Release Date: August 22, 1936
Running time: 85 minutes
Cast: Pat O’Brien, Ross Alexander, Beverly Roberts, Humphrey Bogart
Director: Ray Enright
Watching China Clipper may seem at times like homework for anyone who doesn’t have a active interest in the history of Pan Am and aviation in general. While the film is a thinly vailed bio of Juan Trippe and the founding of Pan Am, it plays out like a legitimate bio pic complete with all the trappings that come with that territory.
Pat O’Brien plays Dave Logan, a man with an obsession. He wants to leave his desk job and run his own aviation business. His boss at the time believes the aviation industry is going nowhere and at first it seems like he is right. Dave’s first attempt fails losing almost a hundred thousand dollars. This doesn’t stop Dave as he has a new idea. A revolutionary new aircraft dubbed a flying boat. He also sets up shop in the Florida Keys where his planes will provide mail service throughout the Caribbean. Hal (Humphrey Bogart), a pilot and old friend of Dave’s shows up out of the blue and is hired on the spot as one of the mail pilots. Meanwhile, Dave’s father is struggling not only to get the flying boat designed, built and air-worthy, but is also dealing with a heart condition his doctor warns him will kill him if he doesn’t retire.
Dave’s obsession and drive push away everyone around him including his wife. He keeps pushing his father harder and harder, unaware of the physical toll all this work and stress is having on him. This drive, and a lack of compassion for the hardships his workers are also going through, rankles the pilots and engineers including Hap who quits after punching Dave in the face. Work comes first for Dave always, so much so that when his wife comes back seeking to reconcile with him he coldly shuts her out even though he is glad to see her.
What makes this film so hard to watch at times is that Dave Logan is completely unlikeable. We see his drive but can’t empathize with it because he has no compassion for anyone around him including his wife. On more than one occasion he is called out for this but it just makes him angry and more determined. For equally driven people this may seem an attribute but for the rest of us it is a tragedy as we see a man give up his humanity for his vision.
We see many of the consequences for his actions, too. This isn’t just a tale about perseverance against the odds. Late in the film The China Clipper, the name of the flying boat, once again fails stress tests making it unworthy of flight. Dave puts a ton on pressure on his father to get it working and this leads to one of the major tragedies of the film. The plane is eventually completed but at a steep cost.
Pat O’Brien gives a strong performance in an unlikeable character. We get his drive and determination from that performance but what we don’t get is any real humanity. We don’t see any chinks in the armor until after the death of his father. Only then do we see through the facade to the man behind it all. It is hard to be on his side which the film asks of us for most of the duration. The film asks this yet keeps us at arms length from him, never really letting us get inside. The only character we can really emphasize with is the father. We see he is willing to sacrifice everything to make his son’s dream a reality, yet aside from the familial relationship, we never really understand why. It makes for some hard, yet compelling viewing at times. Some of the best stuff comes from some truly fantastic aerial views including one of an incomplete Golden Gate Bridge. Ultimately this film is best viewed by those who have a passion for aviation and a curiosity about the early years of the industry. Most other people will find it just a trifle bit too cold.
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