Test Pilot (1938)

Jim is a test pilot. His wife Ann and best friend Gunner try their best to keep him sober. But the life of a test pilot is anything but safe.

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

Vincent Lawrence (screen play), Waldemar Young (screen play),

Stars:

Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clark Gable	...	Jim
Myrna Loy	...	Ann
Spencer Tracy	...	Gunner
Lionel Barrymore	...	Drake
Samuel S. Hinds	...	General Ross
Marjorie Main	...	Landlady
Ted Pearson	...	Joe
Gloria Holden	...	Mrs. Benson
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Benson
Virginia Grey	...	Sarah
Priscilla Lawson	...	Mable
Claudia Coleman	...	Mrs. Barton
Arthur Aylesworth	...	Frank Barton

Storyline

Jim Lane is a test pilot, whose professional life is dangerous, and whose personal life compensates for that danger by fast living and recklessness. As such, he lives from paycheck to paycheck, and is often in debt, but knows his lucrative job will eventually get him out of those debts. On a coast to coast record attempt speed flight, Jim's plane, the Drake Bullet (named after the company's owner), hits some mechanical problems and Jim is forced to make an emergency landing on a farmer's field in Kansas. The farm belongs to the Barton family, whose straight talking daughter, Ann Barton, falls for Jim, and visa versa. They impulsively decide to get married and live in New York. Jim's sidekick and mechanic, "Gunner" Morris, doesn't know if Jim and marriage go hand in hand, both because of the type of person he is and his profession. Ann too soon learns that she plays second fiddle to Jim's work, she referring to the sky as Jim's mistress. Ann also truly comes to understand the dangers ...

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Plot Keywords:

pilot | danger | marriage | mechanic | farm | 

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Taglines:

They're yours... in a heart-walloping love story!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 April 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Testpilot

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min 119 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Drake Bullet" was a Seversky P-35 single-seat fighter which had no back seat for Myrna Loy to sit in.

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Goofs

Early in the movie, the "Drake Bullet" plane which Jim Lane is piloting springs an oil leak, which blows back on the cowling and side of the plane, clearly staining it with black oil. However, when we see the plane land in the Kansas wheat field and taxi to a stop, the side of the plane now has no signs of any oil stains whatsoever. But when the camera angle goes to a close-up of Jim climbing out of the plane, varying degrees of the oil stains on the side of the plane are again visible.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Remembers: Myrna Loy - So Nice to Come Home to (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Yours and Mine"
(uncredited)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics by Arthur Freed

User Reviews

wonderful fun

Like their movie TOO HOT TO HANDLE, this movie proves that Myrna Loy and Clark Gable made a great team (provided you, of course, don't count Parnell). Their chemistry, though less famous than William Powell and Myrna Loy, is great. The light and fun movies they did together are among my favorites of the 1930s. Now I am NOT saying they are the BEST, as there were many films that were more significant or realistic. But, sometimes I just want a film that is fun for fun's sake and doesn't necessarily have great depth. And you can't do a lot better than this film for just such a film. Wonderful acting, a cute plot and dialog and action combine to make a very enjoyable film that will most likely encourage you to look for more like it.