The Dawn Patrol (1930) - Sad pilots and lots of Scotch

If you're looking for something like Top Gun with fancy tricks, you're going to be really disappointed. You should watch this if you like old movies that feel like they were filmed in a basement full of cigarette smoke and regret.

It’s perfect for a rainy afternoon when you’re feeling a bit grumpy. People who hate slow movies where men just sit around and talk about their feelings will probably want to turn it off after twenty minutes.

The first thing that hits you is the noise. Since it was made in 1930, the sound of the planes is just this constant, grinding hum that makes your teeth rattle. 🛩️

Richard Barthelmess plays Courtney, and he has these eyes that look like he hasn't slept in about three years. He spends most of the movie being mad at his boss, Brand, played by Neil Hamilton.

Brand is a mess. He has to sit in this tiny office and draw lines on a map, knowing those lines mean some eighteen-year-old is going to crash into a field.

There is this one scene where a new batch of recruits arrives. They look like they should be in middle school, not flying wooden planes into machine gun fire.

One kid is wearing a coat that is clearly three sizes too big for him. It’s a tiny detail but it makes the whole thing feel much more real and messed up.

The movie is mostly just these guys waiting. They wait for the sun to come up, they wait for the phone to ring, and they wait for people who aren't coming back.

When the phone actually rings in Brand's office, the sound is so sharp it actually made me jump. Hamilton plays the moment so well—he just stares at the phone like it's a snake about to bite him.

The flying scenes are actually pretty wild when you realize they didn't have CGI back then. Those are real planes, and they look like they’re held together by spit and prayers.

There’s a bit where Courtney and Scott (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) go on a rogue mission. They’re dropping bombs by hand, literally just leaning over the side of the cockpit and tossing them out.

It looks ridiculous, but also terrifying. You can see the wind whipping their scarves around and it feels way more dangerous than any modern green-screen movie.

Fairbanks Jr. is the high-energy guy here. He brings a bit of life to the room, but even he starts to look grey and tired after a while.

The drinking scenes are the heart of the movie, honestly. They all gather in the mess hall and sing this song about "standing to your glasses steady."

It’s not a happy song. It’s the kind of singing people do when they are trying really hard not to cry in front of their friends. 🍻

One guy gets a bit too drunk and starts talking about his mother, and the room just goes dead silent. It’s an awkward, long silence that lasts maybe five seconds too long, which makes it feel like a real conversation.

The chalkboard is the most brutal part of the whole film. A guy walks up with an eraser and just wipes away a name like it's nothing.

I found myself staring at the smudges left behind on the board. It’s a haunting image for a movie that’s nearly a hundred years old.

Sometimes the acting gets a bit theatrical, especially with the hand gestures. But you have to remember they were still figuring out how to talk on camera back then.

It reminds me a bit of the dark atmosphere in The Isle of the Dead, even though that’s a totally different genre. Both movies just have this feeling of being trapped with no good way out.

The plot takes a turn when Courtney gets promoted and becomes the new commander. Suddenly, he's the one yelling at the phone and sending kids to die.

He becomes the very person he spent the first half of the movie calling a murderer. It’s not subtle, but it works because Barthelmess looks so miserable doing it.

There’s a scene where he has to tell Scott’s younger brother to go on a mission. The kid is so excited, and Courtney looks like he’s about to throw up.

I noticed a stray dog wandering around in the background of one of the airfield shots. I don't think it was supposed to be there, but it adds a nice touch of random reality to the scene.

The ending is a bit of a sacrifice play, which you can see coming from a mile away. It’s a bit cliché now, but in 1930, I bet it hit like a truck.

The way the final mission is shot is very lonely. Just one plane against a big, grainy sky.

I wish there were more scenes of them actually being friends, though. Most of the time they just seem like coworkers who are trauma-bonded.

It’s definitely better than some other movies from that era, like April Fool, which just feels dated. This one still has some teeth.

The uniforms are also fascinating to look at. They’re all stiff and heavy, and you can almost smell the damp wool through the screen.

There are no women in this movie. None. It’s just a bunch of guys in a room getting increasingly depressed.

It makes the world feel very small and suffocating. Which I guess is the point when you're stuck in a war zone.

The dialogue is snappy, but occasionally someone will deliver a line that sounds like they’re reading a poem. It’s a bit jarring, but it doesn't ruin the vibe.

If you can get past the crackly audio and the black-and-white fuzz, there's a really heavy story here. It’s about how responsibility can just crush a person.

I walked away from it feeling pretty glad I don't have to fly a wooden plane. And also feeling like I needed a drink myself.

It’s not a masterpiece, maybe. But it’s definitely a movie that sticks in your brain for a few days afterward.

Check it out if you want to see where Howard Hawks started getting good. Just don't expect a happy ending. 🎬