Test Pilot

The plot is pretty simple: An expert test pilot (played by Clark Gable) makes an emergency crash landing on a Kansas farm, and quickly finds himself falling in love with the farmer's daughter (played by Myrna Loy), much to the alarm of his best friend (played by Spencer Tracy), and his boss (played by Lionel Barrymore), and the usual drama ensues.

While it's certainly not the greatest movie I've ever seen, it's entertaining and amusing, and the acting is extremely enjoyable. All four principal actors inject their own individual humor into the story, while still being appropriately serious and sensitive at the right times.

Victor Fleming's direction is well-done and accomplished, as one would expect. Just a couple examples: he directed "Captains Courageous" the year before in 1937, and he would go on to direct "The Wizard of Oz" the very next year.

The well-written script is alternately dramatic and laugh-out-loud funny, and it's handled beautifully by its talented cast.

One flaw I happened to notice: Is it just me, or does it appear that someone in the prop department failed to provide Mr. Barrymore with a badly-needed wheelchair?