''China Clipper'' is a

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Ray Enright, written by

Frank Wead Frank Wilbur "Spig" Wead (24 October 1895 – 15 November 1947) was a U.S. Navy aviator who helped promote United States Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. Commander Wead was a recognized authority on early aviation. Followi ...

and starring

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

, Ross Alexander, Beverly Roberts, Humphrey Bogart and, in his final motion-picture appearance, veteran actor

Henry B. Walthall Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915). Early life Henry B. Walthall was born March 16, 1878 on a ...

. Walthall was gravely ill during production and his illness was incorporated into his character's role. He died during production."Notes: 'China Clipper' (1936)."
''

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

'', 2019. Retrieved: August 11, 2019. The film was produced by First National Pictures and distributed by its parent company

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

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 his

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

pilot buddy Tom Collins and aircraft designer "Dad" Brunn, to start an airline flying 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, joins 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 return on the eve of an important proving flight. The new ''

China Clipper ''China Clipper'' (NC14716) was the first of three Martin M-130 four-engine flying boats built for Pan American Airways and was used to inaugurate the first commercial transpacific airmail service from San Francisco to Manila on November 22, 193 ...

'' is the last project for Dad, who succumbs to heart disease shortly after the takeoff. When the ''China Clipper'' encounters a severe

Typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

off the China coast, Logan decides he must cancel the history-making flight, but Hap lands the big flying boat safely with several minutes to spare, winning a most important aviation contract. This secures the future for Dave logan's vision of the first worldwide international airline.

Cast

as Dave Logan *

Beverly Roberts Beverly Louise Roberts (May 19, 1914 – July 13, 2009) was an American film and stage actress of the 1930s, as well as a singer and painter. She worked as business executive in the entertainment industry through the 1970s. Career Born in Bro ...

as Jean "Skippy" Logan * Ross Alexander as Tom Collins * Humphrey Bogart as Hap Stuart * Marie Wilson as Sunny Avery *

Joseph Crehan Joseph A. Creaghan (July 15, 1883 – April 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1916 and 1965, and notably played Ulysses S. Grant nine times between 1939 and 1958, most memorably in ''Union Paci ...

as Jim Horn * Addison Richards as Mr. B.C. Hill *Ruth Robinson as Mother Brunn *

as "Dad" Brunn *Carlyle Moore Jr. as Clipper Radio Operator *Lyle Moraine as Clipper Co-Pilot * Dennis Moore as Clipper Engineer *

Wayne Morris Wayne Morris (born Bert DeWayne Morris Jr. February 17, 1914 – September 14, 1959) was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many films, including ''Paths of Glory'' (1957), '' ...

as Clipper Navigator *Alexander Cross as Bill Andrews *William Wright as Pilot Who Won't Fly *

Kenneth Harlan Kenneth Daniel Harlan (July 26, 1895 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor of the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer types. Early life Harlan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of George W. Harlan and ac ...

as Commerce Inspector *

Anne Nagel Anne Nagel (born Anna Marie Dolan; September 29, 1915 – July 6, 1966) was an American actress. She played in adventures, mysteries, and comedies for 25 years. She also appeared in television series in the 1950s. One book described her as "one ...

as Logan's Receptionist * Marjorie Weaver as Logan's Secretary * Milburn Stone as Radio Operator *

Houseley Stevenson Houseley Stevenson (30 July 1879 – 6 August 1953) was a British-American character actor who was born in London on July 30, 1879, and died in Duarte, California on August 6, 1953. He began his movie career in 1936 and had a short career in ...

as Doctor (uncredited)

Production

Martin_model_130_China_Clipper_class_passenger-carrying_flying

Screenwriter Frank "Spig" Wead wrote the film as a thinly disguised biography of aviation pioneer

Juan Trippe Juan Terry Trippe (June 27, 1899 – April 3, 1981) was an American commercial aviation pioneer, entrepreneur and the founder of Pan American World Airways, one of the iconic airlines of the 20th century. He was involved in the introduction of t ...

, especially Trippe's life around the period of the founding of

Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

.Tatara, Paul
'China Clipper' (1936)."
''

'', 2019. Retrieved: August 11, 2019. Filmed with the cooperation of Pan Am, actual newsreel and production footage of the

Martin M-130 The Martin M-130 was a commercial flying boat designed and built in 1935 by the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland, for Pan American Airways. Three were built: the '' China Clipper'', the ''Philippine Clipper'' and the '' Hawaii Cli ...

is used throughout the film to emphasize the story just as it was happening for Trippe in real life. Aviation film historian Mark Carlson described ''China Clipper'' as a "veiled advertisement for what was once one of the greatest airlines in the world." The flying sequences in ''China Clipper'' were filmed with famed Hollywood stunt pilot

Paul Mantz Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races. Early years Ma ...

, who worked with veterans Elmer Dyer and H. F. Koenekamp to create realistic aerial photography. Some scenes depict the aircraft flying over the incomplete San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge while it was still under construction. The aircraft used in ''China Clipper'' are: *

c/n 558, NC14716 *

Lockheed Vega The Lockheed Vega is an American five- to seven-seat high-wing monoplane airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation starting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who were attracted to the rugged and very l ...

5C c/n 100, NC48M *

Fokker F-10 The Fokker F-10 was an enlarged development of the Fokker F.VII airliner, built in the late 1920s by the Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America. It carried 12 passengers, four more than the F.VII, and had a larger wing and more powerful engines ...

A c/n 1042, NC582K * Douglas Dolphin1 Special c/n 999, NC967Y * Consolidated Model 16 Commodore * Sikorsky S-40 *

Sikorsky S-42 The Sikorsky S-42 was a commercial flying boat designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft to meet requirements for a long-range flying boat laid out by Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) in 1931. The innovative design included wing flaps, variabl ...

Clipper * Ford Trimotor4 ATE * Keystone LB-7 *

Keystone B-4 The Keystone B-4 was a biplane bomber, built by the Keystone Aircraft company for the United States Army Air Corps. Design and development Originally ordered by the United States Army Air Corps as the LB-13 light bomber. When the ''LB-'' design ...

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. In his review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', Frank S. Nugent 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
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, 1912–2012''. 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. .

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:China Clipper 1936 films Films set in the 1930s Films directed by Ray Enright American aviation films Films produced by Samuel Bischoff First National Pictures films Films scored by Heinz Roemheld American black-and-white films American drama films 1936 drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun