I have often felt that had history been kinder there would have been no major wars affecting the globe after 1918. The pacifist spirit that hit most of the states in the west was due to the size of the casualty rates suffered by the major states in the war. It was sufficient to cause massive re-considerations by the U.S., England, and France about military cut-backs, and (in fact) in 1921 the Washington Naval Conference did lead to the top allied powers (six actually - they included little Belgium) to reduce the size of their navies were based on proportions. In 1925 there was a "spirit of Locarno" as France and Germany under Aristide Briand and Gustave Stresseman began a road to rapprochement. In 1928 Briand and U.S. Secretary of State Frank Kellogg created the Kellogg-Briand Pact outlawing warfare (which is still used as the basis for war crimes trials).
Of course the rise of Fascist, Nazi, and Communist regimes and the great depression wrecked the entire pacifist movement. Mussolini, Hitler, and the Japanese felt pacifist views mirrored weakness, and dismissed them. And the resulting war of 1939 - 1945 was more bloody and horrifying than the Great War had been. And even that war has not been the last one of the 20th or 21st Centuries.
One reflection of the pacifism and hatred of war is found in the movies and plays of the inter-war years, like THE ROAD TO GLORY which showed the bloodshed and uselessness of the trench warfare in France (it is worthy to watch that film with PATHS OF GLORY to see how hopeless that trench warfare was). Other films like this were JOURNEY'S END, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK, and this film, DAWN PATROL.
DAWN PATROL tells the story of a British aerodrome on the western front. It is commanded by Major Brand (Basil Rathbone - in one of his most human roles). Brand's two best fighter pilots are Captain Courtney (Errol Flynn) and Lieutenant Scott (David Niven). Both of them tend to create there own rules but they do a spectacular job at fighting the Germans effectively. Rathbone, however, has dozens of other young pilots who are sent to the aerodrome, but become fodder for the German fighter pilots. Flynn and Niven keep knocking him about this - they feel he has no real feelings, and so he is beneath contempt as a bloody butcher. They don't realize that Rathbone actually hates sending up these young boys to die. When alone or with his assistant Phipps (Donald Crisp) he shows the strain which for the sake of the company's morale he hides elsewhere. He tries to find ways to reduce the problem. One way is rigid adherence to the rules (which is another reason Flynn and Niven despise him).
Then, after one of their escapades does substantial damage to the Germans, Flynn and Niven are amazed to find that Rathbone's normal threats of court-martial is dimmed by a telephone call that leaves him temporarily speechless and then laughing hysterically. Headquarters was so impressed by what Flynn and Niven did that they are promoting Rathbone to Colonel, and sending him to the headquarters staff (so he does not have to be so emotionally torn anymore). But best, he is given the power to choose his successor. He promotes Flynn to Major and commander of the aerodrome, and Niven to Captain.
Flynn starts going through the tortures of the damned now. He did not expect this action, and he is not ready for sending young boys (including Morton Lowry as Niven's brother) to their death. Naturally the friendship with Niven suffers - especially after the death of Lowry. Rathbone returns a few months later - and finds Flynn is no longer so devil-may-care nor as critical (how can he be - he knows better now). Rathbone is not jubilant at the success of his revenge - he notes it quietly. This is the only Flynn - Rathbone film where Basil came out on top, and it wasn't by fighting with swords.
The film shows how the war machine just mindlessly ground up a whole generation of youth in Europe. Only by being aware of the proper tricks of aerial warfare (which took months) did any pilot stand a chance of survival. But the turnover rate was due to the stupid view that massive numbers of men (even poorly trained ones) would guarantee the victory of the Allies in the skies (or on land for that matter).
The film has a very realistic feel of what that dreadful situation was like. Even the use of a fictionalized Von Richtofen (Von Richter here) suggests the reality. Von Richtofen (and the German air force, for that matter) had a better training method than the allies until 1918. Until the Red Baron died the Germans did control the skies for the most part.
Of course the rise of Fascist, Nazi, and Communist regimes and the great depression wrecked the entire pacifist movement. Mussolini, Hitler, and the Japanese felt pacifist views mirrored weakness, and dismissed them. And the resulting war of 1939 - 1945 was more bloody and horrifying than the Great War had been. And even that war has not been the last one of the 20th or 21st Centuries.
One reflection of the pacifism and hatred of war is found in the movies and plays of the inter-war years, like THE ROAD TO GLORY which showed the bloodshed and uselessness of the trench warfare in France (it is worthy to watch that film with PATHS OF GLORY to see how hopeless that trench warfare was). Other films like this were JOURNEY'S END, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK, and this film, DAWN PATROL.
DAWN PATROL tells the story of a British aerodrome on the western front. It is commanded by Major Brand (Basil Rathbone - in one of his most human roles). Brand's two best fighter pilots are Captain Courtney (Errol Flynn) and Lieutenant Scott (David Niven). Both of them tend to create there own rules but they do a spectacular job at fighting the Germans effectively. Rathbone, however, has dozens of other young pilots who are sent to the aerodrome, but become fodder for the German fighter pilots. Flynn and Niven keep knocking him about this - they feel he has no real feelings, and so he is beneath contempt as a bloody butcher. They don't realize that Rathbone actually hates sending up these young boys to die. When alone or with his assistant Phipps (Donald Crisp) he shows the strain which for the sake of the company's morale he hides elsewhere. He tries to find ways to reduce the problem. One way is rigid adherence to the rules (which is another reason Flynn and Niven despise him).
Then, after one of their escapades does substantial damage to the Germans, Flynn and Niven are amazed to find that Rathbone's normal threats of court-martial is dimmed by a telephone call that leaves him temporarily speechless and then laughing hysterically. Headquarters was so impressed by what Flynn and Niven did that they are promoting Rathbone to Colonel, and sending him to the headquarters staff (so he does not have to be so emotionally torn anymore). But best, he is given the power to choose his successor. He promotes Flynn to Major and commander of the aerodrome, and Niven to Captain.
Flynn starts going through the tortures of the damned now. He did not expect this action, and he is not ready for sending young boys (including Morton Lowry as Niven's brother) to their death. Naturally the friendship with Niven suffers - especially after the death of Lowry. Rathbone returns a few months later - and finds Flynn is no longer so devil-may-care nor as critical (how can he be - he knows better now). Rathbone is not jubilant at the success of his revenge - he notes it quietly. This is the only Flynn - Rathbone film where Basil came out on top, and it wasn't by fighting with swords.
The film shows how the war machine just mindlessly ground up a whole generation of youth in Europe. Only by being aware of the proper tricks of aerial warfare (which took months) did any pilot stand a chance of survival. But the turnover rate was due to the stupid view that massive numbers of men (even poorly trained ones) would guarantee the victory of the Allies in the skies (or on land for that matter).
The film has a very realistic feel of what that dreadful situation was like. Even the use of a fictionalized Von Richtofen (Von Richter here) suggests the reality. Von Richtofen (and the German air force, for that matter) had a better training method than the allies until 1918. Until the Red Baron died the Germans did control the skies for the most part.