I really enjoyed this beautifully photographed pre WW II movie. At 133 minutes in length it is pretty long but, so fast paced that the time goes by quickly. There seems to be great chemistry between all of the actors. Sterling performances are the order of the day by Flynn, MacMurray, Toomey and Bellamy as the leads. Add to that, good secondary performances by the large cast and it adds up to one fine film. The air sequences are vivid with detail and the color photography is outstanding. In a bit of irony, at one point Flynn is assigned to duty on the USS Saratoga in Pearl Harbor but his orders are changed. Since this movie was filmed and released just prior to December 7th, 1941 it seems almost clairvoyant. Lastly, I must second the comment made by another reviewer concerning a ridiculous bit of nonsense concerning the character played by Allen Jenkins as he tries to evade his wife. IMHO this bit was totally unnecessary and did nothing but detract from the story. What is really unexcusable is that they performed this bit on three occasions (talk about overkill). But, the rest of the movie was far too superb to allow this one bad bit to mar the overall enjoyment.
Review of Dive Bomber
