Movies Like The Dawn Patrol (1930)

The Dawn Patrol is a 1930 action, drama, war film from Howard Hawks with a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Hell's Angels and The Eagle and the Hawk.

Action Drama War

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 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

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

Dark Blue World

2001

Lt. Franta Slama is a top pilot in the Czech Air Force who is assigned to train a promising young flier, Karel Vojtisek, and they soon become friends. When Nazi Germany invades Czechoslovakia in 1939, they both reject the authority of their new leaders and escape to England where they join other Czech exiles in the RAF. While flying a mission over England, Karel crash lands and happens upon the farmhouse of Susan, a young woman whose husband is in the Navy. Karel soon falls head over heels for Susan but, while they enjoy a brief fling, in time Susan decides she prefers the company of the older and more worldly Franta. As Franta and Karel struggle to maintain their friendship despite their romantic rivalry.

6.8

MagicScore

Iron Eagle II

1988

Chappy Sinclair is called to gather together a mixed Soviet/U.S. strike force that will perform a surgical strike on a massively defended nuclear missile site in the Middle East. Chappy finds that getting the Soviet and U.S. Pilots to cooperate is only the most minor of his problems as he discovers someone in the Pentagon is actively sabotaging his mission.

4.5

MagicScore

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

Flyboys

2006

The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.

6.5

MagicScore

Top Gun

1986

For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.

7.1

MagicScore

High Road to China

1983

A biplane pilot is saddled with a spoiled industrialist's daughter on a search for her missing father through Asia that eventually involves them in a struggle against a Chinese warlord.

5.8

MagicScore

#10

Iron Eagle

1986

When Doug's father, an Air Force Pilot, is shot down by MiGs belonging to a radical Middle Eastern state, no one seems able to get him out. Doug finds Chappy, an Air Force Colonel who is intrigued by the idea of sending in two fighters piloted by himself and Doug to rescue Doug's father after bombing the MiG base.

5.6

MagicScore

#11

The Princess and the Pilot

2011

The war between the Levamme Empire and the Amatsukami Imperium has been raging for years. In the midst of this struggle, the prince of the Levamme Empire declares his love for Juana del Moral and vows to end the war in one year, as part of his marriage proposal. When the Amatsukami catch wind of this, they assault the del Moral residence, targeting Juana's life. As a last-ditch effort to bring the prince his bride, the San Maltilia Airforce employs a mercenary of mixed blood—a bestado—to fly Juana to the prince in secret.

7.8

MagicScore

#12

Iron Eagle III

1992

Chappy discovers a drug-smuggling scheme at his own air base. It turns out that the lives of some village people in Peru are at stake, and he decides to fly there with ancient airplanes and friends to free them.

4.1

MagicScore

#13

The Great Waldo Pepper

1975

A biplane pilot and WWI veteran takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory days he misses.

6.5

MagicScore

#14

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

#15

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

1939

In 1911, minor stage comic, Vernon Castle meets the stage-struck Irene Foote. A few misadventures later, they marry and then abandon comedy to attempt a dancing career together. While they're performing in Paris, an agent sees them rehearse and starts them on their brilliant career as the world's foremost ballroom dancers. However, at the height of their fame, World War I begins.

6.9

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

Waterloo Bridge

1931

In World War I London, Myra is an American out-of-work chorus girl making ends meet by picking up men on Waterloo Bridge. During a Zeppelin air raid she meets Roy, a naive young American who enlisted in the Canadian army. After they fall for each other, Roy tricks Myra into visiting his family, who live in a country estate outside London, his mother having remarried to a retired British Major. Myra is reluctant to continue the relationship with Roy, he not aware of her past.

6.9

MagicScore

#18

The Lost Patrol

1934

A World War I British Army patrol is crossing the Mesopotamian desert when their commanding officer, the only one who knows their destination, is killed by the bullet of unseen bandits. The patrol's sergeant keeps them heading north on the assumption that they will hit their brigade. They stop for the night at an oasis and awaken the next morning to find their horses stolen, their sentry dead, the oasis surrounded and survival difficult.

6.5

MagicScore

#19

A Farewell to Arms

1932

A tale of the World War I love affair, begun in Italy, between American ambulance driver Lt. Frederic Henry and British nurse Catherine Barkley. Eventually separated by Frederic's transfer, tremendous challenges and difficult decisions face each as the war rages on.

6.1

MagicScore

#20

Cavalcade

1933

A cavalcade of English life from New Year's Eve 1899 until 1933 is seen through the eyes of well-to-do Londoners Jane and Robert Marryot. Amongst events touching their family are the Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, and the Great War.

5.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Dawn Patrol?

The top films similar to The Dawn Patrol by MovieMagicScore are Hell's Angels (6.4), The Eagle and the Hawk (6.6), Aces High (5.8). 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 6.7/10 from 28 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Dawn Patrol?

The Dawn Patrol (1930) is a action, drama, war film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Neil Hamilton.

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 Hell's Angels Movies like The Eagle and the Hawk Movies like Aces High Movies like Dark Blue World Movies like Iron Eagle II Movies like Wings

About movies like The Dawn Patrol

This ranked list pairs The Dawn Patrol (1930), a action and drama and war film from Howard Hawks, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Richard Barthelmess 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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