Ace of Aces

This is one of several powerful deglamourisations of war from the pen of John Monk Saunders, who served in the Army Air Corps and won an Oscar for the story of The Dawn Patrol (1930). Richard Dix stars as the sculptor with pacifist leanings who is goaded by his girlfriend (Elizabeth Allan) into becoming a First World War pilot. He turns into a cold-blooded ace of the air until a meeting with Allan in Paris leaves him disillusioned and resigned to his fate. Skilfully directed by J Walter Ruben, it may not be subtle but it still reverberates with feeling.