A Yank in the R.A.F.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!