646f9e108c An American pilot impulsively joins Her Majesty&#39;s Royal Air Force in Britain in an attempt to impress his ex-girlfriend. Tyrone Power is a pilots&#39; pilot, but he doesn&#39;t believe in anything beyond his own abilities. He gets into trouble by flying a new fighter directly to Canada instead of to New York and letting it be towed acrossthe law demands, but is offered a new job ferrying bombers to war torn England. While on a layover he finds Betty Grable, an old flame, has joined the RAFa WREN in her attempt to fight for democracy. Power joins up to impress her and in the course of his several missions begins to develope an understanding of what they are fighting for. In the only time that Darryl F. Zanuck teamed his two leading adult stars in the forties, Tyrone Power and Betty Grable co-star in A Yank in the RAF. I think the title explains all in terms of the location.<br/><br/>Power plays one of his patented hero/heel types, a lot like Dion O&#39;Leary in In Old Chicago. If you&#39;ll remember Alice Faye was being courted by the two O&#39;Leary brothers, sober and industrious Don Ameche and devil may care Tyrone Power. <br/><br/>Now it&#39;s Bettyan entertainer over in the United Kingdom to entertain and otherwise help out in the war effort. She meets Ty who is also over therean American volunteer in the RAF. Ty&#39;s someone who really isn&#39;t that crazy about military and other kinds of discipline, but he&#39;s one charming rogue and Betty can&#39;t get her fill of him.<br/><br/>Taking the Ameche part is very British and very stiff upper lip John Sutton. He&#39;s totally flipping out over Grable and who could blame him. Still it&#39;s Tyrone who powers the Grable engine.<br/><br/>John Sutton would co-star again with Ty Power after World War II in a vastly different part in Captain from Castile. He plays the cowardly and malevolent Diego DeSylva and that particular part from him might have been his career role. In my book it&#39;s one of the most evil villains the screen has ever had.<br/><br/>Reginald Gardiner and a whole flock of other British actors from Hollywood&#39;s British colony lend support. The RAF flying sequences were shot over in the war theater and were nominated for Best Special Effects.<br/><br/>Betty sings some forgettable tunesan entertainer by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger. But heard throughout the film is the standard These Foolish Things. That song,popular in Great Britain where it originatedin the United States, is one of the best ballads ever written. Why Zanuck didn&#39;t have Betty sing it is a mystery. <br/><br/>It&#39;s by no means clear who Betty winds up with in the end. I could make a case for either Power or Sutton. You&#39;ll have to see the film and make your own mind up. One thing for sure is that Ty is far from reforming. You&#39;ll have to see the film to see what I&#39;m talking about there. 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.<br/><br/>Betty Grable has never done much for me, but she&#39;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&#39;t know where he is. The camera stays in extreme close-up on his face for a long time, so we don&#39;t know where he is either. We see him go through fear and bewildermentwe hear strange sounds. Finally his face relaxes and the camera pulls back to reveal…well I don&#39;t want to spoil it for you, but this is a very strong directorial decision. Henry King is to be praised.<br/><br/>You&#39;ll enjoy this film.
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