PLANES ABOVE THE STARS

Radio Record, 8 July 1938, Page 25

PLANES ABOVE THE STARS

Gable, Tracy ad TMyrna Toy' Take a Back Seat In The ';; Cockpit of Test Pilot

["Test Pilot,’ M-G-M, directed by Vietor Fleming, starring Clarke Gable, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy. For immediate release, Wellington and Auckland.]}

IGHT years ago, the film industry gave us "Wings," and nearly tote our hearts out with Hollywood’s version of gay living and gallant dying in the high, romantic clouds. Then followed a few more films in the "Wings" tradition, good of their kind, but all in the same heroic pattern. Still later came dozens of "quickies," in which aviation was no more than the lurid background for stories of courage, love and. loyalties. Here, Hollywood was using the air to suit its own melodramatic needs-just as, next day, it might be using vast deserts, or stormy sea; or frozen Arctic wastes. Now, so much later, we have another film in the "Wings". class. M.-G.-M.’s "Test Pilot" breaks no new ground, for its emphasis is still on the magazine-story conception of flying and sky-daredevils-al!l flames and smoke and. heroics. Nevertheless, this is a film of aviation in which aviation is not just used as make-

weight atmosphere, but is indissolubly bound with the plot, The planes here are not merely small dark crosses moving oddly on a white screen, with an irritating drone from the back of the theatre. They are fallible, exciting marvels of science, whose uncertain power inevitably affects the minds of the men who fly them. The Real Stars PuAT is the outstanding quality of "Test Pilot." The renl stars (forgive me, Messrs. M., G. and M.) are not Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy. They are the maehines themselves-the dark nightbeetle with two bright eyes finding its way through stormclouds and gale; the crazy inventor’s plane that burst forth into black smoke in the air race, the dead plane that fell like a stone, its wings peeling off; the five-engined bomber that flamed a track through the trees. These are the real stars of the picture-the stars which work you up to an almost painful tensity of excite- . ment, and which make the emotional reactions of the human players understandable. Waiting To Die ACTUALLY, of course, even test pil-ots-the men who do the risky work of first testing new acroplane designs and adjustments in the air-do not live at qnite so high a pitch as M-G-M would Uke you to think. But

Director Victor Fleming uses his planes with such terrifying effect that you are given few moments of relaxation to remember that hig picture, after all, is only melodrama. The whole film. is played at an hysterical pace that is in tune with the roar of the machines, There, perhaps, is the picture’s main fault. The atmosphere throughout is too emotional, too highly-strung to be consistently convincing. While this film stays in the air it is well-nigh perfect, but on the ground there are patches where the human drama is blanketed by dialogue that is somehow too pregnant with meaning to be altogether natural. . ._ And yet it is remarkable what a lot has been-made of inherently .simple incidents and conversations. Of the people who see ‘ Test Pilot," I think that there will be hardly one who is not swept into understanding: of the: nervestrained, fatalistie attitude of the stunt fller-the Hollywood flier admittedlywho lives desperately for the moment because the next ‘moment may bring his death; and of the agony of uncertain fears which must be suffered by those who love the stunt flier, and who can do nothing but wait for him to die. Gable’s Zest OF, the cast, Olark Gable-a shade more robust and carnally virile even than nsual-has only to be himself to make the character of the test pilot convincing... Despite the rather.foreed, stiff-upper-lip manner of some of ‘his dialogue, there is zest. and sincerity in

his portrayal, whether ‘he :is-battling with-the "lady -of the ‘skies’’--in- her gown of blue, whether he is on the wild "jags" that last for days, whether he is in love for a-day or for a lifetime... He has here a fine rolé and he seems to like it. Not.-Quite So Good _ se _. YRNA LOY’S treatment of the country gitl who saw het‘ prince of dreams come dropping from space and who fell hopelessly in love with him on the instant, is not quite so satisfying. The script Was kind to her-there are whole scenes evidently written specially for het-and at times she is excellent. But on. the whole, she is far too much the poised and philosophical lady of "The Thin Man". te. be real. Even her hystetics are restrained and decent, fit for any drawing-room. In real life, I think, when a girl like this let herself go-at last,-she would blow up completely. Somehow, Myrna Loy fails to bring out the depths of tragedy of those who live perpetually: on the brink. of disaster, and can neither escape from the danger nor do anything to avert it. ‘ Tracey Scores Again "THAT job was left for Spencer Tracy, : as the friend of the test pilot who > had been his mechanic for 12 years and had learnt the courage to hide his fears. Tracy in this film is seldom taxed, and does nothing he hac ™, done as well before-even--to dying... But he shows himself a great actor by the ease with which he steals the honours. . ; Also taking their share in the film are Lionel Barrymore-just a soothing voice and the Barrymore gmile-a pleasant young man named Ted Pearson, and last, but not least, Gloria Holden in a minor role so well handled that ! could almost "spot" it for an Academy award were that not such a dangerous thing to do. Watch for Gloria’ Holden as’ the sensitive and utterly-broken wife of a flier who cfashes before her eyés. Yes, all'in all, "Test Pilot" ig one of M.-G.-M.’s best efforts this year, ‘and you can see from the strong difection, the caréful (if not utterly successful)

script, and: the photography, ‘that it ‘was meant-to-be. -As I'said,~it is melodramatic; and it also hag the failing of working a very old theme-but oh, so smoothly, -I think, if you don’t mind being "harrowed,"’ and if you don't mind Myrna in heavy drama, that you may ‘find this the most exciting film in along time. _..