Friday at the Movies: Test Pilot

This week's movie is an oldie. It's 1938's Test Pilot. It was directed by Victor Fleming and stars Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy. It's 1938. The women are gorgeous, the men are dapper, and prohibition was repealed so we're gonna drink scotch like it's going out of style!

Clark Gable plays Jim, a former army man who is now a test pilot with Gunner (Spencer Tracy) as his wingman. On a trip, Jim is flying alone and has to emergency land in Kansas. He lands on a farm where Ann (Myrna Loy) lives. The two of them hit it off and head back to Jim's home, the whereabouts of which I'm unsure. I think it's New York but I can't be sure, a lot of cities are mentioned.

Being a pilot in the 1930s was dangerous. So dangerous that Ann threatens to leave Jim several times if he doesn't quit flying, especially after they watch a comrade die in a plane crash. (The entire time I was trying to think of a modern day job that a spouse would be that worried over. The only thing that came to mind was a journalist who insists on visiting Baghdad on a regular basis. He has a choice to be safe but still chooses to put himself in the danger zone.) I hadn't realized that flying was that dangerous then, which I should have. In 1938, there was no air force, it was still a division of the army known as the army air corp. The air force didn't even come about until 1947. My grandpa was a pilot in the army air corp, and later the air force and even later with his own small plane, so it was very cool for me to see what his job may have been like. The ending was a little different from what I expected but...well, I can't say much more without ruining it! Apparently it's not on DVD and I had to record it on the DVR so the chances of anyone actually seeing this movie are slim but still, I feel the need to keep the ending a secret... But if you have an extra two hours and it's on TV, I'd watch it. It's a good movie but I'm puzzled at its 4-star rating. I'd give it three at best.