Aviation in the 1930s in America was already gaining ground. Naturally, all those new planes that were going to be put into service by the Army were supposed to be tested. People like Jim Lane were needed to see how those revolutionary models being introduced, stood through a series of tests proving they were air worthy and how they handled themselves in different conditions.
"Test Pilot" directed by Victor Fleming, a favorite director of Clark Gable, the star of the film, was an ambitious project for MGM, the studio that produced it. Written by Frank Wead with the help of an uncredited Howard Hawks, a genius in his own right, the film must have been seen as a breakthrough for the way it presents all those daring men and the flying machines.
The story brings centers in the relationship among Jim Lane, the ace pilot, Ann Barton, the Kansas girl he marries, and Gunner Morris, another pilot. The story does not make much sense because at first, Ann Barton looks she is a normal, well adjusted woman, who decides to throw away her quiet life in Kansas to follow Jim into an uncertain life having just met him. If that is not a stretch of the imagination, we do not know what is.
The relationship between Jim and Gunner, the good friend, suffers because he is secretly in love with Ann; he realizes what the dashing Jim is doing to this lovely woman, but he stays out of the picture. His first loyalty is to him, not to Ann. Drinking affects Jim's life and eventually his own relationship with the woman that loved him, but he is lucky in having her stay with him.
Mr. Fleming got good performances from the three principals, Clark Gable, the lovely Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy. This was the second time Gable and Tracy worked together in what developed into a great pairing of buddies. There is chemistry between Loy and Gable. The supporting cast includes Lionel Barrymore, Marjorie Main, among others.
"Test Pilot" directed by Victor Fleming, a favorite director of Clark Gable, the star of the film, was an ambitious project for MGM, the studio that produced it. Written by Frank Wead with the help of an uncredited Howard Hawks, a genius in his own right, the film must have been seen as a breakthrough for the way it presents all those daring men and the flying machines.
The story brings centers in the relationship among Jim Lane, the ace pilot, Ann Barton, the Kansas girl he marries, and Gunner Morris, another pilot. The story does not make much sense because at first, Ann Barton looks she is a normal, well adjusted woman, who decides to throw away her quiet life in Kansas to follow Jim into an uncertain life having just met him. If that is not a stretch of the imagination, we do not know what is.
The relationship between Jim and Gunner, the good friend, suffers because he is secretly in love with Ann; he realizes what the dashing Jim is doing to this lovely woman, but he stays out of the picture. His first loyalty is to him, not to Ann. Drinking affects Jim's life and eventually his own relationship with the woman that loved him, but he is lucky in having her stay with him.
Mr. Fleming got good performances from the three principals, Clark Gable, the lovely Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy. This was the second time Gable and Tracy worked together in what developed into a great pairing of buddies. There is chemistry between Loy and Gable. The supporting cast includes Lionel Barrymore, Marjorie Main, among others.