keep cheating on her, even after they're married; she will keep forgiving him. These two deserve each other!
The movie has a few good points. It features some actual footage shot in England by future director Ronald Neame ("The Poseidon Adventure") of R.A.F. fighters and bombers flying and taking off. There are some realistic depictions of R.A.F. bombings over Berlin, and some exciting aerial dogfights between English and German fighters, plus a good on- the-ground depiction of the evacuation at Dunkirk. The special effects in the movie are well done for their time.
"A Yank in the R.A.F." was made in 1941, before the U.S. entry into World War II. Had the picture been made a year later, it probably would have included a patriotic "Hooray for our English allies" theme, and more wartime propaganda speeches. As it is, it's a romantic melodrama with shallow, stupid characters that trivializes the war and is best forgotten.