This was directed by Stuart Walker with assistance from Mitchell Leisen. It was written to cash in on the success of Howard Hawks' The Dawn Patrol over at Warner Brothers.
Fredric March is an ace pilot for the RAF during WWI. Cary Grant is his rival, a screw-up as a pilot though perhaps too successful as a gunner (called "observers," because their main task is to photograph enemy installations). March succeeds in mission after mission while his observers are killed, and the pressure begins to mount. On furlough the only person who understands his feelings is a character known in the credits as "the Beautiful Woman," appropriately played by Carole Lombard, who makes the most of her one appearance. Jack Oakie provides some comic relief. As in The Dawn Patrol, the death of a young and enthusiastic recruit creates a crisis, and as in many movies, the hero's rival is the one who finally understands and appreciates him.
Fredric March has several big dramatic scenes which he plays very well. As is often the case in his early films, Cary Grant isn't yet the actor he would become, but he's still reasonably effective. I would guess that Mitchell Leisen had something to do with Carole Lombard's look and her outfit; Leisen knew how to make his stars look good. Leisen and Lombard became close friends.
The Eagle and the Hawk is not especially well paced in the early going, and the film leans heavily on the talent of its actors, and the aerial footage, some of it taken from Wings. It is surprisingly dark in places, with its consideration of battle fatigue, suicide, and the morality of shooting down enemy fighters who have parachuted from their plane.
Fredric March is an ace pilot for the RAF during WWI. Cary Grant is his rival, a screw-up as a pilot though perhaps too successful as a gunner (called "observers," because their main task is to photograph enemy installations). March succeeds in mission after mission while his observers are killed, and the pressure begins to mount. On furlough the only person who understands his feelings is a character known in the credits as "the Beautiful Woman," appropriately played by Carole Lombard, who makes the most of her one appearance. Jack Oakie provides some comic relief. As in The Dawn Patrol, the death of a young and enthusiastic recruit creates a crisis, and as in many movies, the hero's rival is the one who finally understands and appreciates him.
Fredric March has several big dramatic scenes which he plays very well. As is often the case in his early films, Cary Grant isn't yet the actor he would become, but he's still reasonably effective. I would guess that Mitchell Leisen had something to do with Carole Lombard's look and her outfit; Leisen knew how to make his stars look good. Leisen and Lombard became close friends.
The Eagle and the Hawk is not especially well paced in the early going, and the film leans heavily on the talent of its actors, and the aerial footage, some of it taken from Wings. It is surprisingly dark in places, with its consideration of battle fatigue, suicide, and the morality of shooting down enemy fighters who have parachuted from their plane.