Movies Like The Dawn Patrol (1938)

The Dawn Patrol is a 1938 action, drama, war film from Edmund Goulding with a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Wings and Aces High.

Action Drama War

Wings

1927

Two young men, one rich, one middle class, both in love with the same woman, become US Air Corps fighter pilots and, eventually, heroic flying aces during World War I. Devoted best friends, their mutual love of the girl eventually threatens their bond. Meanwhile, a hometown girl who's the lovestruck lifelong next door neighbor of one of them pines away.

7.2

MagicScore

Aces High

1976

The first World War is in its third year and aerial combat above the Western Front is consuming the nation's favored children at an appalling rate. By early 1917, the average life-span of a British pilot is less than a fortnight. Such losses place a fearsome strain on Gresham, commanding officer of the squadron. Aces High recreates the early days of the Royal Flying Corps with some magnificently staged aerial battles, and sensitive direction presents a moving portrayal of the futilities of war.

5.8

MagicScore

The Eagle and the Hawk

1933

The pilots of a Royal Air Force squadron in World War I face not only physical but mental dangers in their struggle to survive while fighting the enemy.

6.6

MagicScore

The Blue Max

1966

A young pilot in the German air force of 1918, disliked as lower-class and unchivalrous, tries ambitiously to earn the medal offered for 20 kills.

6.8

MagicScore

Paths of Glory

1957

A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.

8.3

MagicScore

Sarajevo

2014

The events in Sarajevo in June 1914 are the backdrop for a thriller directed by Andreas Prochaska and written by Martin Ambrosch, focusing on the examining magistrate Dr. Leo Pfeffer (Florian Teichtmeister) investigating the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Trying to do his job in a time of lawlessness and violence, intrigues and betrayal, Leo struggles to maintain his integrity and save his love, Marija, and her father, prominent Serbian merchant. But the events of Sarajevo have set into motion an inescapable course of events that will escalate to become … the Great War.

6.2

MagicScore

Air Force

1943

The crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines.

6.5

MagicScore

Hell's Angels

1930

When the Great War breaks out, brothers Roy and Monte Rutledge, each attending Oxford University, enlist with the Royal Flying Corps.

6.4

MagicScore

The Devil's General

1955

The adaptation of the eponymous play by Carl Zuckmayer tells the story of renegade general Harras of the German Luftwaffe, who during WWII openly criticizes the Nazi regime. As a consequence, he is put under surveillance, and even imprisoned for a brief period of time. Still remaining outspoken, Harras realizes the horrific dimensions of this hopeless and injust war waged by Germany.

6.7

MagicScore

#10

1917

2019

At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.

8.0

MagicScore

#11

Legends of the Fall

1994

In early 20th-century Montana, Col. William Ludlow lives on a ranch in the wilderness with his sons, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel. Eventually, the unconventional but close-knit family are bound by loyalty, tested by war, and torn apart by love, as told over the course of several decades in this epic saga.

7.4

MagicScore

#12

Britannic

2000

It was the sister ship of the infamous Titanic... and its final destiny was the same. Experience the true untold story of Britannic, a tumultuous, epic voyage of human passion, courage and betrayal aboard an ill-fated ocean liner bound for a shattering demise. With the world at war, an undercover British agent (Amanda Ryan), embarks the Britannic in search of a German spy believed to be on board to sabotage the ship. Posing as a governess, the undercover agent finds herself falling in love with the ship's chaplain (Edward Atterton). In a stunning discovery, the lovers suddenly find themselves enemies of war. And when a massive explosion deals a deathblow to the ship, their battle becomes one for their own survival. With a dynamic, international cast and a story line that hosts a chilling tale of espionage, politics and romance, Britannic brings one of history's most devastating events to riveting, new life.

6.8

MagicScore

#13

The Red Baron

2008

Richthofen goes off to war like thousands of other men. As fighter pilots, they become cult heroes for the soldiers on the battlefields. Marked by sportsmanlike conduct, technical exactitude and knightly propriety, they have their own code of honour. Before long he begins to understand that his hero status is deceptive. His love for Kate, a nurse, opens his eyes to the brutality of war.

6.6

MagicScore

#14

Journey's End

2017

Set in a dugout in Aisne in 1918, a group of British officers, led by the mentally disintegrating young officer Stanhope, variously await their fate.

6.4

MagicScore

#15

Grand Illusion

1937

A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal, grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. When the men are transferred to a high-security fortress, they must concoct a plan to escape beneath the watchful eye of aristocratic German officer von Rauffenstein, who has formed an unexpected bond with de Boeldieu.

7.9

MagicScore

#16

All Quiet on the Western Front

1930

When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.

7.8

MagicScore

#17

All Quiet on the Western Front

1979

At the start of World War I, Paul Baumer is a young German patriot, eager to fight. Indoctrinated with propaganda at school, he and his friends eagerly sign up for the army soon after graduation. But when the horrors of war soon become too much to bear, and as his friends die or become gravely wounded, Paul questions the sanity of fighting over a few hundreds yards of war-torn countryside.

6.7

MagicScore

#18

The Great War

1959

Italy, 1916. Oreste Jacovacci and Giovanni Busacca are called, as all the Italian youths, to serve the army in the WWI. They both try in every way to avoid serving the army.

8.1

MagicScore

#19

All Quiet on the Western Front

2022

Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervour, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I.

7.7

MagicScore

#20

The Big Parade

1925

The story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.

7.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Dawn Patrol?

The top films similar to The Dawn Patrol by MovieMagicScore are Wings (7.2), Aces High (5.8), The Eagle and the Hawk (6.6). Each shares action/drama/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Dawn Patrol worth watching?

The Dawn Patrol holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10 from 39 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Dawn Patrol?

The Dawn Patrol (1938) is a action, drama, war film directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, David Niven.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Dawn Patrol?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more action recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Wings Movies like Aces High Movies like The Eagle and the Hawk Movies like The Blue Max Movies like Paths of Glory Movies like Sarajevo

About movies like The Dawn Patrol

This ranked list pairs The Dawn Patrol (1938), a action and drama and war film from Edmund Goulding, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Errol Flynn take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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