round cowl over its Comet engine to resemble the Nieuports. Stunt pilots included Leo Nomis, Rupert Symes Macalister, Frank Tomick and Roy Wilson. Several Thomas-Morse S-4 aircraft were used in the 1930 film. The S-4 was an American built fighter aircraft that did not see combat in World War I. Plentiful in 1930, the S-4s were becoming rare by the time the 1938 film was produced, hence the re-use of aircraft sequences from the original film. Some in-flight scenes with principal actors were staged with aircraft hoisted up by wires to a height of 25 feet. Stage hands then rocked the aircraft to simulate flight, but when one of the wires snapped, on screen, Barthelmess appeared startled, unaware that an accident had occurred, and simply thought the swaying aircraft was part of the scene. Reception Box Office According to Warner Bros records the film earned $1,061,000 domestically and $563,000 foreign making it the studio's third biggest hit of the year after Gold Diggers of Broadway and Sally. Critical reception Studio brass was extremely reluctant to back the release because Hawks had insisted on realistic dialogue that was at odds with the dramatic tone that executives had demanded. Nonetheless, The Dawn Patrol was an "instant success", one of the studio's most profitable films that year. Later critical reviews noted that the "anti-war" message was more prevalent in the original film, although due to the re-titling of Flight Commander, the film is often not as well known as its 1938 remake. The flying sequences, one of the hallmarks of the film, were vividly shot and were easily integrated into the later remake. Awards and honors Despite the controversy over the origin of the screenplay for The Dawn Patrol, in 1931, Saunders won an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay. Preservation status When the Warner Bros. film catalog was sold, The Dawn Patrol aired on television and from Associated Artists Productions, in its retitled form, as Flight Commander. The original title frames were discarded and the redrawn titles are on all known prints of the film. Remake The film was remade in 1938 as a vehicle for Errol Flynn, replacing Barthelmess in the lead, rather than reissuing the original as planned. David Niven took Fairbanks, Jr.'s role and Basil Rathbone was cast in the role played by Neil Hamilton. Much of the flying sequences from the 1930 film, with several of the close-ups