The Eagle and the Hawk" is a very good movie about Americans who joined the British Royal Flying Corps to serve in World War I in France. This story centers around two characters, Jerry Young and Henry Crocker. Fredric March plays Young who becomes the top ace among the Americans and a legend of sorts among the Allies. Cary Grant plays Henry Crocker, who hated Young from his training in the States. Crocker was apparently not a very good flyer and kept crashing planes on landing. So, he didn't get his wings to fly. But, he was the best gunner around.
So, after Young has been in his unit for some time, and has many downed German planes to his credit, Crocker shows up to be his sixth spotter and gunner. Their missions were always for getting aerial photos of German positions. They would naturally encounter German planes and aerial dogfights would ensue. That's how Young got so many kills. The spotters sit behind the pilots and stand in their cockpits to position and operate the camera for taking pictures. Then, they fire a machine gun when they encounter enemy planes. It seems that far more spotter/gunners get killed than pilots. It's especially so with Young, who's expert flying and shooting keeps him on the winning side, along with some good fortune.
Young had never been mean or hostile toward Crocker, but Grant plays that character as someone who wants revenge. In time he begins to soften when he sees the emotional toil that all of the killing of other men is having on Young. Especially because Major Dunham and the service keep promoting him as the idol for young men to follow.
The film has some actual aerial footage mixed in with the studio shooting of the men in their planes, so it has some fair impressions of aerial combat. Carole Lombard has a part as a woman whom Young meets and falls for. And, Jack Oakie plays another American flyer, Mike Richards. But the real drama and story here is with the two men, and how Crocker comes around to have his own empathy for others. March gives a superb performance as a pilot who is haunted by the men being killed - not just the enemy, but his own spotters who die.
The film has a tragic and then dramatic ending. Here are some favorite lines from the film.
Jerry Young, "I didn't expect to be a chauffeur for a graveyard - driving me to their death day after day." Major Dunham, "And yet, that's just exactly what it is."
Mike Richards, "Listen, the way I'm missin' those enemy planes, they outta be giving me the Iron Cross."
Mike Richards, "You didn't drink enough." Jerry Young, "I can't drink enough."
Jerry Young, "Can I drop you somewhere?" The Beautiful Lady (Carole Lombard), "I don't want to be dropped. I want a cigarette."
Jerry Young, giving Mike a package of limburger cheese he bought for him, "There you are my lad. The most thoroughly disreputable cheese in the whole British Empire." Mike Richards, sniffing the package, "Ohh, what a heavy stink."
Jerry Young, "A binge to celebrate the killing of a 20-year-old kid? Ah, it's good. I wouldn't miss it for anything. Sure I'll go."
Major Dunham, "Come along, Jerry. We've imported some real food, and the general has sent up a case of '98 Clinchet."
So, after Young has been in his unit for some time, and has many downed German planes to his credit, Crocker shows up to be his sixth spotter and gunner. Their missions were always for getting aerial photos of German positions. They would naturally encounter German planes and aerial dogfights would ensue. That's how Young got so many kills. The spotters sit behind the pilots and stand in their cockpits to position and operate the camera for taking pictures. Then, they fire a machine gun when they encounter enemy planes. It seems that far more spotter/gunners get killed than pilots. It's especially so with Young, who's expert flying and shooting keeps him on the winning side, along with some good fortune.
Young had never been mean or hostile toward Crocker, but Grant plays that character as someone who wants revenge. In time he begins to soften when he sees the emotional toil that all of the killing of other men is having on Young. Especially because Major Dunham and the service keep promoting him as the idol for young men to follow.
The film has some actual aerial footage mixed in with the studio shooting of the men in their planes, so it has some fair impressions of aerial combat. Carole Lombard has a part as a woman whom Young meets and falls for. And, Jack Oakie plays another American flyer, Mike Richards. But the real drama and story here is with the two men, and how Crocker comes around to have his own empathy for others. March gives a superb performance as a pilot who is haunted by the men being killed - not just the enemy, but his own spotters who die.
The film has a tragic and then dramatic ending. Here are some favorite lines from the film.
Jerry Young, "I didn't expect to be a chauffeur for a graveyard - driving me to their death day after day." Major Dunham, "And yet, that's just exactly what it is."
Mike Richards, "Listen, the way I'm missin' those enemy planes, they outta be giving me the Iron Cross."
Mike Richards, "You didn't drink enough." Jerry Young, "I can't drink enough."
Jerry Young, "Can I drop you somewhere?" The Beautiful Lady (Carole Lombard), "I don't want to be dropped. I want a cigarette."
Jerry Young, giving Mike a package of limburger cheese he bought for him, "There you are my lad. The most thoroughly disreputable cheese in the whole British Empire." Mike Richards, sniffing the package, "Ohh, what a heavy stink."
Jerry Young, "A binge to celebrate the killing of a 20-year-old kid? Ah, it's good. I wouldn't miss it for anything. Sure I'll go."
Major Dunham, "Come along, Jerry. We've imported some real food, and the general has sent up a case of '98 Clinchet."