A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941)

An American pilot impulsively joins His Majesty's Royal Air Force in Britain in an attempt to impress his ex-girlfriend.

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Darrell Ware (screenplay), Karl Tunberg (screenplay)

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Betty Grable, John Sutton

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyrone Power	...	Tim Baker
Betty Grable	...	Carol Brown
John Sutton	...	Wing Commander Morley
Reginald Gardiner	...	Roger Pillby
Donald Stuart	...	Cpl. Harry Baker
Ralph Byrd	...	Al Bennett
Richard Fraser	...	Thorndyke
Denis Green	...	Flight Lt. Redmond
Bruce Lester	...	Flight Lt. Sterling Richardson
Gilchrist Stuart	...	Wales
Lester Matthews	...	Group Captain
Frederick Worlock	...	Canadian Major
Ethel Griffies	...	Lady Fitzhugh
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Louie - Headwaiter
James Craven	...	Instructor

Storyline

Tyrone Power is a pilots' pilot, but he doesn't believe in anything beyond his own abilities. He gets into trouble by flying a new fighter directly to Canada instead of to New York and letting it be towed across as the law demands, but is offered a new job ferrying bombers to war torn England. While on a layover he finds Betty Grable, an old flame, has joined the RAF as a WREN in her attempt to fight for democracy. Power joins up to impress her and in the course of his several missions begins to develope an understanding of what they are fighting for.

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Plot Keywords:

pilot | bomber | spitfire aircraft | royal air force | love triangle | 

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Taglines:

ROLLICKING ROMANCE! GLORIOUS ADVENTURE! (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1942 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Eagle Flies Again

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Camera operator Otto Kanturek and his uncredited assistant, aerial photographer Jack Parry, were both killed in a plane crash when a Hurricane fighter collided with their Avro Anson camera plane over Cawston, Norfolk, England, on 26 June 1941. Other reports state that, according to 20th Century-Fox publicity, the two men were flying to England to shoot fight sequences and after the footage was shot, the plane they were in was attacked and shot down by German aircraft.

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Goofs

When Baker gets into his Spitfire it carries the squadron code 'LO', but the shots of the Spitfires taking off show them with the code 'SH' (used by 64 Squadron) and shots in the air show the code has returned to 'LO'.

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Quotes

Tim Baker: Well, I haven't looked at another girl since you left.
Carol Brown: Well, I've looked at other men.
Tim Baker: Maybe, but I'll bet you didn't look at them the same way you looked at me that first night in Kansas City. Remember?... You were going east, and I was going west; then we saw each other, and I was going east!

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Connections

Referenced in Myra Breckinridge (1970)

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Soundtracks

These Foolish Things
(uncredited)
Music by Jack Strachey and Harry Link
Played often in the score

User Reviews

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

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.