IMDb RATING
7.0/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
The pilots of a Royal Air Force squadron in World War I face not only physical but mental dangers in their struggle to survive while fighting the enemy.The pilots of a Royal Air Force squadron in World War I face not only physical but mental dangers in their struggle to survive while fighting the enemy.The pilots of a Royal Air Force squadron in World War I face not only physical but mental dangers in their struggle to survive while fighting the enemy.
- Directors
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 2 wins total
Guy Standing
- Major Dunham
- (as Sir Guy Standing)
Robert Seiter
- Arnold Voss
- (as Robert Manning)
Ted Billings
- Cockney Soldier
- (uncredited)
Lane Chandler
- Flier
- (uncredited)
Paul Cremonesi
- French General
- (uncredited)
Olaf Hytten
- Story-Telling Officer at Party
- (uncredited)
Jacques Jou-Jerville
- French General's Aide
- (uncredited)
Crauford Kent
- General
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK is well on the way to being the best film of it's day and contains Frederic March's most impressive performance, nicely set against Cary Grant who had yet to make his own screen presence identifiable.
This stands along side any of it's cycle of aviation films - the great WINGS, HELL'S ANGELS, THE LOST SQUADRON, the draggy Hawks version of DAWN PATROL, THE LAST FLIGHT. The impact is not from the air action but from the way the familiar breaking point material is worked out in terms of character. The mess hall climax and subsequent resolution can't be faulted.
It is amazing that a film saying something so substantial, so well was not singled out by critics or subsequently "discovered." The same may be said of several of March's other films of the day. He remains the most underestimated film star we have.
Though credited to Stuart Walker, it is widely held that the film is the director debut of Mitchel Leisen who did the later and presentable plane movie I WANTED WINGS.
Though just over an hour the film does not have the feeling of slightness. It's tempo is impeccable. I'm impressed every time I run this one.
This stands along side any of it's cycle of aviation films - the great WINGS, HELL'S ANGELS, THE LOST SQUADRON, the draggy Hawks version of DAWN PATROL, THE LAST FLIGHT. The impact is not from the air action but from the way the familiar breaking point material is worked out in terms of character. The mess hall climax and subsequent resolution can't be faulted.
It is amazing that a film saying something so substantial, so well was not singled out by critics or subsequently "discovered." The same may be said of several of March's other films of the day. He remains the most underestimated film star we have.
Though credited to Stuart Walker, it is widely held that the film is the director debut of Mitchel Leisen who did the later and presentable plane movie I WANTED WINGS.
Though just over an hour the film does not have the feeling of slightness. It's tempo is impeccable. I'm impressed every time I run this one.
Powerful anti war movie - the scenes with Frederic March in particular and Cary Grant are quite intense and grim, but there is some relief to counter balance this aspect of the movie in the characters played by Jack Oakie (comic) and Carole Lombard (sympathy).
As another person has noted this was really directed by Mitchell Leisen. who is credited as assistant director. This was his second movie (after Tonight is Ours, also with March in it) and he does a fine job. It shows what a versatile director he was, considering he made him his name later with romance / comedy type movies like Midnight.
It was done pre code but re-released in 1939 with some editing that apparently lessens its impact (I have only seen the edited version). These are referred to in the book Mitchell Leisen Hollywood Director. The scenes with Carole Lombard are longer and imply a sexual relationship afterwards. Cary Grant survives the war but is a broken man.
Would love to see the original (please let me know if anyone has it). If the edited parts are still available this movie would warrant a restoration to its original vision. A DVD release along these lines would be most welcome.
As another person has noted this was really directed by Mitchell Leisen. who is credited as assistant director. This was his second movie (after Tonight is Ours, also with March in it) and he does a fine job. It shows what a versatile director he was, considering he made him his name later with romance / comedy type movies like Midnight.
It was done pre code but re-released in 1939 with some editing that apparently lessens its impact (I have only seen the edited version). These are referred to in the book Mitchell Leisen Hollywood Director. The scenes with Carole Lombard are longer and imply a sexual relationship afterwards. Cary Grant survives the war but is a broken man.
Would love to see the original (please let me know if anyone has it). If the edited parts are still available this movie would warrant a restoration to its original vision. A DVD release along these lines would be most welcome.
The Eagle and the Hawk are Fredric March and Cary Grant, a couple of enlistees in Britain's Royal Flying Corps in World War I. March is Grant's training officer and he washes him out as a pilot. Grant resents this of course and bops him one on the snoot. He gets to be a tailgunner.
When they get over there March becomes an air ace. But soon all the deaths of comrades around him really gets to him. He's a sensitive soul and he starts to crack up. By then Grant is on the scene as his tailgunner, but they're still not getting along.
The Eagle and the Hawk covers a whole lot of the same ground as The Dawn Patrol did. But the players here know their business and serve the clichés up well done. Cary Grant plays very much against type. A few years later the public would never have accepted him in the part he plays here.
Jack Oakie is around to do the comic relief. Carole Lombard is in this as well for about 10 minutes as a woman March encounters while on a 10 day leave. I'm not quite sure what her purpose is in this film other than to give the men in the audience something to gape at.
It's a good anti-war film and the ending will surprise you.
When they get over there March becomes an air ace. But soon all the deaths of comrades around him really gets to him. He's a sensitive soul and he starts to crack up. By then Grant is on the scene as his tailgunner, but they're still not getting along.
The Eagle and the Hawk covers a whole lot of the same ground as The Dawn Patrol did. But the players here know their business and serve the clichés up well done. Cary Grant plays very much against type. A few years later the public would never have accepted him in the part he plays here.
Jack Oakie is around to do the comic relief. Carole Lombard is in this as well for about 10 minutes as a woman March encounters while on a 10 day leave. I'm not quite sure what her purpose is in this film other than to give the men in the audience something to gape at.
It's a good anti-war film and the ending will surprise you.
Criminally underrated war picture details the adventures of a group of WWI volunteer pilots whose excitement turns to anguish and despair when they are confronted with the reality of combat. Director Stuart Walker helms this unabashedly grim WWI drama with tact and honesty, featuring some above average aerial footage and an unflinchingly blatant anti-war message that is still quite surprising and daring for a depression-era studio film. The acting is uniformly excellent, with Fredric March delivering a marvelously conflicted turn in the lead, and Cary Grant is convincingly cast against type as a hot-headed, violent brute. Perhaps a bit too a head of it's time when originally released, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK is a terrific film that is ripe for rediscovery.
As the others have said, this surprisingly turned out to be a realistic, antiwar movie. Frederick March gives an Academy-Award-worthy performance as the jaded fighter pilot, and Cary Grant gives a good performance as his rival. Since Hollywood made more pro-war movies than isolationist movies up to Pearl Harbor, this one was a bit startling, judging from its era and its title. Perhaps that is why it has not received its due rewards. Those who have experienced war usually try to prevent its recurrence, and the grim reality of its death and destruction are shown in this film about as graphically as they were allowed at that time. I have heard that even Germany's greatest ace in WWI, the "Red Baron," was very disillusioned when he went home the last time before his death. When his mother asked him who his friends were in a photo, he told her sadly when each of them had been killed. War is only glamorous from a great distance and in games. "The Eagle And The Hawk" captures the real essence of so many wasted lives in the Lost Generation and the destruction of prewar civilization.
Did you know
- TriviaWhen interviewed by David Chierichetti, for the book "Mitchell Leisen: Hollywood Director", Leisen confirmed that, although credited as "associate director" , he had in fact directed the vast majority of the film: "One day the script for the Eagle and the Hawk came through for us to start work on the sets. I read it and was dying to direct it. It was the only time in my career where I felt I just *had* to direct anything... I burst into Bayard Veiller's office and told him I wanted to make it. He said, "William A. Wellman's on his way over here and I don't even want him to see you here so get out!" I was very discouraged and I said, "Well, I think I'll splurge and have lunch at the Ambassador Hotel." While I was down there I got a call to come back to the studio. It seemed that Mr Wellman didn't like the script at all and wanted to change the whole thing. Veiller said "If you want to do it, go ahead", but the studio was a little leery that I might not know enough about dialogue, so they put Stuart Walker on it to assist me with that end of it. I stuck Stuart in the sound booth again, and he didn't say a word through the whole thing... From the beginning it was clearly understood on all sides that I was the director of The Eagle and the Hawk, and it was Stuart Walker who was assisting me. When we finished, however, Stuart pointed out a clause in his contract that stated he would always get full directorial credit no matter what, and since I didn't have any contract at all, there was nothing I could do about it. The studio was just as furious as I was. Now I happened to know that Stuart had his heart set on Cradle Song (1933) and Death Takes a Holiday (1934). I didn't know anything about Cradle Song but when the studio asked me what I wanted to do next, I said Cradle Song just to get back at Stuart. After I'd been shooting that a couple of weeks, they asked me what I wanted next and I said Death Takes a Holiday. Those turned out to be two of my favorite pictures, so at least Mr Walker had good taste, even though he couldn't direct a picture." Fredric March was interviewed for the book and verified this also. When Paramount reissued "The Eagle and The Hawk" in 1939, after Leisen had already become a renowned director, they rewrote the advertising to say "Directed by Stuart Walker and Mitchell Leisen."
- GoofsAt end, Jerry is referred to as a captain, but throughout the film he had two pips on his uniform which is the insignia for a first lieutenant. A captain is three pips and a major is a crown.
- Quotes
Jerry H. Young: I didn't expect to be a chauffeur for a graveyard, driving men to their deaths day after day.
Major Dunham: And yet, that's just exactly what it is.
- Alternate versionsCurrent prints of "The Eagle and the Hawk" run 68 minutes. Several scenes were cut for a 1939 re-issue to comply with the Production Code.
- ConnectionsEdited from Wings (1927)
- How long is The Eagle and the Hawk?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime
- 1h 13m(73 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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