The Dawn Patrol

A group of men doing what men have to do during World War One, with a characteristically Hawksian emphasis on professionalism, self-respect and loyalty: Brit pilots Barthelmess and Fairbanks respond to German taunts about their flying prowess by massacring a squadron, thus incurring the displeasure of commander Hamilton, who points out the need to act more responsibly. If the early recording techniques in Hawks' first talkie entail a stiltedness in dialogue and performance, he compensates by contrasting the claustrophobic psychological tension of the interior scenes with the liberating, expertly shot action of the aerial footage (so good that it was used again in Goulding's 1938 remake).