“Loneliness is the ultimate anathema in Howard Hawks films. People get things done together--for instance, a woman throws a potted plant through a window, one man lobs a parked rifle as he draws his own gun, and the rifle is being fired by a second man before the sound of falling glass has died away. Call for the Chinaman.
“Air Force is wartime propaganda. But, as always with Hawks, you feel that the gang in its cramped space--a B17 bomber this time--are having the best experience of their lives. When most war movies have been unwatchable in their stupid bravado and their sickening, cheery use of slaughter, Air Force remains a study of achievement and friendship. The only real star in the cast, John Garfield, is initially the outsider who must learn his place. It's not beside the point that he was probably earning five to ten times more than Arthur Kennedy or Harry Carey. If stars look and act soft, spoiled or protected, supporting actors have reason to be leaner, grimmer and more in contact with the range of human beings who worry over money. Worry isn't a big part of Air Force. But Hawks the director was always ready to give time on screen to anyone who could do the job well. The view of comradeship and interdependence is so reverent, you begin to feel how lonely a man Hawks must have been himself.” David Thomson