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Test Pilot

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?

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Cast & Crew See All

Clark Gable
Jim Lane
Myrna Loy
Ann Thurston Barton
Spencer Tracy
Gunner Morse

Featured Video

Test Pilot
Test Pilot
3:50

3:50 Test Pilot

Awards

  • 1939 - Oscar - Best Picture - nominated
  • 1939 - Oscar - Best Writing, Original Story - nominated
  • 1939 - Oscar - Best Film Editing - nominated
  • 1938 - Photoplay Award - Best Performances of the Month (June) - winner

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