A tale based on American pilots who entered WWII before their country did, by joining the R. A. F. Robert Stack in the lead is brattish and surly before becoming flag waving and corny. His romance with Diana Barrymore feels perfunctory. There are a number of names in this but they are shown to little effect- among them are Evelyn Ankers, Leif Erickson and Nigel Bruce, the latter appearing in one scene only at the beginning of the film, despite his 5th billing. Unfortunately his Scots accent isn't always consistent. Elsewhere in the cast, Eddie Albert fares better as a happy go lucky airman, Gladys Cooper is fun as a stern, upper crust type and John Loder has a memorable scene, holding off the Nazis with a machine gun whilst Stack hijacks one of their planes. The action in fact, is where the film does succeed, with this scene making up part of an exciting commando style raid in German occupied France, where the single most shocking image is of a dead kitten, the mascot of the Eagle Squadron. The dog fights in the air are also particularly good. Sadly these are few and far between. The script is often clunky and director Arthur Lubin came to this from 5 back to back Abbott & Costello movies, perhaps not the best preparation! For a film about flying, this one doesn't take off.
Review of Eagle Squadron
