Unable to fit back into society after returning home from the front, three WW1 fighter pilots (Richard Dix, Robert Armstrong, and future western star Joel McCrea) end up working as stunt pilots for a tyrannical Teutonic film director (Erich von Stroheim), who, coincidently, is now married to the girl (Mary Astor) who dumped one of the returning flyers....not what I expected given the title. The film's melodramatic style has not aged well but the flying (and crashing) scenes are quite good, Stroheim's slimy villainy is entertaining, and there are some nice vintage aircraft on display. Be warned: the final scene, perhaps considered poignant at the time, is pretty hokey.
Review of The Lost Squadron
The Lost Squadron
(1932)
Dated but watchable melodrama, especially for fans of early aeroplanes
20 December 2022