Main Cast: Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, Samuel S. Hinds
Release Year: 1938
Country: US
Run Time: 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
Test Pilot is one of those irresistible MGM potboilers of the 1930s that coast along on sheer star power. Clark Gable plays a courageous test pilot, who compromises his achievements with his frequent bouts of drinking. Gable's mechanic, Spencer Tracy, does what he can to keep his boss out of trouble. While testing a new aircraft, Gable is forced to land on a Midwestern farm, where he meets and falls in love with Myrna Loy. Gable and Loy marry, whereupon he is fired by his boss Lionel Barrymore, who is of the opinion that flying and dames don't mix. Gable goes off on another bender, compelling Loy to leave him. Once more, Tracy comes to Gable's rescue by reuniting the couple and arranging for Barrymore to give Gable his job back. Later, Gable and Tracy are assigned to test a huge army bomber. Something goes wrong, and the plane goes into a dive. The self-sacrificing Tracy sees to it that Gable is saved from a flaming death--at the cost of his own life. Gable is so devastated by Tracy's death that it looks as though he'll never fly again. But with Loy's help, Gable regains his self-confidence. As one can see, there's little in Test Pilot that hasn't been done before. But with Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy at the controls, the film proved a real audience-pleaser in 1938. In fact, it's still pretty good today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cedric Gibbons - Art Director, Edwin B. Willis - Art Director, John S. Detlie - Art Director, Dolly Tree - Costume Designer, Victor Fleming - Director, Tom Held - Editor, Franz Waxman - Composer (Music Score), Jack Dawn - Makeup, Ray June - Cinematographer, Paul Mantz - Cinematographer, Louis D. Lighton - Producer, Edwin B. Willis - Set Designer, Arnold A. Gillespie - Special Effects, Donald Jahraus - Special Effects, Frank Wead - Screen Story, Howard Hawks - Screenwriter, Vincent Lawrence - Screenwriter, Frank Wead - Screenwriter, Waldemar Young - Screenwriter
Reckless test pilot Jim Lane (Clark Gable) is forced to land on a Kansas farm in his plane, the "Drake Bullet" (P-35), where he meets Ann Barton (Myrna Loy). Despite already having a fiancé, Ann quickly marries Jim. Though she soon finds out how dangerous her husband's occupation is, Ann promises Jim's best friend and mechanic, Gunner Morris (Spencer Tracy), that she will stick to her man. She and Gunner resign themselves to the inevitable.
One day, Gunner has to accompany Jim on a test flight of a new bomber. Something goes wrong; the plane goes into a tailspin, and sandbags (substituting for the weight of bombs) break loose, pinning Gunner. Unwilling to bail out without his buddy, Jim manages to land, but it is too late for Gunner. When Jim realizes the toll his job has taken on his wife, he gives it up.
Lionel Barrymore as Drake, the owner of the company that employs Jim and Gunner
References
Dolan, Edward F. Jr. Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Buff's Guide to Aviation Movies". Air Progress Aviation Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 1983.
Orriss, Bruce. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-9613088-0-X.
