A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941) User Reviews

A lotta fun but also pretty inconsequential

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 11 March 2007]

This is a fun to watch propaganda piece from 1941 that down deep is pretty silly and inconsequential. Now this ISN'T to say it's not worth watching, but it just isn't that great a film from the point of view of logic. In other words, to enjoy it, it might be best to turn off your brain first--at least the part of it that might balk at the silly writing and impossibilities! Tyrone Power plays a pretty obnoxious but highly talented jerk. He joins the RAF--not because he necessarily believes in the cause but because he wants to bag a girl! Throughout the film he chases pretty Betty Grable and you assume he somehow becomes a better person by the end of the film and they get married. Well, this is half right. He's still a jerk but apparently Miss Grable has learned to lower her standards (for more on this, do a search on "Artie Shaw"). However, unlike Betty, I found Tyrone was great fun to watch and a "swell guy" but someone no sane woman would want, since he's pretty much full of himself and never seems to learn! Fortunately, while this relationship made no sense, the action was excellent and exciting. While the cockpit wasn't quite right (for airplane purists, it looked like that of a Hurricane fighter not a Spitfire), the use of stock footage was for once impeccable. Instead of the usual grainy footage poorly integrated into the film, this was gorgeous and much of the footage of Spitfires in flight appears to have been staged for the movie. When stock footage was employed, it was seamless.

So overall, it's a dandy little curio from WWII. It's neither great nor bad--just a mixed bag that is still somehow pretty watchable.

Ty Power is one of Betty Grable's foolish things

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 5 November 2007]

In the only time that Darryl F. Zanuck teamed his two leading adult stars in the forties, Tyrone Power and Betty Grable co-star in A Yank in the RAF. I think the title explains all in terms of the location.

Power plays one of his patented hero/heel types, a lot like Dion O'Leary in In Old Chicago. If you'll remember Alice Faye was being courted by the two O'Leary brothers, sober and industrious Don Ameche and devil may care Tyrone Power.

Now it's Betty as an entertainer over in the United Kingdom to entertain and otherwise help out in the war effort. She meets Ty who is also over there as an American volunteer in the RAF. Ty's someone who really isn't that crazy about military and other kinds of discipline, but he's one charming rogue and Betty can't get her fill of him.

Taking the Ameche part is very British and very stiff upper lip John Sutton. He's totally flipping out over Grable and who could blame him. Still it's Tyrone who powers the Grable engine.

John Sutton would co-star again with Ty Power after World War II in a vastly different part in Captain from Castile. He plays the cowardly and malevolent Diego DeSylva and that particular part from him might have been his career role. In my book it's one of the most evil villains the screen has ever had.

Reginald Gardiner and a whole flock of other British actors from Hollywood's British colony lend support. The RAF flying sequences were shot over in the war theater and were nominated for Best Special Effects.

Betty sings some forgettable tunes as an entertainer by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger. But heard throughout the film is the standard These Foolish Things. That song, as popular in Great Britain where it originated as in the United States, is one of the best ballads ever written. Why Zanuck didn't have Betty sing it is a mystery.

It's by no means clear who Betty winds up with in the end. I could make a case for either Power or Sutton. You'll have to see the film and make your own mind up. One thing for sure is that Ty is far from reforming. You'll have to see the film to see what I'm talking about there.

A YANK IN THE R.A.F. (Henry King, 1941) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 20 November 2008]

This watchable flagwaver (made prior to the Pearl Harbor attacks) – actually the first of seven films I'll be watching to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Tyrone Power's death – has a cocky American mail flyer itching for action and joining the R.A.F. in England; though his first mission consists in merely spreading anti-Nazi leaflets across Berlin skies, he then hits upon the idea of throwing out the packages outright in order to smash the German searchlights underneath!

While stationed in London, he conveniently runs into dancer-cum-nurse Betty Grable (amusingly drawing her attention by affecting a Cockney accent – conveniently filmed from behind, so that the actor could be dubbed! – soon after his arrival) and, despite the girl's 'reluctance', rekindles their affair from back home. Of course, during the course of the film, she also contrives to perform a couple of brief musical numbers and show off her famous legs a lot. Equally predictable, though, is the romantic complication wherein Power's British superior (John Sutton) also falls for the heroine, going so far as to propose to her – while amiably pompous/cynical sidekick Reginald Gardiner provides the comedy relief (just as obligatory in films of this era).

Even if the film is nowadays rightly criticized for the unrealistic depiction of war-torn England, the film succeeds well enough at what it set out to do – entertain (via action, drama and laughs), but also instill in home-grown audiences a sense of duty for the war effort in Europe. During aerial sequences, shots of the actors in the studio are skillfully blended via special effects with stock footage of actual battles; still, having Power bloodily shot down at Dunkirk and then making a mockery of his so-called war wounds simply to dupe Grable into submission is a bit much! Director King helmed several of the best vehicles tailored for Fox's reigning male star of the era but, being essentially lightweight, this isn't one of them – if still emerging to be "not essential but very enjoyable" (to quote a line spoken by John Sutton in the film in respect to his invitation to walk Grable home) and that's mainly due to the undeniable Power-Grable chemistry displayed via their comic/romantic banter throughout the film.

How the U.S. helped fight the Nazis before Pearl Harbor? Sort of! A warm pre-war war film

[secondtake · 7/10 · 14 June 2012]

A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941)

This is pretty thin going stuff, and yet it's fun and warm-hearted and tinged with the drama of the times.

Context is everything here. 1941. The war is raging in Europe and Britain is being bombed by the Germans and they are trying to build up their forces to resist what seems to be an unstoppable foe. The U.S. is not yet in the war (that would happen in six months, but the movie makers couldn't know that for sure). All the U.S. is doing is supplying their future allies, Canada and Great Britain.

But in the air here at home (I write this from New York) was a sense of inevitability--we would eventually be drawn in to fight. This movie is part of the gearing up for that fact.

The lead is an American paradigm, Tyrone Power playing a cocky, charming, good-natured, and well-meaning young man who happens to be a pilot. What happens to him is what was happening to the country as a whole. And it boils down to this: he starts with innocence and selfishness and gets involved in stages, helping sell planes, helping fly planes, then actually doing battle runs over enemy territory.

That gives nothing away--it's the title of the movie.

What pulls him along? First just making some money. But then he meets an old flame played by Betty Grable (the number one pin-up girl for U.S. soldiers once they get involved) and Grable represents the U.S., too, because she's already in Britain helping the cause. Love ensues, but the problem is a handsome British soldier who begins to steal Grable's heart. A love triangle.

And because this is practically al propaganda film (not officially of course) you know that it will leave the audience (us) with the proper message of about doing the right thing and supporting the cause against the Nazi regime. There is even the shocking if not surprising current event built into the movie of the Germans vowing not to invade certain lowland countries and then, of course, invading them anyway.

Is this a great movie? Not by any means. But it's very well paced and the characters are warm and well-drawn, at least for such a "tale" as this. I wouldn't watch it a second time, but I'm glad I did this first one. And if you are the least bit interested in how Hollywood primed America for the war this slight film (along with "Casablanca" and many other movies) is a must-see.

And for those who care, the airplane scenes were done with the really R.A.F. (and a different film crew than the rest of it). The director (except for those scenes) is Henry King, who got his pilot's license in 1918, and who lived so long that in his last years he was the oldest active pilot in the U.S. I'm sure he gave some authenticity to the film at least in spirit.

Tyrone and Betty in London

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 23 November 2005]

Darryl F. Zanuck paired his two superstars, Tyrone Power and Betty Grable together just once, and it was for "A Yank in the RAF." Power plays a cocky American know-it-all who, for money, flies a plane from Canada to the British forces and sticks around in the RAF after spotting his old girlfriend, played by Betty Grable.

No one could have played the role of Tim Baker except for Tyrone Power. The character is such a bounder and such a complete jerk that without those devastating good looks, that devilish smile, that way of taking a woman in from top to bottom with those eyes, and all that charm, he would have been unlikeable. It's easy to see why Grable is so crazy about him, but you can't help being angry with her nonetheless as she spurns handsome, kind, and gentlemanly John Sutton for this gum-chewing womanizer. Like the later Crash Dive, which Power made before going into the Marines, the third angle of the love triangle is again Power's boss. In the original film, Grable ends up with Sutton, but preview audiences objected fiercely, so it was changed.

The ferocious war does humble the Power character somewhat, though, particularly when his plane crash lands in Holland and they all realize the Germans are there, and his involvement in the Battle of Dunkirk. There are some exciting war scenes in the last forty minutes of the movie. Reginald Gardiner is a standout in the supporting cast, sparring with Sutton and Power with some of the best dialogue in the film.

It's always amazing how long our country managed to stay out of the fray. This is a propaganda film, of course, urging the U.S. to get into the war. A few months later, the U.S. had no choice.

Corny Fun.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 24 April 2009]

I don't know why, but I always find myself enjoying this. It sounds like a typical war movie but it's mainly the story of a love triangle involving the cocky young pilot Tyrone Power, the sober but smitten Squadron Leader John Sutton, and the scrumptious Betty Grable. There are a few action scenes, well done for the period, but they provide background material. The focus is on the on-again off-again relationship between Power and Grable.

One of the reasons it's so likable is that there are no villains except the Germans. Reginald Gardiner provides some comic relief as a pilot who is dying to meet chorine Grable but whose attempts to do so are always frustrated. Gardiner's self sacrifice is one of a few events that bring Tyrone Power to his senses and cause him to take both the war and his responsibilities to others seriously.

Power himself was rarely more handsome or dashing. Over at Warners', Erroll Flynn was handling similar parts. Betty Grable has never looked better, more Midwestern, more cream fed, more succulent, more lustrously blond, more plump lipped and nubile. She was THE pin up girl of World War II. In her most famous photograph, she wears a modest one-piece white bathing suit, hands on hips, back to the camera, smiling at the camera over her right shoulder. Today the photo is an historical curiosity, but in its day the censors felt compelled to airbrush even the hint of her gluteal sulcus into nonexistence. Her legs were insured for a million dollars, according to legend, and those were days when a million dollars was still a lot of moolah.

I always feel a little sorry for John Sutton, Powers' boss. He's respectful, polite, manly, brave -- and he loses the girl he loves because Tyrone Power was a bigger Hollywood star. Used to happen to me in high school all the time. I was a better kid than the coarse and vulgar captain of the football team, and I still can't understand why Evelyn Ritzko was more interested in him. However, Sutton, good man that he is, takes his ultimate rejection in stride.

God, those Spitfires were beautiful airplanes, with their broad elliptical wings, and they were a pleasure to fly. Pilots used to other fighters complained that you couldn't GET them to drop their noses and dive. They simply floated along like a child's paper airplane.

As flimsy as it gets

[raskimono · 6/10 · 29 August 2005]

This PearL Harbor like story that was released before the actual bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred does not have much going for it. Tyrone is roguishly handsome and gives all his scenes the necessary spark of a golden boy daredevil but it all comes across as very hollow as he jets off to London to join the war for monetary purposes to deliver bombs or is it flyers? over Germany. John Sutton, his boss and arch-rival with a very charming voice and demeanor provides good support to no avail. Betty Grableas the girl in one of her few dramatic parts (if this could be called a dramatic part)is fine but the probably with this movie is that it intends to only entertain and is afraid to dig any deeper than a few inches. Hammy speeches are delivered, strong scenes killed with ill-advised laughter and everybody talks and acts like children while playing grown adults. The battle of Dunkirk filmed in a swerving and swelling wide shot is gorgeous to look at. It is like a real life video game as filmed using models of the real thing by the technical crew. Such,it was nominated for a special effects Oscar. This is a typical DFZ production with not much to offer to the body or the soul.

Betty Grable in surprisingly good wartime romantic drama...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 14 October 2006]

You know from the beginning that TYRONE POWER had better shape up as more than a playboy if he wants to win BETTY GRABLE's love in this entertaining wartime romance from Fox. Betty acquits herself very well in all the dramatic moments and looks as fresh as a daisy. Tyrone is at his handsomest and has some stiff competition in the "other man" department from JOHN SUTTON, who finally had a more substantial romantic role than usual.

What with the romance between Grable and Power being shaky at best, you just know he's gonna have to reform himself with some wartime heroics as an R.A. F. flier before there can be a final clinch between the two.

Crisply written with some good, natural dialog, beautifully filmed in glorious B&W, it's a well crafted film that deserves more attention from Betty's fans in particular. There's some nice chemistry going on between the three mentioned stars and it's certainly a worthwhile film to watch for fans of nostalgia. REGINALD GARDINER does a nice supporting role job as Power's debonair best friend.

Propaganda piece

[nnnn45089191 · 6/10 · 13 July 2006]

This entertaining propaganda piece made before the US entered the war,was designed to rally support for the British war effort. Tyrone Power and Betty Grable,the biggest stars of 20th Century Fox,are teamed here for the only time in their career.Tyrone Power plays the typical daredevil pilot who is as egotistical as they come.But he also has devilish charm over women which I must say escapes me in this movie because he's so unlikeable.Betty Grable gives by far the best performance. I found her acting very natural,except for the script calling for her to love the slime ball character of Power.John Sutton as Power's rival is quite boring,so maybe Betty's choice of man wasn't too bad.

pre-war bravado

[dexter-10 · 4/10 · 28 February 2000]

A very poor movie constructed of silly domestic scenes, false heroics, and unabashed chauvinism. Very typical of early World War Two movies which saw war as a cross between a sport and an obligation, with rules dictated by cricket and tea time. All this is in a period of history when a British defeat seemed more likely than a British victory. Dunkirk was a narrow escape for about 350,000 British and French troops, a tragedy which contrasts with the cavalier attitude of Spitfire pilot Tim Baker, in a war which proved to be more horrid than almost anyone could anticipate when the film was released in September of 1941--a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The realtime scenes of Spitfires taking off and the portrayal of Dunkirk lend credibility to the action, but the animated dogfights remind one of little more than cartoon chaos.

love this movie

[tamarenne · 8/10 · 29 August 2012]

Just saw it today for the first time, and I really loved it. I don't care if its labeled "propoganda" and I don't care if a bunch of guys here don't like it because its not some boring war movie with hours of flying sequences. I especially loved the review that mourned the fact that we didn't get to see more planes refueling. Honey, it's not a documentary!

It's charming and Grable's musical numbers are so fun! (And this is the first time I have ever liked Grable).. The tunes are fantastic. Today's Hollywood on its best day couldn't put together a movie have as cohesive or fun.

Best of all, it's got Tyrone Power who, along with Errol Flynn, are the two best looking, most charming male actors ever. Love love love it!

Typical 1940s War Film

[ejewett1 · 6/10 · 6 January 2012]

On the one hand we have Tyrone Power and Betty Grable, and they make a great couple.

On the other hand we have the typical 1940s disregard for anything remotely resembling accuracy about airplanes and the military. As an example, an early scene involves a leaflet drop over Berlin from Lockheed Hudson coastal patrol bombers, which sported four (or five) .30 cal machine guns - two fixed firing forward, two in a dorsal turret, and (MK II on) one firing down and aft.

The Luftwaffe would have had the airliner-derived patrol bombers for lunch, as they were pretty much defenseless from below except from behind.

Missing the war stuff...

[jt_3d · 4/10 · 28 July 2011]

Maybe this was a great flick. I didn't think so but I must have missed something because I didn't care about any of it. And yet others score it higher than my generous and benevolent 5/10. At first I cared; would Betty gain her senses and go with the suave Brit? Would she spy the other suave Brit who loved her from afar? No, she keeps running back to the jerk. And Power was a very annoying jerk. And it just keeps going on and on. Maybe I'm just jealous. I could never treat a woman like that and have her crawling back over and over....

...Anyway, this movie could have had the chaps doing anything and it wouldn't have mattered. It had nothing to do with the war. It was a love triangle flick, with not enough action to keep the men in the audience interested. The lead lads could have been trucking dynamite over the Rockie Mountains, building a skyscraper in NYC or bagging groceries at the local Piggly Wiggly. It wouldn't have mattered. It was about the love triangle and that just does nothing for me, especially in a 'war movie'. There wasn't even a cliché chance for one of the competitors to save the other one and get killed in the process. No, in the end they traipse off as a threesome. Nothing is resolved and the jerk is still hitting on every woman he sees, nobody wins. I find it annoying.

5/10 ...nope make that 4/10. What a waste of time.

Filmed in Good Old USA

[arfdawg-1 · 7/10 · 2 September 2019]

Despie what some writers say, this entire thing was filmed in the US with some stock footage also used.

BEWARE FOLKS: The nut baf left wind agenda is out again.

Contemporary reviewers have critical of this film, decrying the unrealistic portrayal of a nation at war. Recent re-releases in video and 2002 DVD have similarly brought negative reviews concerning the content and filmmaker's approach to a serious subject.

Meanwhile it's a comedy/drama. PLUS what movie IS realistic>

These clowns just hate America. Plain and simple. Rise and resist

Hollywood Takes Sides in WW-II:

[robertguttman · 6/10 · 21 December 2014]

while admittedly far from the best Hollywood effort of the period, it is interesting to note that "A Yank in the RAF" was produced and released well before the U.S. entered World War II. Although legally neutral, there was little doubt in which direction Hollywood's sympathy lay at that time, as well as that of the majority of the American people. President Franklin Roosevelt was doing all he legally could to enable supplies to reach Britain and France. Nevertheless, there did exist a highly vocal and politically influential movement to keep the nation out of the war, for whom the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh served conspicuously as spokesman. Those "Isolationists" were impelled not so much by a desire to preserve peace as they were by a desire to prevent the U.S. from aiding the European democracies against Nazi aggression, and they denounced films such as "A Yank in the RAF" as provocative propaganda.

While most of the film is Hollywood fiction there are a few things in it that actually did occur. An example is the episode at the beginning of the movie about landing American-built planes on the US side of the Canadian border and then towing them across the border on their wheels. Absurd as that may seem it actually did happen, the screen writers did not make that up! In addition, while most of the movie was produced on the Hollywood sound stages it does include some footage filmed early in 1941 on RAF air bases in Britain, using real RAF aircraft and personnel.

A typical Hollywood touch of the period is the depiction of RAF Lockheed Hudson bombers. In fact large numbers of Hudsons really were exported to Britain at that time, although the RAF actually employed them as maritime reconnaissance aircraft, not for bombing missions. However, since the planes were manufactured at the Lockheed plant located near Hollywood, Hudsons were readily available for use as movie props, so they frequently appeared in Hollywood movies to depict RAF bombers.

In the Royal Air Force

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 23 September 2018]

Despite hearing and reading very mixed to negative opinions on it, decided to see 'A Yank in the R.A.F.' on the basis of having immense respect for the Royal Air Force, liking some of Henry King's other work as director ('The Song of Bernadette' is a favourite of mine) and liking other works of Tyrone Power and Betty Grable.

'A Yank in the R.A.F.' to me was not a bad film at all, though can see why others would not like it while sharing the same praises of those who did like it. Was also not wholly enamoured by it either and considering what it had going for it it should have been much better. While finding it to have a number of good qualities it did have major faults that were very difficult to ignore.

The film does look great, the photography is especially good. It looks beautiful and is also very clever in some quite thrilling aerial shots. Stock footage does not always lend itself well to film, many times jarring and looking cheap, it is though used effectively in 'The Yank in the R.A.F.' and seamlessly done.

Music fits well and has some pleasurable song contributions from Grable giving it her all and bringing some welcome levity. There is tension and thrills in the war scenes and there is emotion, regardless of the inaccuracy and whether it's realistic or not. King directs very competently in these scenes, though not his best work by any means. The cast are fine. Tyrone Power is charismatic and plays his role to the hilt while Grable is in one of few dramatic roles and proves herself to be more than comfortable. John Sutton is charming.

It is though in the domestic-oriented scenes where 'A Yank in the R.A.F.' is less successful. The script felt underwritten and lacking in subtlety, things getting melodramatic all too often that it becomes almost too silly. Some scenes came over heavy-handedly and descended into ham.

Felt too that the pace wasn't as secure sometimes and count me in as another person who never believed in the central relationship, not because of the performances of Power and Grable or that there wasn't any chemistry (there was) but it was more to do with the relationship itself and how it's written. Others have found it to not make sense due to finding it hard to believe that Grable's character sees something in a character so impossible to like, have to agree.

Overall, not a bad film but not great. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Bob Hopkins (Hoppy) Pitched This to Zanuck in nine words

[poetcomic1 · 23 April 2022]

'Hoppy' was not a writer or gag man but an early master of the one line pitch, he had an incredible nose for money making ideas. He stopped Zanuck once in the hallway and poking him in the shoulder and said,. TYRONE POWER.....call it A YANK IN THE R. A. F. Zanuck was immediately smitten with the idea and though not a masterpiece it was so damned TIMELY that it made a LOT of money.

Tyrone Power's and Betty Grable's characters resume a 'can't live with or without 'em' affair when both migrate to early WWII England.

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 26 March 2015]

A love triangle develops between womanizing American volunteer for the RAF Tim Baker(Tyrone Power), his bomber squadron leader, British aristocrat John Morley(John Sutton), and American nightclub entertainer Carol Brown(Betty Grable). Each of the two suitors have their pluses and minuses, as afar as Carol is concerned. Tim is footloose and impossibly handsome, meaning he has no problem attracting all the women he wants. Carol is his female counterpart in this respect, but acts more restrained when it comes to admitting new men into her life(unexpected for a nightclub entertainer). Morely is a classic gentlemanly British aristocrat, seemingly a tad dull on the surface, with a huge ancient mansion just waiting to be occupied by the right girl. Realistically, a show girl, however beautiful and sexy, would be an unlikely choice for a wife for a man in his position. She would much more likely be his mistress. Given the short mean life expectancy of RAF pilots then(Baker's plane was shot down twice within a short time), unless they quit the service at the end of the film, there was a high probability that neither Baker nor Morley would be alive for very long, especially since the 'Battle of Britain' would soon begin, with high casualty rates for pilots on both sides. Against expected plot formula, originally, the ending had Baker die a hero in the historic Dunkirk evacuation. However, a test screening elicited a strong negative reaction in the audience. Also, since Fox chief Zanuck hoped this film would promote popular sentiment toward a formal entry of the US into the war, it was feared that Baker's death might prove a war morale damper, rather than booster.

The Lockheed-built Hudson light bomber is portrayed as the RAF bomber of the times. Superficially, with its dual tail fins, it looks rather like the then current RAF 2-engine Hampden bomber, as well as the later, much improved, 4- engine Lancaster bomber. However, it was used by the RAF primarily for training, submarine and coastal patrol and reconnaissance. It wouldn't be making bombing raids over Germany, as depicted(Where were the expected German defense fighters?). Also, it wouldn't be flying across the Atlantic, as depicted. Rather, when they reached the Canadian border, they were dissembled(believe it or not), and packed in crates, to be loaded on a ship and reassembled in the UK. Brash former mail pilot Baker decided to ignore this neutrality rule and flew his Hudson across Lake Ontario to Trenton.

As some others have noted, the often clearly faked aerial maneuvers and battles make the film look cheesy.. Fortunately, some shots supplied by the RAF of real British warplanes and battles lend some credibility to the limited aerial segments.

Although clearly very popular with film audiences of the time, I seldom find the characters played by Tyrone Power appealing or especially interesting. In the film, clearly, he had an advantage in his persistent pursuit of the resisting Carol, in past experiences of having her breakdown her defenses periodically. Clearly, she was going to have to accept the fact that Baker wasn't a 'one woman' man, if she was going to accept him back into her life...In contrast, I found Carol(Betty) very appealing, as obviously did many men in those times. Betty did a great acting job and the camera close-ups of her head were great. Also, she was the leader of a couple of brief song and dance performances at the nightclub the fliers frequented. Marriage between the two, as suggested in the final scene? It wouldn't have lasted a month, even if Tim was still alive. If you think Baker's treatment of Carol was chauvinistic, wait until you see his treatment, as a pirate, of Maureen O'Hara's character, in the following year's "The Black Swan"!

Britisher John Sutton plays Power's chief rival for capturing Carol's heart, apparently ending as runner up: a fate he graciously accepts, knowing that he would be fighting an uphill battle all the way, considering that Baker and Carol had a long history of romantic involvement. For some reason, Fox generally chose to cast the gentlemanly, athletic, rather good looking Sutton as 'the other man', often comparatively stuffy. For example, he suffered a similar fate in competition with Victor Mature over Rita Hayworth, the following year, in "My Gal Sal". However, earlier in '41, he was the romantic lead to Gene Tierney, in "Hudson's Bay": my favorite of his roles that I've seen.

Pre-Pearl Harbor wartime propaganda

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 9 February 2007]

**SPOILERS** Being released some two months before the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor "A Yank in the R.A.F" is hampered by having the movie take sides with a combatant, the UK, at war with a neutral, at that time , country Hitler's Germany. Obviously made to drum up support for a US entrance into the war against Germany & Italy which was barley 10% in many US public opinion polls taken at that time among the American people. It was the air force and navy of the Japanese Imperial Empire by it's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that did more to turn US public opinion around to an entrance into the war then all the pro-war films coming out of Hollywood from 1939-41 combined.

The film itself is anything but a war, pro or con, movie with young wise-cracking American mail pilot Tim Baker, Tyrone Power, ending up in the UK just weeks after it together with it's far flung empire declared war against Germany. Tim seems to have absolutely no idea of what's going on between the allies, Britian & France, and the Germans and is only in London to rekindle his love affair with pretty and leggy all-American girl Carol Brown, Betty Grable, who somehow got herself a job as a chorus girl at London's Regency Club.

Tim it seems joins up with the R.A.F only to impress Carol and nothing else his feeling for or against Nazi Germany are left only to the viewers imagination. The only time Tim showed any antipathy against the Germans was after he lost a number of friends, fellow R.A.F fliers, in the war which is very understandable but had nothing at all to do with what Hitler's Germany stood for or did. Tim would have felt and acted the same way if he had joined the German Luftwaffe, if his girlfriend Carol decided to live in Germany instead of the UK, and lost a number of his German pilot buddies to the R.A.F.

The movie drags along for almost an hour until we finally get to see what's happening on the front lines with Tim and his fellow pilots shot down and landing in neutral Holland only to find out that it's been invaded by the German Army. Hiding in a windmill Tim together with Group Cmdr. John Morley, John Sutton, and Cpl. Baker, Donald Stuart, are confronted by this German officer Frederick Glermann who unknown to the three English-speaking pilots knows and speaks English. Acting like a real jerk as you could already see here, even before the US entrance into WWII, that with soldiers like Glermann in it's ranks Germany didn't stand a chance. Glermann instead of just waiting for the German troops coming to relieve him of the three R.A.F guys blows his cover by talking English to them showing Tim & Co. that he's on to them it's then that the three RAF men overpower and kill Glermann. All that Glermann had to do was to just keep his big mouth shut instead of trying to show the downed airmen what a great linguist he is and just let the German Army come to his rescue.

The movie also has a love triangle in it between Tim and his R.A.F commander John Morley vying for the hand of the drop dead gorgeous Carol Brown, incidentally this was the only movie where Tyrone Power and Betty Grable were in together.It seems like Tim was winning over Carol who then later found out that he was cheating on her by playing abound with one of the nurses who was looking after him. This new romance on Tims part happened after he was rescued, together with thousands of British servicemen, during the retreat from the French port city of Dunkirk.

The really best part of "A Yank in the R.A.F" comes in the last few minutes of the film with the battle and evacuation of Dunkirk. Thats where Tim finally shows what he's made of by, after being hospitalized for exposer, going back into action over the skies of German occupied France with his Spitfire taking the war back to the advancing Germans and shooting down a number of Luftwaffe Me-109 fighter planes. Tim ends up getting shot down himself and is missing in action until the movies final, and very unsurprising, ending sequence.

Excellent entertainment!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 10 June 2018]

Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck. Copyright 3 October 1941 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy: 26 September 1941. U.S. release: 9 September 1941. Australian release: 19 March 1942. Sydney opening at the Regent. 8,943 feet. 99 minutes.

COMMENT: A witty and amusing script, surprisingly convincing acting and a couple of songs from Miss Grable, fine photography and some spectacular bits of action (including the evacuation of Dunkirk); - it all adds up to excellent entertainment.

OTHER VIEWS: A Yank in the R.A.F. does not hold up so well on a second viewing, despite Shamroy's groovy photography and Reg Gardiner's delightfully impertinent performance. The dated war-time propaganda also does not help.

Sersen gets a solo frame credit for his special effects, though they are not all convincing. Still, the script, despite its familiarity in plot, presents some believable characterizations which were daringly realistic, even unsympathetic, convincingly played by Power and Grable.

Neame, Whitehead and Kanturek (and Herbert Mason) also get a single frame credit, though there is not terribly much aerial footage. All the elaborate scenes were recreated in the studio or in the Lockhead Factory grounds.

• JHR writing as George Addison.

A Jerk in the R.A.F.

[Rob-120 · 2/10 · 17 November 2014]

"A Yank in the R.A.F." is the first World War II movie I've ever seen where I was actually rooting for the Nazis to shoot down the hero's plane and kill him!

The story centers on Tim Baker (Tyrone Power), an arrogant hotshot American pilot who flies a fighter plane from Canada to Britain, as part of the Lend Lease Act, in the days before the London Blitz begins. Tim decides to stay in London and join the R.A.F. after he runs into an old flame, Carol Brown (Betty Grable), an American showgirl living in London.

Tim and Carol had a thing going back in Kansas City. She left him because he kept cheating on her with other girls. But now, Tim insists they should get back together, even though Carol tells him she wants nothing to do with him. Tim follows her around London, forces his way into her apartment, turns on his oily charm, kisses her, and suddenly she's all his again, even though she calls him a "worm."

The inevitable "love triangle" follows. Carol meets John Morley (John Sutton), an R.A.F. bomber pilot who turns out to be Tim's commanding officer. Morley is a true English gentleman, who falls in love with Carol, appreciates her for who she is, and could probably make her very happy. But Carol turns down his marriage proposal, even though she says she doesn't really love Tim.

Tim is a world-class a—hole! He treats Carol like dirt, and yet she seems to be putty in his hands. When he's not chasing Carol, Tim is chasing after every other pretty girl he sees. After being shot down in Holland, he escapes back to England and ends up in the hospital – and immediately propositions the pretty nurse by his bedside.

When they have a date, Tim stands Carol up to go drinking with his R.A.F. buddies, then gets mad when he comes to her apartment and finds she's gone out with Morley. Finally, Carol gets fed up with Tim and throws him out of her apartment. I was hoping she'd throw some things at him, or maybe kick him in the nuts, but I guess Daryl Zanuck thought that wouldn't be a good use of Betty Grable's famous legs.

Up until this point in the movie, I really hated Tim Baker. After what happens next, I started to loathe him. Tim goes to Carol's apartment, wearing his arm in a sling and walking on a cane, pretending he was injured when he crashed in Holland. Carol sees through his ruse ("I'm dumb, but I'm not THAT dumb.") and tells him to get out.

Instead, Tim pulls out an engagement ring, throws Carol down on the couch, jumps on top of her, and forces the ring onto her finger while kissing her face as she screams in protest. He tells her, "You're my girl, like it or not. And when I come back, I'll make it official and marry you."

Engagement by rape. How romantic! If I were Carol, I'd buy a gun.

The climax of the movie has Tim Baker in a British Spitfire, going "mano a mano" with a German fighter pilot during an air battle. Tim is wounded in the exchange. I was hoping his plane would burst into flames and kill him, but no such luck.

Instead, the move cuts back to England – and whaddaya know, Carol is worried sick about Tim, crying her eyes out, afraid he was killed because he hasn't returned from Dunkirk. It turns out she actually loves him! (Hey, guess what? She really IS "that dumb.")

Carol and Morley go to the London docks to meet the last hospital ship bringing home wounded soldiers from Dunkirk. Carol spots Tim on the gangplank, runs up to him, and kisses him! She happily shows him the engagement ring that he forced onto her finger, which she couldn't get off. Tim smiles at Carol – then immediately gives the "brush off" to the lovely nurse that he met on the hospital ship, whom he was about to go out on a date with. "Sorry, honey, I won't be needing you tonight."

What an incredible jerk! Tim and Carol head off together, and they are right back where they started. He will keep cheating on her, even after they're married; she will keep forgiving him. These two deserve each other!

The movie has a few good points. It features some actual footage shot in England by future director Ronald Neame ("The Poseidon Adventure") of R.A.F. fighters and bombers flying and taking off. There are some realistic depictions of R.A.F. bombings over Berlin, and some exciting aerial dogfights between English and German fighters, plus a good on- the-ground depiction of the evacuation at Dunkirk. The special effects in the movie are well done for their time.

"A Yank in the R.A.F." was made in 1941, before the U.S. entry into World War II. Had the picture been made a year later, it probably would have included a patriotic "Hooray for our English allies" theme, and more wartime propaganda speeches. As it is, it's a romantic melodrama with shallow, stupid characters that trivializes the war and is best forgotten.

Power at his most charming.

[David-240 · 8/10 · 23 June 1999]

Tyrone Power is so charismatic in this film that the rest of it hardly matters. His astonishing good looks and easy charm really make this film. But there is also good direction, a witty script, great Oscar-winning special effects and fine cinematography.

Betty Grable has never done much for me, but she's pleasant enough in this. But the aerial work, done mostly with models, is exceptionally strong particularly in a spectacular and believable recreation of the evacuation at Dunkirk. This is a war propaganda film, designed to encourage the USA to join the war in Europe - but it is not cloyingly over patriotic. And there are some very original moments - look at the scene where Power wakes up and doesn't know where he is. The camera stays in extreme close-up on his face for a long time, so we don't know where he is either. We see him go through fear and bewilderment as we hear strange sounds. Finally his face relaxes and the camera pulls back to reveal...well I don't want to spoil it for you, but this is a very strong directorial decision. Henry King is to be praised.

You'll enjoy this film.

Don't Waste Your Time With Tis Stinker

[mason_612 · 3/10 · 2 October 2013]

I watched this movie for the first time today. I have to say that it was pure rubbish. The most annoying thing was the trivialization of the War. At that time, Britain was fighting desperately for its life, men were fighting and dying for their country, and Power , a real smart-ass, and his two pals were much more interested in chasing the girl than flying. In one scene his mission was to drop information leaflets over Germany. While not very exciting this was an important method of countering German propaganda, as propaganda was all the German people had. Power could not be bothered , so he simply pitched the full boxes out. This of course would have been a court-martial offence at the time. These guys spent almost the entire movie, either on leave in London, or driving out to the country to chase the girl. At that time, gasoline was strictly rationed and would have been almost impossible to obtain for joy riding. The special effects were pitiful , even by 1941 standards. For example the near final scene shows Power flying a Spitfire in an aerial dogfight , with the canopy open. At 350 m.p.h I don't think so. Also , he started the movie flying multi-engine bombers, then all of a sudden he switches over to Spitfires, the finest fighter aircraft of WW2. Again, I don't think so. Don't ever waste your time by watching this pathetic stinker. I only gave it a 3 rating because Betty Grable's legs were worth a look. They were however no better than those of the rest of the girl's in the nightclub.

Good Actors Terrible Parts

[Bimini57 · 3/10 · 18 August 2011]

When I first read the reviews for A Yank in the R.A.F., I thought, come on, it can't be THAT bad! As a pilot myself, who is eternally enamored of historical aviation related movies, I went into this viewing experience thinking, Tyrone Power - the R.A.F. - it's got to be, at least, an O.K. flick. I was wrong.

Some viewers complained about the aviation scenes as weak points (and some of the special effects simulations were weak - even by 1941 standards). I found the few minutes of actual footage of Spitfires, however, being refueled, rearmed and taking off in mass formations to be the only high point of the film. One scene of a Spitfire being brought in for refueling, with the wingtips being tended by the ground crew, as it spins around very quickly to line up with the refueling truck is especially awesome. The crewman on the wingtip on the outside of the turn looks like a rag doll as the Spit does a very fast 180 degree turn. This scene was from candid footage, clearly in full combat mode, and would never be seen today.

Cinematography and character development are both effective. The problem is that once the characters are developed one realizes that it's impossible to care about (or even respect) either of the two American leads. Power's character, a combination of sophomoric imbecile/great heroic pilot (a combination I would challenge anyone to find in real life), was too much a distraction to be entertaining. Even WWII wasn't enough to straighten him out.

There seemed to be hope for Grable's character. For a time one imagined that by movie's end she would be able to make a good decision and live in splendor in a beautiful country estate with a titled English gentleman for the rest of her life. But even that was a disappointment.

Absolutely Great pre-World War II Romantic Drama

[vitaleralphlouis · 10/10 · 27 August 2007]

TYRONE POWER doesn't play his usual brand of hero, he's an irresponsible self-centered (but charming) heel -- the kind who usually gets the girl. This is a serious war film but it focuses mostly on a light hearted romance between Tyrone Power and Betty Grable. Set in the era just before America entered the war, it was up to the Brits to put a halt on Hitler. Quite a few Americans joined this effort and the story reflects the long challenge ahead -- long before victory.

Interesting to see BETTY GRABLE in a 1941 film. She was the #1 pin-up girl of the World War II GI's. She wouldn't have been my choice but she was an inspiration to thousands of my betters; the older guys who fought the war while I was in grade school.

Darryl F. Zanuch (producer/writer) and Henry King (director) were a hard pair to beat in terms of excellence. Looking back on 20th Century- Fox in the 1940's, Fox only made two kinds of pictures: pretty darn good and excellent. They set the most consistent high standard in film history and I defy anybody to name a bad movie by Fox in this decade -- or a good one in 2007.

These days young people see dreadfully unpatriotic and dishonest films about the war. PEARL HARBOR "justified" the Japanese attack on the USA in the opening minutes --- and this was done for the stated purpose of insuring good box office in Japan. Equally bad in terms of patriotism was SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, wherein linguine-spined Steven Spielberg painted a yellow stripe on the backs of the Normandy Invasion heroes as well as the Sullivans, upon whose true story the film was cribbed. For the real story, look for THE LONGEST DAY and THE SULLIVANS, both on DVD.

Seeing A YANK IN THE RAF" reminded me that Hollywood was once a pro-American industry, strongly patriotic, with numerous real war heroes working there and bragging not-at-all about their service to their country.