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
Featured reviews
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.
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.
Fredric March and Cary Grant star in "The Eagle and the Hawk," a 1933 film about World War I.
March plays Jerry Young, a Flying Corps pilot responsible for filming documentary positions. It's extremely difficult for him; a sensitive man, seeing all the tragedy devastates him.
Crocker (Cary Grant) is an ambitious gunner, anxious to get in the air, and loves killing Germans.
The film has wonderful aviation scenes (and Mitchell Leisen is rumored to have been the actual director of this film) which are very impressive.
A powerful antiwar statement, and very unusual for its time. The ending is quite stunning and partially unexpected.
Both men give excellent performances - in today's world, March may seem a bit over the top, but it was the style in those days. Carole Lombard has brief scenes as someone who tries to be helpful to him.
The overall atmosphere of this film is depressing, so don't watch it if you want to be entertained by something light. However, it's ahead of its time and definitely worth seeing.
March plays Jerry Young, a Flying Corps pilot responsible for filming documentary positions. It's extremely difficult for him; a sensitive man, seeing all the tragedy devastates him.
Crocker (Cary Grant) is an ambitious gunner, anxious to get in the air, and loves killing Germans.
The film has wonderful aviation scenes (and Mitchell Leisen is rumored to have been the actual director of this film) which are very impressive.
A powerful antiwar statement, and very unusual for its time. The ending is quite stunning and partially unexpected.
Both men give excellent performances - in today's world, March may seem a bit over the top, but it was the style in those days. Carole Lombard has brief scenes as someone who tries to be helpful to him.
The overall atmosphere of this film is depressing, so don't watch it if you want to be entertained by something light. However, it's ahead of its time and definitely worth seeing.
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.
Powerful WWI film about the horrors of war, with an exceptional performance by Fredric March as an American pilot flying with the RAF who grows increasingly disturbed by all the death he sees. Cary Grant has an important supporting role as another pilot who clashes with March. This is one of the earliest dramatic roles for Cary that showed what he was capable of. Carole Lombard has only one scene as the appropriately-titled Beautiful Lady. Jack Oakie is March's sidekick, the closest thing to comic relief in the film. About midway through the film, look for a brief scene with Kenneth Howell playing a young pilot. He walks into the scene wearing eye shadow, lipstick, and penciled-on eyebrows!
Terrific aviation action scenes and short runtime are pluses. Sincere, believable antiwar film that gets its message across more powerfully than a hundred preachier movies of its type. Not as well-remembered as some of its contemporaries but it should be.
Terrific aviation action scenes and short runtime are pluses. Sincere, believable antiwar film that gets its message across more powerfully than a hundred preachier movies of its type. Not as well-remembered as some of its contemporaries but it should be.
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
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content