China Clipper (film)

China Clipper
theatrical film poster
Directed by	Ray Enright
Produced by	Samuel Bischoff
Written by	Norman Reilly Raine (add'l dialogue, uncredited)
Screenplay by	Frank Wead
Starring	Pat O'Brien Ross Alexander Beverly Roberts
Music by	Bernhard Kaun Heinz Roemheld
Cinematography	Arthur Edeson
Edited by	Owen Marks
Production company	First National Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release date	August 22, 1936
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

China Clipper is a 1936 drama film directed by Ray Enright and written by Frank Wead, produced by First National Pictures, distributed by parent company Warner Brothers, and starring Pat O'Brien, Ross Alexander, Humphrey Bogart and, in his last motion picture appearance, the venerable Henry B. Walthall as "Dad." Walthall was gravely ill during production and his illness is incorporated into his character's role; he died during production.

In the mid-1930s, Dave Logan (Pat O'Brien) is obsessed and struggling to build and fly a new ocean-going flying boat airline with the prospects of reaching China from San Francisco. His wife, Jean (Beverly Roberts) and his boss, Jim Horn (Joseph Crehan), try to discourage him but he enlists war buddies "Dad" Brunn (Henry B. Walthall), to design his aircraft and pilot Tom Collins (Ross Alexander) to start an airline between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Undeterred when the airline fails, the group start a second airline in Key West, Florida, to deliver mail throughout the Caribbean. Another pilot friend, Hap Stuart (Humphrey Bogart), signs up and as the airline begins to prosper, Logan becomes more obsessed, making life difficult for all around him including his wife and best friends. Jean and Hap quit but come back on the eve of an important proving flight.

The new "China Clipper" is the last project for Dad, who succumbs to a heart attack shortly after the takeoff. When the China Clipper encounters a severe storm off the China coast, Logan decides to cancel the flight, but Hap brings the flight in safely, with a few minutes to spare, securing a contract.