Test Pilot (1938)
Reference View | Change View
- Passed
- 1h 59min
- Drama, Romance
- 22 Apr 1938 (USA)
- Movie
- Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 nomination.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Cast verified as complete
Clark Gable | ... |
Jim Lane
|
|
Myrna Loy | ... |
Ann Thurston Barton
|
|
Spencer Tracy | ... |
Gunner Morse
|
|
Lionel Barrymore | ... |
Howard B. Drake
|
|
Samuel S. Hinds | ... |
General Ross
|
|
Marjorie Main | ... |
Landlady
|
|
Ted Pearson | ... |
Joe
|
|
Gloria Holden | ... |
Mrs. May Benson
|
|
Louis Jean Heydt | ... |
Greg Benson
|
|
Virginia Grey | ... |
Sarah
|
|
Priscilla Lawson | ... |
Mabel
|
|
Claudia Coleman | ... |
Mrs. Frank Barton
|
|
Arthur Aylesworth | ... |
Mr. Frank Barton
|
|
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Ernie Alexander | ... |
Field Mechanic (uncredited)
|
|
Hooper Atchley | ... |
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
|
|
Ken Barton | ... |
Announcer (uncredited)
|
|
Lulu Mae Bohrman | ... |
Saleslady (uncredited)
|
|
Bobby Caldwell | ... |
Benson Child (uncredited)
|
|
Jack Cheatham | ... |
Attendant (uncredited)
|
|
Dudley Clements | ... |
Mr. Brown (uncredited)
|
|
Roger Converse | ... |
Advertising Man (uncredited)
|
|
Nick Copeland | ... |
Drake Mechanic (uncredited)
|
|
Dix Davis | ... |
Kid (uncredited)
|
|
James Donlan | ... |
Photographer (uncredited)
|
|
Lester Dorr | ... |
Pilot (uncredited)
|
|
Donald Douglas | ... |
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
|
|
Frank Du Frane | ... |
N.A.A. Official (uncredited)
|
|
Billy Engle | ... |
Little Man (uncredited)
|
|
Estelle Etterre | ... |
Saleslady (uncredited)
|
|
Robert Fiske | ... |
Attendant (uncredited)
|
|
James Flavin | ... |
Pilot (uncredited)
|
|
Byron Foulger | ... |
Designer (uncredited)
|
|
Otto Fries | ... |
Bartender (uncredited)
|
|
Gregory Gaye | ... |
Grant (uncredited)
|
|
Ralph Gilliam | ... |
Kid (uncredited)
|
|
Sam Harris | ... |
Air Race Spectator / Party Guest (uncredited)
|
|
Fay Holden | ... |
Lingerie Saleslady (uncredited)
|
|
Mary Howard | ... |
Movie Leading Lady (uncredited)
|
|
Arthur Stuart Hull | ... |
Floorwalker (uncredited)
|
|
Mitchell Ingraham | ... |
N.A.A. Official (uncredited)
|
|
Gladden James | ... |
Interne (uncredited)
|
|
Frank Jaquet | ... |
Engine Expert (uncredited)
|
|
Donald Kerr | ... |
Drake Mechanic (uncredited)
|
|
Richard Kipling | ... |
Floorwalker (uncredited)
|
|
Knowlton Levenick | ... |
Kid (uncredited)
|
|
John Mack | ... |
Mechanic (uncredited)
|
|
Wally Maher | ... |
Mechanic (uncredited)
|
|
Claire McDowell | ... |
Funeral Home Associate (uncredited)
|
|
Douglas McPhail | ... |
Pilot Singing in Cafe (uncredited)
|
|
Buddy Messinger | ... |
Field Mechanic (uncredited)
|
|
Bert Moorhouse | ... |
Reporter (uncredited)
|
|
Forbes Murray | ... |
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
|
|
William H. O'Brien | ... |
Waiter (uncredited)
|
|
Tom O'Grady | ... |
Bartender (uncredited)
|
|
Garry Owen | ... |
Pilot (uncredited)
|
|
Steve Pendleton | ... |
Pilot (uncredited)
|
|
Alonzo Price | ... |
Meteorologist (uncredited)
|
|
Cyril Ring | ... |
N.A.A. Official (uncredited)
|
|
Dewey Robinson | ... |
Man on Roller Coaster (uncredited)
|
|
Henry Roquemore | ... |
Fat Man at Baseball Game (uncredited)
|
|
Tom Rutherford | ... |
Photographer (uncredited)
|
|
Brent Sargent | ... |
Movie Leading Man (uncredited)
|
|
Syd Saylor | ... |
Boss Leader (uncredited)
|
|
Hudson Shotwell | ... |
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
|
|
Martin Spellman | ... |
Kid (uncredited)
|
|
Marilyn Spinner | ... |
Benson Child (uncredited)
|
|
Charles Sullivan | ... |
Field Mechanic (uncredited)
|
|
Frank Sully | ... |
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
|
|
Phillip Terry | ... |
Photographer (uncredited)
|
|
Frank Tomick | ... |
Minor Role (uncredited)
|
|
Richard Tucker | ... |
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
|
|
Tommy Tucker | ... |
Sonny Benson (uncredited)
|
|
Dorothy Vaughan | ... |
Fat Lady (uncredited)
|
|
Charles Waldron Jr. | ... |
Pilot (uncredited)
|
|
Ray Walker | ... |
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
|
|
Dick Winslow | ... |
Pilot in Cafe (uncredited)
|
Directed by
Victor Fleming |
Written by
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
Louis D. Lighton | ... | producer |
Music by
Franz Waxman | ... | (musical score) |
Cinematography by
Ray June | ... | (photographed by) |
Editing by
Tom Held | ... | film editor |
Editorial Department
Slavko Vorkapich | ... | montage effects |
Laslo Benedek | ... | montage effects (uncredited) |
Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons |
Makeup Department
Eleanor Cole | ... | hair stylist (uncredited) |
Jack Dawn | ... | makeup artist (uncredited) |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Ryan | ... | assistant director (uncredited) |
Cullen Tate | ... | assistant director (uncredited) |
Art Department
John S. Detlie | ... | associate art director (as John Detlie) |
Edwin B. Willis | ... | associate art director |
Sound Department
Douglas Shearer | ... | recording director |
Special Effects by
A. Arnold Gillespie | ... | special effects (as Arnold Gillespie) |
Donald Jahraus | ... | special effects assistant |
Stunts
Sammy Wroath | ... | stunt pilot (uncredited) |
Camera and Electrical Department
Harold Rosson | ... | additional cinematographer (uncredited) |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dolly Tree | ... | wardrobe |
Margaret Wood | ... | wardrobe |
Music Department
William Axt | ... | composer: stock music (uncredited) |
Paul Marquardt | ... | orchestrator (uncredited) |
Script and Continuity Department
Carl 'Major' Roup | ... | script clerk (uncredited) |
Additional Crew
Shirley Hughes | ... | stand-in: Myrna Loy (uncredited) |
Paul Mantz | ... | technical director (uncredited) |
Ray Moore | ... | technical director (uncredited) |
Production Companies
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated) (presents) (Victor Fleming's Production)
Distributors
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1938) (United States) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
- Regal Films (1938) (Canada) (theatrical) (as Regal Films, Ltd.)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1938) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1938) (France) (theatrical)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1938) (Belgium) (theatrical)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer A/B (1938) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- France 3 (1976) (France) (tv) (French subtitles)
- The Criterion Channel (2022) (United States) (tv) (streaming)
Special Effects
Other Companies
- Western Costume Company (costumes)
Storyline
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
Also Known As |
|
Runtime |
|
Country | |
Language | |
Color | |
Aspect Ratio |
|
Sound Mix | |
Filming Locations |
Did You Know?
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 » |