China Clipper (1936) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A flyer sacrifices everything to open a transpacific airline.

Cast & Crew

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Ray Enright

Pat O'brien

Beverly Roberts

Jean [Skippy] Logan

Ross Alexander

Humphrey Bogart

Marie Wilson

Photos & Videos

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China Clipper - (Original Trailer)

China Clipper (1936) -- (Movie Clip) Cast Iron Heart

China Clipper (1936) -- (Movie Clip) Too Short A Hop

China Clipper (1936) -- (Movie Clip) First Ninety Miles

Film Details

Genre

Drama

Adventure

Release Date

Aug 22, 1936

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

First National Productions Corp.

Distribution Company

The Vitaphone Corp.; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 25m

Sound

Vitaphone

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

10 reels

Synopsis

When importer Dave Logan's late arrival in Shanghai ruins a business deal, he realizes there is enormous potential for a commercial air service. Even though his wife, Jean, who calls herself Skippy, and his boss, Jim Horn, do their best to discourage him, he joins war buddies Dad Brunn, an airplane designer, and pilot Tom Collins, who start an air passenger line between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Undeterred when the airline fails, they start a second airline in Key West, Florida, to deliver mail throughout the Caribbean, and Hap Stuart, another pilot buddy, signs up. Finally, Dave's obsession with the airline drives Skippy away. Over the years, the company keeps expanding, always battling opposition from regulatory agencies and financial backers. Determined to start a trans-Pacific airline, Dave drives his men so hard that some of the pilots, including Hap, quit because of the stress. Eventually, Skippy has a change of heart and to prove it, she gets a job with Dave's company and works by his side day and night. Hap comes back too, impressed by Dave's new benefits plan for pilots. Finally everything is ready for the maiden Pacific voyage of the China Clipper. Dad sees his plane take off, but the overwork has taken its toll and he dies shortly after. Dad's death hits Dave hard. When the China Clipper hits a terrible storm off the China coast, he decides to cancel the flight, even though it means missing the deadline, but he's too late. Hap, the plane's pilot, has already taken off. Luckily, they land safely in China with five minutes to spare, and Skippy and Dave discuss a second honeymoon.

Director

Ray Enright

Cast

Pat O'brien

Beverly Roberts

Jean [Skippy] Logan

Ross Alexander

Humphrey Bogart

Marie Wilson

Joseph Crehan

Joseph King

Addison Richards

Ruth Robinson

Henry B. Walthall

Carlyle Moore Jr.

Operator on Clipper

Lyle Moraine

Pilot on Clipper

Dennis Moore

Engineer on Clipper

Wayne Morris

Navigator on Clipper

Alexander Cross

William Wright

Kenneth Harlan

Department of Commerce Inspector

Anne Nagel

Marjorie Weaver

Milburn Stone

Owen King

Hal K. Dawson

Airplane designer

Thomas Pogue

Gordon Elliot

Jack Hatfield

Henry Stephenson

Ted Thompson

Crew

Lou Edelman

Arthur Edeson

Leo F. Forbstein

Fred Jackman

Photography Effects

Lee Katz

Assistant Director

Gene Lewis

Dialogue Director

Owen Marks

Orry-kelly

Max Parker

Norman Reilly Raine

Additional Dialogue

William J. Van Dusen

Technical Advisor

Jack L. Warner

Executive Producer

Frank Wead

Videos

China Clipper (1936) -- (Movie Clip) Cast Iron Heart Pal and pilot Hap (Humphrey Bogart) is walking out on airline founder Dave (Pat O'Brien) who's become autocratic, then partner Tom (Ross Alexander) tries to lure the back the estranged wife (Beverly Roberts) of the boss, in China Clipper, 1936, from Frank "Spig" Wead's original screenplay.

China Clipper (1936) -- (Movie Clip) First Ninety Miles The day of the airline's first flight to Cuba, Tom (Ross Alexander) with ex-gal Sunny (Marie Wilson), pilot Dave (Pat O'Brien) with engineer "Dad," (Henry B. Walthall), colleague Hap (Humphrey Bogart) joining for a successful montage, in Warner Bros.' China Clipper, 1936.

China Clipper (1936) -- (Movie Clip) Too Short A Hop The financier (Addison Richards) is pulling the plug on airline founders Dave (Pat O'Brien), Tom (Ross Alexander) and "Dad" (Henry B. Walthall), who later commiserate with "Skippy" (Beverly Roberts) and Sunny (Marie Wilson), in China Clipper, 1936.

China Clipper - (Original Trailer) A flyer (Pat O'Brien) sacrifices everything to open a transpacific airline in China Clipper (1936) co-starring Humphrey Bogart.

Film Details

Genre

Drama

Adventure

Release Date

Aug 22, 1936

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

First National Productions Corp.

Distribution Company

The Vitaphone Corp.; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 25m

Sound

Vitaphone

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

10 reels

Articles

China Clipper

November 24, 2003

James Cagney once told a friend that if you could survive seven years at Warner Bros., you could survive anything. During the thirties and forties, Warner cranked out formula pictures to the literal exhaustion of its talent. Musicals, adventures, melodramas - once the powers-that-be figured out what clicked with audiences, they worked their people into the ground. Still, a lot of artists broke through the assembly-line atmosphere to create memorable characters in pasted-together pictures. Humphrey Bogart, who had been trapped in an endless loop of disposable gangster roles, is a prime example. He's a supporting actor again in China Clipper (1936), but he seized the opportunity to play a good-guy and ran with it as far as he could.

Pat O'Brien stars as Dave Logan, a former World War I ace who's inspired to create a trans-Pacific airline after Charles Lindbergh crosses the Atlantic. But it takes him a while to do it. First, Dave teams up with his flying partner (Ross Alexander) and an ambitious airplane designer (Henry B. Walthall) to establish a Washington-Philadelphia line. Unfortunately, even with the help of a wealthy backer (Addison Richards), the venture goes belly-up. Undaunted, Dave recruits fellow flying ace Hap Stuart (Humphrey Bogart) to join the group in launching a Caribbean airline. When that one succeeds, he focuses on his trans-Pacific dream, which he hopes to accomplish after building a plane called The China Clipper.

Obviously, Dave is a busy guy, and it leaves little time for his loyal wife, Jean (Beverly Roberts.) Will he be able to achieve his dream while holding together his marriage? Will Jean give up and leave her brave, fly-boy husband? Frankly, it doesn't make much of a difference. Audiences were far more interested in the flying footage, which utilizes newsreel shots of real clippers as Bogart eases the plane over rough terrain and through even rougher weather. AsMonthly Film Bulletin noted at the time: "Some drama inherent in the actual achievement is lost in the manufactured drama of the fictional plot. Nevertheless, vigorous direction with considerable emphasis on close-up work smoothes over these failings and the flying in general is quite exciting. Excellent entertainment." That's all Warner Bros. was shooting for, and it turned out to be enough. One interesting bit of trivia: the screenwriter of China Clipper - Frank 'Spig' Wead - would later be the subject of a film himself, The Wings of Eagles (1957), directed by his pal, John Ford.

Producer: Samuel Bischoff, Louis F. Edelman, Hal B. Wallis, Jack L. Warner
Director: Ray Enright
Screenplay: Norman Reilly Raine, Frank Wead
Cinematography: Arthur Edeson
Film Editing: Owen Marks
Art Direction: Max Parker
Music: W. Franke Harling, Bernhard Kaun
Cast: Pat O'Brien (Dave Logan), Beverly Roberts (Jean 'Skippy' Logan), Ross Alexander (Tom Collins), Humphrey Bogart (Hap Stuart), Marie Wilson (Sunny Avery), Joseph Crehan (Jim Horn).
BW-89m.

by Paul Tatara

China Clipper

China Clipper

James Cagney once told a friend that if you could survive seven years at Warner Bros., you could survive anything. During the thirties and forties, Warner cranked out formula pictures to the literal exhaustion of its talent. Musicals, adventures, melodramas - once the powers-that-be figured out what clicked with audiences, they worked their people into the ground. Still, a lot of artists broke through the assembly-line atmosphere to create memorable characters in pasted-together pictures. Humphrey Bogart, who had been trapped in an endless loop of disposable gangster roles, is a prime example. He's a supporting actor again in China Clipper (1936), but he seized the opportunity to play a good-guy and ran with it as far as he could. Pat O'Brien stars as Dave Logan, a former World War I ace who's inspired to create a trans-Pacific airline after Charles Lindbergh crosses the Atlantic. But it takes him a while to do it. First, Dave teams up with his flying partner (Ross Alexander) and an ambitious airplane designer (Henry B. Walthall) to establish a Washington-Philadelphia line. Unfortunately, even with the help of a wealthy backer (Addison Richards), the venture goes belly-up. Undaunted, Dave recruits fellow flying ace Hap Stuart (Humphrey Bogart) to join the group in launching a Caribbean airline. When that one succeeds, he focuses on his trans-Pacific dream, which he hopes to accomplish after building a plane called The China Clipper. Obviously, Dave is a busy guy, and it leaves little time for his loyal wife, Jean (Beverly Roberts.) Will he be able to achieve his dream while holding together his marriage? Will Jean give up and leave her brave, fly-boy husband? Frankly, it doesn't make much of a difference. Audiences were far more interested in the flying footage, which utilizes newsreel shots of real clippers as Bogart eases the plane over rough terrain and through even rougher weather. AsMonthly Film Bulletin noted at the time: "Some drama inherent in the actual achievement is lost in the manufactured drama of the fictional plot. Nevertheless, vigorous direction with considerable emphasis on close-up work smoothes over these failings and the flying in general is quite exciting. Excellent entertainment." That's all Warner Bros. was shooting for, and it turned out to be enough. One interesting bit of trivia: the screenwriter of China Clipper - Frank 'Spig' Wead - would later be the subject of a film himself, The Wings of Eagles (1957), directed by his pal, John Ford. Producer: Samuel Bischoff, Louis F. Edelman, Hal B. Wallis, Jack L. Warner Director: Ray Enright Screenplay: Norman Reilly Raine, Frank Wead Cinematography: Arthur Edeson Film Editing: Owen Marks Art Direction: Max Parker Music: W. Franke Harling, Bernhard Kaun Cast: Pat O'Brien (Dave Logan), Beverly Roberts (Jean 'Skippy' Logan), Ross Alexander (Tom Collins), Humphrey Bogart (Hap Stuart), Marie Wilson (Sunny Avery), Joseph Crehan (Jim Horn). BW-89m. by Paul Tatara

Quotes

Trivia

Henry B. Walthall collapsed on the set while filming and died shortly thereafter.

Notes

Henry B. Walthall, who plays "Dad" in the film, collapsed on the set and died shortly thereafter. The film was made with the cooperation of Pan American Airlines and is loosely based on the history of that company, which used the name "Clipper Ships" for its planes. Modern sources add the following credits: Pilot, Paul Mantz; Aerial photography, Elmer Dyer and H. F. Koenekamp.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States 1936

Released in United States 1936

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