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 nomination.

Cast

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

homosexual subtext | blockbuster | pilot | marriage | danger | 

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Taglines:

I Can't Quit . . . I'm a Test Pilot

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 April 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Testpilot

Filming Locations:

Lake Norconian Club, Norco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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 aircraft that Clark Gable took Myrna Loy up for her first flight was a Ryan Model ST-A, Ryan serial number 128, registered NC-16037. The aircraft owner was "Tex" Rankin an aerobatic pilot, barnstormer, air racer, and flight instructor from the 1920s to the 1940s. Rankin was an uncredited stunt pilot in three films, "Men With Wings" in 1938 and "Flying G-Men" and "Sky Patrol" in 1939. The aircraft was subsequently sold in Brazil.

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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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Quotes

Ann Thurston Barton: You're a funny looking gazabo

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Connections

Referenced in Arise, My Love (1940)

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Soundtracks

On the Quarter Deck
(uncredited)
Music by Kenneth Alford

User Reviews

Gable and Tracy and Barrymore and Loy! Great Movie!

What a fantastic movie! This shows Clark Gable at his peak, just a year before Gone with the Wind, and Spencer Tracy near his beginning. With masterful directing on the part of Victor Fleming, cameras put you in the pilot's seat as you do barrel rolls and loops and dives. Gable and Tracy's beautiful friendship embraces their love of flying, and the two are inseparable, even after Myrna Loy enters the picture. Gable and Tracy act extremely well together, so it's surprising to me that this is their only movie together. Myrna Loy is a delight, as she is a departure from the eye candy role women traditionally played in those days. She actually acts, and she does it very well. And of course there is the immortal Lionel Barrymore, playing the same role of Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life, but without the greed. And, surprisingly, he offers very touching, and very accurate advice to Gable in the end. A great movie, a joy to watch again and again!