China Clipper (1936)

Inspired by Lindbergh's flight, Dave Logan sets out with a Washington-Philadelphia airline but suffers financial problems. With flying ace Hap Stuart he tries clipper ships on the Caribbean... See full summary »

Director:

Ray Enright

Writer:

Frank Wead (screen play)

Stars:

Pat O'Brien, Beverly Roberts, Ross Alexander

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pat O'Brien	...	Dave Logan
Beverly Roberts	...	Jean Logan
Ross Alexander	...	Tom Collins
Humphrey Bogart	...	Hap Stuart
Marie Wilson	...	Sunny Avery
Joseph Crehan	...	Jim Horn
Joe King	...	Mr. Pierson (as Joseph King)
Addison Richards	...	Mr. B.C. Hill
Ruth Robinson	...	Mother Brunn
Henry B. Walthall	...	Dad Brunn
Carlyle Moore Jr.	...	Radio Operator on Clipper
Lyle Moraine	...	Co-pilot on Clipper
Dennis Moore	...	Engineer on Clipper
Wayne Morris	...	Navigator on Clipper
Alexander Cross	...	Bill Andrews

Storyline

Inspired by Lindbergh's flight, Dave Logan sets out with a Washington-Philadelphia airline but suffers financial problems. With flying ace Hap Stuart he tries clipper ships on the Caribbean, then aims for the trans-Pacific route. His relentless ambition forces those closest to him to abandon him.

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Plot Keywords:

ship | caribbean | washington d.c. | banker | guam | 

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Taglines:

THRILL TO A NEW TRIUMPH! LOVE SPANS THE PERILOUS PACIFIC! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 August 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Courrier de Chine

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Henry Stephenson and Ted Thompson are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie.

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Goofs

The character names of Lyle Moraine and Dennis Moore are switched in the end credits. Moore was the Co-pilot and Moraine the engineer.

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Soundtracks

"National Emblem"
(1902) (uncredited)
Music by Edwin Eugene Bagley
Played at the parade celebrating Lindbergh's flight

User Reviews

A merely artificial drama...

Bogart temporarily left the field of crime to portray a more respectable type in his subsequent effort, "China Clipper." On its simplest level "China Clipper" relates a routine story of an airline owner's (Pat O'Brien) desire to put into operation a trans-Pacific airline… Soap-opera dramatics take over quickly as O'Brien's dedication to his project costs him his wife, his friends, and the clichéd obligatory, for this genre, death of an elderly associate designer...

Bogart's undistinguished role was that of a wise-cracking pilot, frequently engaging in verbal sparring with O'Brien and fellow pilot Ross Alexander, who eventually makes the record-breaking flight across the Pacific in the film's finale...

"China Clipper" is merely artificial drama, but it has a certain value for its generally well-integrated use of newsreel and stock shots of the actual "China Clippers" in operation... One particularly exciting shot is of the mammoth plane flying over an as-yet-uncompleted Golden Gate Bridge with its gigantic opposing spans reaching out into empty air, waiting patiently for its final connecting links…