A Yank in the R.A.F.
20th Century-Fox, 1942, B/W, 98 minutes, ***
Released February, 1942
Tyrone Power and Betty Grable are captivating in this romantic WWII drama. When slick, money-motivated pilot Tim Baker (Power) takes a high-paying job ferrying bombers across the Atlantic, he meets up with Carol (Grable), an old flame who sparks enough new heart that Baker joins England's R.A.F. just to be near her. But Carol is also pursued by another pilot - Baker's superior officer! And when Baker must begin flying bombing missions, life suddenly takes on far more meaning than ever before. Featuring actual aerial combat footage and Grable's classic musical numbers, A Yank in the R.A.F. is an engagingly dramatic love story.
The United States was reluctant to enter World War II, having instituted an isolationist policy after World War I. However, the country was split - especially when the bombing of London began. So many able-bodied American men went to England or Canada and signed up with the English Royal Air Force (R.A.F.). This is the basis of the title and plot of this film.
Produced by: Darryl F. Zanuck
Associate Producer: Lou Edelman
Directed by: Henry King
Screen Play by: Darrell Ware and Karl Tunberg
Original Story by: Melville Crossman
Lyrics and Music by: Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger
Musical Direction: Alfred Newman
Art Direction: Richard Day, James Basevi
Set Decorations: Thomas Little
Costumes: Travis Banton
Sound: Bernard Freericks, Roger Heman
Special Effects by: Fred Sersen
Director of Photography: Leon Shamroy
R.A.F. flying sequences photographed in England by Ronald Neame, Jack Whitehead, Otto Kanturek
Directed by Major Herbert Mason, M.C.
Film Editor: Barbara McLean
Cast: Tyrone Power [Tim Baker], Betty Grable [Carol Brown], John Sutton [Wing Commander Morley], Reginald Gardiner [Roger Pillby], Donald Stuart [Corporal Harry Baker], Ralph Byrd [Al], Richard Fraser [Thorndyke], Denis Green [Flight Lieutenant Redmond], Bruce Lester [Flight Lieutenant Richardson], Gilchrist Stuart [Wales], Lester Matthews [Group Captain], Frederic Worlock [Canadian Major], Ethel Griffies [Lady Fitzhugh], Fortunio Bonanova [Headwaiter], James Craven [Instructor], Morton Lowry [Squadron Leader], G. P. Huntley [Radio Operator], Stuart Robertson, Dennis Hoey [Intelligence Officers], Additional Cast: John Wilde [Graves], Claud Allister, Guy Kingsford [Officers], John Rogers [Chauffeur], John Hartley [Copilot], Eric Lonsdale [Radio Man], Alphonse Martell [Headwaiter], Lynne Roberts [Nurse at Boat], Gladys Cooper [Mrs. Pillby], Gavin Muir [Wing Commander], Gil Perkins [Sergeant], Crauford Kent [Group Captain], Lillian Porter [Chorus Girl], Maureen Roden-Ryan [Barmaid], Bobby Hale [Cab Driver], Forrester Harvey [Cubby], Charles Irwin [Uniformed Man], John Meredith [Cadet], Howard Davis [Air Raid Warden], Patrick O'Hearn [Navigator], Leslie Denison [Group Commander], Otto Reichow, Kurt Kreuger [German Pilots], Hans von Morhart [German Sergeant], Hans Schumm [German Soldier]
Musical Program: [0:13] Hi-Ya Love (sung by Betty Grable, danced by Chorus Girls); [0:25] Another Little Dream Won't Do Us Any Harm (sung and danced by Betty Grable and Chorus Girls)
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