Test Pilot

I just watched this for the first time. It starts as a light romantic comedy and becomes deeper as the story evolves. The dialogue is especially well-written, fast-paced and witty. Myrna Loy's performance is a stand-out - not to slight Gable and Tracy in any way! - with nuance that grows more complex as the movie progresses. I was particularly impressed by the screenwriter's skill in developing the relationships among the three lead characters; Tracy's gradual love and respect for Loy; Gable's discovering the depth of his feelings for her; and her struggle to be the wife of a man who constantly puts himself in harm's way. It's the kind of measured (thoughtful, not boring) film that rarely gets made today, when the emphasis would be on the action scenes. Just an excellent, intelligent film all 'round.

This film is essentially about testing planes for the war that anyone who even had a passing interest in international affairs knew was unavoidable, World War Two. The plot deals with the experimental phase of flying military equipment, of which the United States had inferior quality and little quantity in 1938. In the interest of progress, test pilots were willing to take to the air and strain both themselves and their equipment beyond normal bounds. The mythology is enhanced by the prologue in terms of the lack of the publication of "the specifications of government aircraft." It is probably just as well since America's enemies generally had better aircraft before the American involvement, except perhaps for the C-47 and the B-17. This initial disclaimer only sharpens the fiction of the film. The movie is worth a look if one is even mildly interested in aircraft lore.

Test Pilot surprised me with how good it is. As a love story, I rank it right up there with The Way We Were.

Clark Gable plays a test pilot, Jim, who lives hard and fast. Like many who live on the edge, he is superstitious and has an addictive personality. To cope with the risks he must take, he never deals with his feelings and drowns his fears in excesses of liquor and women.

Then he meets Ann, played by Myrna Loy--a fresh-faced, wisecracking Kansas girl who falls hard for the guy. Likewise, he falls for her and before you know it, they are married.

After they are married, Ann learns quickly what life with Jim must be like. It is a harsh reality that she cannot shake; she loves the mug.

Jim's sidekick is Gunner, a guy who also loves him but has learned to cope with Jim's short-sighted view of life. When Ann enters the picture, it becomes more than he can bear; he can endure his own pain, but cannot stand to witness hers.

We see a love story that can only end in pain, made all the more painful because all three characters are lovable.

The writing in this movie is among the best I have seen. There is not a false note in the entire film. It's difficult to write this kind of banter without making it seem false or shallow. Later in the film, when the going gets tougher, the writing conveys the feelings deep within even when they are talking only about the mundane.

It has been written that Myrna Loy liked this film best of all she acted in. Personally, I would give her the Best Actress award for this performance, though she was not even nominated.

Gable holds his own. And Tracy plays Gunner with a convincing subtlety.

Victor Fleming, who directed The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind the very next year, had another winner in this one. I am surprised it does not get much mention.

Victor Fleming and the cast were my main reasons for seeing 'Test Pilot', the cast also playing a major part as to why the film is as good as it is. It is hard to resist a director responsible for two of the best films ever made ('The Wizard of Oz' and 'Gone With the Wind'). Nor a cast that includes the likes of Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy and Lionel Barrymore, just having one of those four in a film is reason enough to see it but all four in the same film really does wet the appetite.

'Test Pilot' was in no way a disappointment in my view, actually found it on the most part a delight. After seeing so many films etc recently that completely squandered their potential, which always leaves me very frustrated, it was great to see a film that actually lived up to one's expectations. It does fall short of perfection, just, and it is not quite one of Fleming's very finest. 'Test Pilot' does though entertain, move and charm throughout and the cast are on top form here, which does make up for the second half being not quite as good as the first.

Will start with the strengths. Which are a great many, the best brilliantly executed, and vastly outweigh the debits. It looks great, with it being handsomely photographed and the aerial sequences still hold up very well today in this regard. More so than a lot of aerial sequences in a lot of films made in a similar time frame. The music doesn't feel too melodramatic or intrusive, while Fleming directs with an assured hand throughout. The dialogue is very amusing in the first half and when it gets deeper it manages to excel just as much in the dramatic poignancy too. The story always absorbs, with a first half that is genuinely entertaining and also the exciting aerial sequences, sparkling chemistry between Gable and Loy and a charming, sympathetic one between the former and Tracy.

Gable balances authority, humour and pathos beautifully, bringing a twinkle and depth to his role. Loy has perhaps 'Test Pilot's' most difficult role and one of the most demanding in her career, she gives a poignant and sincere performance without going overwrought. Tracy's character is the least interesting of the three but his sympathetic charm is a beautiful match for the chemistry he shares with Gable. Barrymore's crusty demeanour, in a way that only he could do it to this great an extent, really stands out in the acting department.

Sadly, this review is coming onto the debits. As said above, the not as entertaining and deeper second half is not quite as good. It's well meaning and moving, handling seriousness with enough tact, but did find some of the events rushed, the romance (which can lack the same amount of spark that the aerial sequences have) unrealistically so, and the momentum is not always there.

It also did feel a little too much of a different film to the first half, heavier, deeper and more serious, not bad things exactly but tonally it doesn't gel as much as it could have done.

Altogether, delightful on the most part but just falls short of being completely great. Instead settling for a very strong very good. 8/10

A film which gives one a sense of what it must have been like in the early days of aviation as pilots were employed to test airplanes to their breaking point, just prior to World War II. Directed by Victor Fleming and co-written by Howard Hawks, the film received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Editing, and Frank Wead's Original Story.

Clark Gable plays the pilot, Spencer Tracy his friend and assistant. During a failed time and distance flight for his boss (Lionel Barrymore), Gable meets Myrna Loy when he lands in her father's field. Even though she's somewhat engaged to a local boy (played by Ted Pearson), he sweeps her off her feet and they hastily marry.

Loy's character then learns of the hazards and the heartache of being a wife of such a daredevil, especially after another in her husband's profession (played by Louis Jean Heydt) is killed. The title character turns to drinking. Tracy, Loy, and even Barrymore, must then work together to help Gable's character mature and perhaps utilize his skills in another more stable way.

Noted character actors Samuel Hinds, playing a General who wants the most from the planes, Marjorie Main, playing a landlord the penniless trio (Gable, Loy, and Tracy) convinces to let them live in her apartment on account, and Virginia Grey also appear.