Test Pilot (film)
| Test Pilot | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Victor Fleming |
| Produced by | Louis D. Lighton |
| Written by | Frank Wead |
| Screenplay by |
Waldemar Young Vincent Lawrence Howard Hawks John Lee Mahin |
| Starring |
Clark Gable Myrna Loy Spencer Tracy |
| Music by | Franz Waxman |
| Cinematography | Ray June |
| Edited by | Tom Held |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
118 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,701,000 |
| Box office | $3,903,000 |
Test Pilot is a 1938 film directed by Victor Fleming, starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy, and featuring Lionel Barrymore. The film tells the story of a daredevil test pilot (Gable), his wife (Loy), and his best friend (Tracy).
Test Pilot was written by Howard Hawks, Vincent Lawrence, John Lee Mahin, Frank Wead and Waldemar Young. The screenplay was largely based on an original story by former naval aviator Wead.
Reckless test pilot Jim Lane (Clark Gable) is forced to land on a Kansas farm in his aircraft, the "Drake Bullet", where he meets Ann "Thursday" Barton (Myrna Loy). They spend the day together and fall in love. Once Jim's best friend and mechanic, Gunner Morris (Spencer Tracy), arrives, Jim ignores Ann. To spur him, she gets engaged to her sweetheart. Jim leaves in the morning, but soon comes back for her. They quickly get married.
Jim loses his job at Drake, when he clashes with the owner (Lionel Barrymore), and takes a job with another outfit, flying a very experimental aircraft. Ann soon finds out how dangerous her husband's occupation is, but she promises Gunner that she will stick to her man. Jim wins the race, but Benson, the man Drake sends in Jim's place, dies, leaving a wife and three children behind.
Jim tries to reform his ways and begins by taking a job testing aircraft, even conducting dangerous flights as he wants to give Ann a real home. Gunner remains true to his friend.One day, Gunner accompanies Jim on a test flight of a new bomber (an early Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress prototype). Upon reaching 30,000 feet, something goes wrong; the bomber goes into a spin and sandbags (substituting for the weight of bombs) break loose, pinning Gunner. Unwilling to bail out without his buddy, Jim manages to crash land, and pulls a badly injured Gunner out of the wreckage right before it burst into flames; but it is too late for Gunner. When Jim realizes the toll his job has taken on his wife, he gives it up.
...
Wikipedia