Test Pilot (1938)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

A weak film. To see its shortcomings, just compare it to Howard Hawks' "Only Angels Have Wings," a masterful film made a year later dealing with many of the same emotional issues. For example, compare the death scenes in the two movies; "Test Pilot" is not in the same league. Clark Gable is too Clark Gable. He should have reigned in his persona a little more here; more subtlety in his character would have done the film a lot of good. But perhaps coming off of "Parnell," a good movie but a bomb at the box office where he did depart from his typical macho character, he was less willing to take chances. Here, he does his typical macho character to the hilt.Myrna Loy is severely miscast as a Kansas girl whose backyard Gable uses for an emergency landing. She just looks too elegant, refined. Seeing her yelling and getting all excited at a baseball game just seems so out of character for her; an embarrassing scene. And like Gable, she over-emotes during most of the dramatic moments. Subtlety goes a long way; just ask Spencer Tracy.Of the three stars involved, Tracy comes out the best. His acting is the most naturalistic. Too bad he doesn't have a character. Just what exactly is his character's deal? Why is he hanging around Gable so much, blowing kisses at him as he takes off, living with him even after he's married. Is he related to Gable or just gay? I for one really don't like the pairing of Gable and Tracy. All three films they made together are weak (the first 40 minutes of "Boom Town" are good, but the movie quickly falls apart after that). In each, Gable is the unabashed, reckless, macho man, while Tracy is the morbid, grumpy, moral compass. Both actors deserve better and get better on their own. Perhaps "Test Pilot" would have been a much more satisfying movie with just Gable or just Tracy; with them together, it doesn't get off the ground. A disappointment, considering all the talent involved, in front of and behind the camera.

I wish I could be as enthusiastic about "Test Pilot" as some of the other people on this board. It has a great, tried and true cast - Gable, Tracy, Myrna Loy, and Lionel Barrymore. Good flying sequences, and very suspenseful scenes at the end.The first hour is lighter, and the dialogue is sharp - Gable is a flier who lands in the Kansas backyard of Loy. It's love at first sight, and they get married. Gable's best friend, Gunner, doesn't approve at first, but changes his mind later. Loy soon realizes that the life of a flier wife is one of worry and fear every time he goes up in a plane. But she loves him too much to leave.It's a very predictable film, and seen in today's world, darn strange that Gunner just hangs around Gable and then Gable and Loy all the time and has no other life.I usually try to watch movies in their world, in this case, 1938, but I found it difficult here. The acting is good - Gable and Tracy were a good team, Gable and Loy were a good team, and Lionel Barrymore gives a nice, underplayed performance. Tracy gives the strongest performance. The film became very melodramatic and the dialogue not as sharp as the first part of it. A case of too many cooks maybe. I just couldn't get into it.

This second pairing of Gable and Tracy was a great follow-up to the exciting "San Francisco" which was their first film together. Tracy was fast-becoming a very big star had an expanded role, but was still Gable's side-kick; something he would soon tire of. But all three stars, Gable, Tracy and Myrna Loy have a wonderful chemistry together. They play both the comedy and drama of the film with great ease and truthfulness. This trio, along with the wonderful Lionel Barrymore really make the film work.This isn't quite standard MGM fare. Underneath the fun-loving natures of the leads there is a slowly building sense of doom that begins to wear on them all. Tracy's character gives the tension a voice in his quietly stated mantram "Three Roads". As with the earlier film pairing, "San Francisco", "Test Pilot" was considered quite a fine action film with terrific special effects. Although, the latter suffers greatly in the special effects department today, while "San Francisco" still holds up quite well due to the excellent camera work, editing and creative special effects.There is one scene in particular that is fun to watch when you know the back story. It takes place rather early on with Gable driving a car with Loy sitting in front with him, and Tracy sitting in the back. The scene's lines are only between Loy and Gable with Tracy sort of listening and chewing gum. Gable was quoted after the premier complaining in an envious but lighthearted manner about that "damn Tracy, we're acting our asses off, we have all the lines and he's still the only one you watch!" Gable had a life-long respect for the great acting prowess of his co-star.Also look for Gable's last speech at the end of the film. While lecturing a group of air force recruits he suggests that the're either "cracking wise or giving him the bird!" The first time that gesture was ever mentioned on screen!A great 1930's MGM classic. Don't miss it!

Clark Gable is the one in the title role and Spencer Tracy is his best friend and mechanic. Test Pilot portrays a footloose and fancy free Gable doing a dangerous job because he's entranced by the beauty and danger of flying. Tracy is along to give him a reality check every now and then.While trying for a coast to coast record Gable has trouble with a fuel line and has to make a landing in a Kansas wheat field that just happens to belong to Myrna Loy's parents. She's the farmer's daughter all right. Of course a little of that Gable charm and she's off in the wild blue yonder with him and spends the rest of the film worried about his daredevil behavior. She's not in Kansas any more.This was the second of the three Gable/Tracy co-starrers. All three of them, San Francisco, Test Pilot, and Boom Town have withstood the test of time and have become classics. Test Pilot's original story was written by Frank "Spig" Wead who's life story was brought to us in the film Wings of Eagles. Wead was a flyer himself until a fall in his home left him a paraplegic. After that he became a writer and several of his stories were filmed. In fact Gable and starred in Night Flight earlier on which was written by Wead. Of course Wead had a great feel for the type and character of the people who chose aviation as a career.The aerial sequences are first rate and the players settle comfortably in their parts. It's got aerial action for the guys and romance for the gals. How can you go wrong?