Screen legends Frederic March, Cary Grant and Carole Lombard team-up in the 1933 World War I thriller The Eagle and the Hawk. This film took place just before Grant and Lombard’s careers would rise to stardom, while Fredric March had already reached new heights thanks to his roles in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Sign of the Cross.
Based on an original story by John Monk Saunders, The Eagle and the Hawk is about two pilots Lt. Jerry Young (Fredric March, Design for Living, The Best Years of Our Lives) and Lt. Mike “Slug” Richards (Jack Oakie, Thieves’ Highway, Alice in Wonderland) that are part of a Royal Air Force squadron in World War I have to deal with both physical pain and mental anguish in their struggle to survive battling the enemy. Jerry continuously loses his air gunners/observers, repeatedly, until only Henry Crocker (Cary Grant, North by Northwest, Spellbound, To Catch a Thief) is available to fly with him. Jerry and Henry are not exactly friends, in fact they are bitter rivals with differing codes of honor. Jerry starting to crack and falling deeper into depression about people dying around him, goes on leave where he meets and has an affair with a young woman (Carole Lombard, No Man of Her Own, Man of the World). Upon Jerry’s return on his first mission, he has the latest recruit, Lt. John Stevens (Kenneth Howell). He is killed by young German ace Voss (Robert Seiter). This leads to a climactic battle in the sky between Jerry and Voss, where death ensues.
Im not really a big fan of the War genre but The Eagle and the Hawk was a superb anti-war message type of film, due to the great cast. It was actually because of the cast that I wanted to see this picture and I am glad that I did!
Both Grant and March handed in outstanding performances as did Carole Lombard, though she is not in the film much. March is especially good playing a troubled war hero that is dealing with inner demons after seeing so much death, affecting his mental state. The facial expressions he makes during the film are priceless. He is the clearly main character of the film with Cary Grant taking a back seat, but not for much longer, as he would become a star within a few years. His character in this film would soon be his trademark in his future films as he would tend to be the same type of person in his films. There is a great scene with names of observers being written and erased on a chalkboard over and over, as the observers keep dying. It was a disturbing sequence and without the music, added to that scene being so effective.
The Eagle and the Hawk arrives on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. The 1080p image on a dual-layered BD-50 disc is not bad at all. The opening moments of the picture look worn out with some print damage. The rest of the film looks excellent with a balanced grey scale, great details of the scenery boasting a great deal of clarity and sharpness. Black levels also look balanced.
The English DTS-HD master audio 2.0 lossless track is dynamite with the dialog coming in clear sharp, but the action noises such as bomb explosions and gunshots are far more potent. English subtitles are offered for this release.
The Blu-ray release has some extras as well; it is the same amount of bonus material that Kino has been provided recently. There is an audio commentary by Lee Gambin who provides a lot of great insight about the film and the players. Easily worth your time listening to it.
The release has three trailers for other Kino Lorber catalog releases. We get trailers The Eagle and the Hawk, Wake Island and Fixed Bayonets this time around.
The Eagle and the Hawk is a film not to be missed by fans of the actors who were on the rise. This film will be enjoyed by fans of the classics and also of films about war. This is another movie that would not have the seen the light of day on Blu-ray if not for Kino Lorber. Recommended!
The Eagle and the Hawk
Director- Stuart Walker
Cast- Fredric March, Cary Grant, Carole Lombard
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date- 8/26/20