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Excellent adaptation.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It's rare to the point of nearly impossible to find someone who fights in a war to be truly pro-war. So, when the phrase "anti-war" is so easily tossed around in Hollywood circles, it implies a falsehood. That falsehood is that one has to divorce himself from the notion of professional duty to be anti-war.In the years between the world wars, it was perhaps chic to label war as so utterly evil that the only moral men to engage in warfare are those who's souls are eaten up by it. Witnessing the wholesale slaughter of the World War I battlefields, combined with the horrible events after the war ended, one could understand being jaded.But, this film takes it to a whole other level. Cynically portraying the star of the film as so totally destroyed psychologically that he committed suicide, and then has his suicide covered up by another member of the squadron who takes him up in a plane while already dead to fake his death by enemy action, might play well to the "war is for losers" crowd, but hardly fit in with the stark truth of why war is sometimes the last resort against evil.The end credits of the film start with the scene of a plaque inscribed: "Captain J.H. Young, who gallantly gave his life in aerial combat to save the world for democracy."The obvious message is that fighting to preserve democracy is a cheap act, rendered amoral by the evil of warfare. Such drivel was driven entirely out of public discourse just a few years later with the rise of the Nazis. The reality that sometimes war can be fought out of simple survival was driven home plainly enough. Moreover, war is sometimes the only way to defeat true evil. And in that effort, those who sacrifice their lives deserve more than to be thought of as psychotic beings.The reason this film went into obscurity is that this truth became so crystal clear when war in Europe erupted in late 1939. By the time the brutal reality of the Holocaust was fully revealed after 1945, the need of war to vanquish evil was no longer a theory, but a reality soaked with the blood of millions.There is nuance to the evils of war, as well as to the reality that sometimes war is necessary. This film attempts to strike no such balance. It is a blunt force effort that sets out to show war as entirely evil, an exercise of pure butchery devoid of necessity, and one that in the act must resort to deceit to portray itself in false heroic terms. It renders war as little more than senseless violence, much as a dog getting run over by a truck.Worse, a film like this one openly projects anyone who seeks to understand these nuances as being perverted. Such paternalistic rubbish might have appealed to an audience chaffed by the experiences of World War I, but not to audiences wizened by the cataclysm of World War II. After that war, no theater would have dared to play it to the public for risk of provoking anger.Most who have fought in war are affected in many ways, physical and psychological. But, in a more nuanced manner than portrayed in this film, and for the most part not in a manner that renders pointless the reasons for war, especially a war to fight against barbarity that seeks to enslave humanity.Mankind best lives in a world of peace, but peace is not merely the absence of war, but instead is the presence of human liberty. Consequently, the true lesson of war is that it is evil, but those who fight it can be heroic men of duty, who nonetheless recognize the better nature of true peace.

Fredric March, Cary Grant, Jack Oakie play three disparate pilots serving in WW 1 France: March is a conscious-stricken ace who is beginning to crack, Grant is a glory-hunting pragmatist who justifies shooting at bailed-out German airmen, and Oakie is a cheerful bon-vivant who is just doing his job between hot baths and fine cheeses. The pre-code film includes a brief appearance by Carole Lombard (simply billed as "The Beautiful Lady"), a nameless flirt with whom March has a brief affair while on leave in London. Much of the film contrasts March, who is burdened with guilt about the men he has killed or were killed while serving with him (he pilots a 2-man observation plane), with both his fellow airman who celebrate the war and with civilians who have a macabre fascination with the killing (the encounter between March and a 'gung-ho' young boy is excellent). The aerial footage is not bad (although most of the planes are not period-correct) and some of the scenes are somewhat contrived (e.g. shot pilots managing to land their plans before dramatically expiring). The abrupt ending, while a bit implausible, is powerful and unexpected. All-in-all, an entertaining (albeit aesthetically dated), unsubtle plea for peace from the interwar years.

Fredric March gives an outstanding performance as an Army pilot officer dealing with the issues of mortality as he deals with constant death surrounding him. Five of his men are killed in front of his eyes in a short period of time and when the next one comes in, it is Cary Grant, whom he had earlier fought with. March quietly keeps everything in, only managing a smile thank to the comic antics of the bombastic Jack Oakie.One long sequence has March finding comfort thanks to a glamorous stranger he meets, played by Carole Lombard. Intent on obviously seducing him, she provides a much needed shoulder as she realizes the impact that the war has had on him.More war drama than action, this gives a private peak into the inner turmoils that men face while fighting. Even killing an enemy can lead to extreme psychological issues as the impact takes affect.Powerful and profound, this is part anti-war and part pro as it deals with both sides of the situation. One of the best World War I dramas, this ranks up there with "Wings" and "All Quiet on the Western Front" although its short running time indicates a B film. It definitely ranks among the A's. Grant is supporting but does get a characterization that is strongly shifted by the circumstances surrounding him.

Not too much is new in THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK. It's an anti-war story about fliers, the men in command and the new men who are really just kids and who lose their lives in what seems like a senseless string of tragedies.It's been done before in stories like DAWN PATROL--and more effectively when it concentrated on the men and their relationships under stress. Here, for no apparent reason, CAROLE LOMBARD has a brief ten minutes of screen time as "a beautiful woman" who gives emotional support (and more) to FREDRIC MARCH, who is hell bent on trying to forget the casualties of war under his command.The anti-war sentiment is hammered home pretty hard with March as the stressed out lieutenant who has to cope with the losses around him and animosity in his relationship with CARY GRANT, a tail gunner who confronts him in cynical distrust and appears to be jealous of March's medals. Their unstable interplay is the only aspect of the story that is given a new twist, especially toward the end.There are plenty of good flying scenes and most of the performances are smooth, but Lombard's part is little more than a bit at a time when she had the leading femme role in many other films. The decision to use her here is questionable.Grant hadn't yet developed his lighter persona but is reasonably good as the conflicted gunner and March is excellent as the equally conflicted top gun.Personally, I prefer DAWN PATROL to this World War I tale of men under combat stress.