Poster

Test Pilot ()


Reference View | Change View


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:
Awards:
  • Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 nomination.
  • See more »
Reviews:

Photos and Videos

Cast verified as complete

Edit
...
Jim Lane
...
Ann Thurston Barton
...
Gunner Morse
...
Howard B. Drake
...
General Ross
...
Landlady
...
Joe
...
Mrs. May Benson
...
Greg Benson
...
Sarah
...
Mabel
...
Mrs. Frank Barton
...
Mr. Frank Barton
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Alexander ...
Field Mechanic (uncredited)
...
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
Ken Barton ...
Announcer (uncredited)
Lulu Mae Bohrman ...
Saleslady (uncredited)
Bobby Caldwell ...
Benson Child (uncredited)
...
Attendant (uncredited)
Dudley Clements ...
Mr. Brown (uncredited)
...
Advertising Man (uncredited)
Nick Copeland ...
Drake Mechanic (uncredited)
Dix Davis ...
Kid (uncredited)
...
Photographer (uncredited)
...
Pilot (uncredited)
...
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
Frank Du Frane ...
N.A.A. Official (uncredited)
...
Little Man (uncredited)
...
Saleslady (uncredited)
...
Attendant (uncredited)
...
Pilot (uncredited)
...
Designer (uncredited)
Otto Fries ...
Bartender (uncredited)
...
Grant (uncredited)
Ralph Gilliam ...
Kid (uncredited)
...
Air Race Spectator / Party Guest (uncredited)
...
Lingerie Saleslady (uncredited)
...
Movie Leading Lady (uncredited)
...
Floorwalker (uncredited)
...
N.A.A. Official (uncredited)
...
Interne (uncredited)
...
Engine Expert (uncredited)
Donald Kerr ...
Drake Mechanic (uncredited)
Richard Kipling ...
Floorwalker (uncredited)
Knowlton Levenick ...
Kid (uncredited)
John Mack ...
Mechanic (uncredited)
Wally Maher ...
Mechanic (uncredited)
...
Funeral Home Associate (uncredited)
Douglas McPhail ...
Pilot Singing in Cafe (uncredited)
...
Field Mechanic (uncredited)
...
Reporter (uncredited)
...
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
...
Waiter (uncredited)
Tom O'Grady ...
Bartender (uncredited)
...
Pilot (uncredited)
...
Pilot (uncredited)
Alonzo Price ...
Meteorologist (uncredited)
...
N.A.A. Official (uncredited)
...
Man on Roller Coaster (uncredited)
...
Fat Man at Baseball Game (uncredited)
...
Photographer (uncredited)
Brent Sargent ...
Movie Leading Man (uncredited)
...
Boss Leader (uncredited)
Hudson Shotwell ...
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
...
Kid (uncredited)
Marilyn Spinner ...
Benson Child (uncredited)
...
Field Mechanic (uncredited)
...
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
...
Photographer (uncredited)
Frank Tomick ...
Minor Role (uncredited)
...
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
Tommy Tucker ...
Sonny Benson (uncredited)
...
Fat Lady (uncredited)
Charles Waldron Jr. ...
Pilot (uncredited)
...
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
...
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)

Directed by

Edit
Victor Fleming

Written by

Edit
Vincent Lawrence ... (screen play) and
Waldemar Young ... (screen play)
 
Frank Wead ... (original story)
 
Howard Hawks ... () (uncredited)
 
Louis D. Lighton ... () (uncredited)
 
John Lee Mahin ... (treatment) (uncredited)
 
Patterson McNutt ... () (uncredited)
 
Bertram Millhauser ... () (uncredited)

Produced by

Edit
Louis D. Lighton ... producer

Music by

Edit
Franz Waxman ... (musical score)

Cinematography by

Edit
Ray June ... (photographed by)

Editing by

Edit
Tom Held ... film editor

Editorial Department

Edit
Slavko Vorkapich ... montage effects
Laslo Benedek ... montage effects (uncredited)

Art Direction by

Edit
Cedric Gibbons

Makeup Department

Edit
Eleanor Cole ... hair stylist (uncredited)
Jack Dawn ... makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

Edit
William Ryan ... assistant director (uncredited)
Cullen Tate ... assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department

Edit
John S. Detlie ... associate art director (as John Detlie)
Edwin B. Willis ... associate art director

Sound Department

Edit
Douglas Shearer ... recording director

Special Effects by

Edit
A. Arnold Gillespie ... special effects (as Arnold Gillespie)
Donald Jahraus ... special effects assistant

Stunts

Edit
Sammy Wroath ... stunt pilot (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

Edit
Harold Rosson ... additional cinematographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

Edit
Dolly Tree ... wardrobe
Margaret Wood ... wardrobe

Music Department

Edit
William Axt ... composer: stock music (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt ... orchestrator (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

Edit
Carl 'Major' Roup ... script clerk (uncredited)

Additional Crew

Edit
Shirley Hughes ... stand-in: Myrna Loy (uncredited)
Paul Mantz ... technical director (uncredited)
Ray Moore ... technical director (uncredited)
Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

Edit

Distributors

Edit

Special Effects

Edit

Other Companies

Edit

Storyline

Edit
Plot Summary

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 of Jim's work, he who is often required to push the planes beyond their physical limits. With each flight, Ann fears that she will become a widow, as she has seen it before with the wives of Jim's colleagues. Can Jim and Ann's marriage survive the many pressures stemming from Jim's life as a test pilot? Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines YOUR GREATEST SCREEN THRILL IN 10 YEARS! (original ad - all caps) See more »
Genres
Parents Guide Add content advisory for parents »
Certification

Additional Details

Edit
Also Known As
  • Pilote d'essai (France)
  • Der Werkpilot (Germany)
  • Der Testpilot (Germany)
  • Piloto de pruebas (Spain)
  • Pilote d'essai (Belgium, French title)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 119 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Did You Know?

Edit
Trivia Reportedly Myrna Loy's personal favorite movie of all her films. See more »
Goofs When Jim Lane and Gunner get in the B-17 and begin to taxi, there are no numbers visible on either side of the nose. The next shot (starting the takeoff roll) shows a large deformed "S8" painted on the left side of the nose, but it is actually a reversed shot of no. "82", Two shots later the B-17 nose has changed to an obviously reversed "52", along with an obviously reversed BB52 on the tail fin. All of the shots in the air and during the crash depict a B-17 without numbers on the nose or tail. After Lane rejoins the Army Air Corp and he is lecturing the B-17 crew members, the fourth B-17 in line is "52" and the fifth B-17 is "82" with both nose and tail fin BB numbers. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in The Romance of Celluloid (1937). See more »
Soundtracks The Prisoner's Song (If I Had the Wings of an Angel) See more »
Quotes Ann Thurston Barton: You're a funny looking gazebo
See more »

Contribute to This Page


Recently Viewed