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China Clipper (film)
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Wikipedia article
'China Clipper' is a 1936 drama film directed by Ray Enright and written by Frank Wead,[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1214/China-Clipper/full-credits.html "Full credits: 'China Clipper' (1936)."] 'Turner Classic Movies', 2019. Retrieved: August 11, 2019. produced by First National Pictures, distributed by parent company Warner Brothers, and starring Pat O'Brien, Ross Alexander, Humphrey Bogart and, in his last motion picture appearance, the venerable Henry B. Walthall as "Dad."Halliwell 1989, p. 186. Walthall was gravely ill during production and his illness is incorporated into his character's role; he died during production.[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1214/China-Clipper/notes.html "Notes: 'China Clipper' (1936)."] 'Turner Classic Movies', 2019. Retrieved: August 11, 2019.
Plot
In the mid-1930s, Dave Logan is struggling to build and fly a new ocean-going flying boat with the goal of reaching China from San Francisco. His wife, Jean, and his boss, Jim Horn, try to discourage him but he enlists war buddies "Dad" Brunn, to design his aircraft and pilot Tom Collins to start an airline between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Undeterred when the airline fails, the group start a second airline in Key West, Florida, to deliver mail throughout the Caribbean. Another pilot friend, Hap Stuart, signs up and as the airline begins to prosper, Logan becomes more obsessed, making life difficult for all around him including his wife and best friends. Jean and Hap quit but come back on the eve of an important proving flight.
The new "China Clipper" is the last project for Dad, who succumbs to a heart attack shortly after the takeoff. When the China Clipper encounters a severe storm off the China coast, Logan decides to cancel the flight, but Hap brings the flight in safely, with a few minutes to spare, securing a contract.
Cast
*Pat O'Brien as Dave Logan
*Beverly Roberts as Jean "Skippy" Logan
*Ross Alexander as Tom Collins
*Humphrey Bogart as Hap Stuart
*Marie Wilson as Sunny Avery
*Joseph Crehan as Jim Horn
*Addison Richards as Mr. B.C. Hill
*Ruth Robinson as Mother Brunn
*Henry B. Walthall as "Dad" Brunn
*Carlyle Moore Jr. as Clipper Radio Operator
*Lyle Moraine as Clipper Co-Pilot
*Dennis Moore as Clipper Engineer
*Wayne Morris as Clipper Navigator
*Alexander Cross as Bill Andrews
*William Wright as Pilot Who Won't Fly
*Kenneth Harlan as Commerce Inspector
*Anne Nagel as Logan's Receptionist
*Marjorie Weaver as Logan's Secretary
*Milburn Stone as Radio Operator
*Houseley Stevenson as Doctor (uncredited)
Production
"China Clipper"
The screenwriter of 'China Clipper', Frank "Spig" Wead, based the film on a thinly disguised bio of the life of Juan Trippe, in particular, his life just prior to, during and after the founding of Pan American Airways.Tatara, Paul. [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1214/China-Clipper/articles.html"Articles: 'China Clipper' (1936)."] 'Turner Classic Movies', 2019. Retrieved: August 11, 2019. Filmed with the cooperation of Pan Am, actual newsreel and production footage of the Martin M-130 is used throughout the film to emphasize the story just as it was happening for Trippe in real life.Yenne 2003, p. 82. Aviation film historian Mark Carlson described 'China Clipper' as a "veiled advertisement for what was once one of the greatest airlines in the world."Carlson 2012, p. 191.
The flying sequences in 'China Clipper' were the highlight of the film with famed Hollywood stunt pilot Paul Mantz working with veterans Elmer Dyer and H. F. Koenekamp to create realistic aerial photography. There are scenes of the aircraft flying over the incomplete Golden Gate Bridge while it was still under construction. The film is a rare example of a new technology and mode of travel put before the Hollywood cameras just as it was developing.'The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1931-1940'. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1993.
The aircraft used in 'China Clipper' are:
* Martin M-130 c/n 558, NC14716
* Lockheed Vega5C c/n 100, NC48M
* Fokker F-10A c/n 1042, NC582K
* Douglas Dolphin1 Special c/n 999, NC967Y
* Consolidated Model 16 Commodore
* Sikorsky S-40
* Sikorsky S-42 Clipper
* Ford Trimotor4 ATE
* Keystone LB-7
* Keystone B-4ASantoir, Christian. [http://aeromovies.fr/articles.php?lng=fr&pg=313&mnuid=1425&tconfig=0#z2 "Review: 'China Clipper' (1936)."] 'Aeromovies', November 30, 2013. Retrieved: August 11, 2019.
Reception
Despite Warner Bros.' typical casting and plot, 'China Clipper' was well received as its packaging did not detract from the timely account of a transpacific flight. Frank S. Nugent in his review for 'The New York Times', commented, "A fascinating and surprisingly literal dramatization of the China Clipper's transpacific flight of last November, the picture deserves a respectful accolade both for its technical accuracy and for its rather astonishing refusal to describe the flying boat's journey in the stock terms of aerial melodrama."Nugent, Frank S. [https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9905E6D9173DE33BBC4A52DFBE66838D629EDE China Clipper (1936) "The screen: Warners' 'China Clipper' at Strand documents dramatic story of a transpacific flight."] 'The New York Times,' August 12, 1936.
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Carlson, Mark. 'Flying on Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies, 19122012'. Duncan, Oklahoma: BearManor Media, 2012. .
* Halliwell, Leslie. 'Leslie Halliwell's Film Guide'. New York: Harper & Roe, 1989. .
* Yenne, Bill. 'Seaplanes & Flying Boats: A Timeless Collection from Aviation's Golden Age'. New York: BCL Press, 2003. .
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