Simply A Masterpiece

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

You would think that the bombing of China in 1937 would be serious subject matter. Instead, this film turns into a nonsensical farce where two guys from two competing news services join forces to rescue the brother of Myrna Loy, a female pilot. What happened to China? The brother has been missing in the Amazon region.The usually reliable Marjorie Main could have been such a riot as the stenographer to one of the companies. Instead, she is funny at the beginning of the film with her high toned sarcastic voice and then disappears for the most part.Clark Gable befriends Myrna Loy, the pilot, who is romantically linked to Walter Pidgeon. Pidgeon gives up without a fight as it becomes evident that Gable shall take her away.The part of rescuing the brother becomes almost silly as Gable and his pal don tribal clothes to get the brother out.This is absolutely inane fanfare.

Okay, this isn't Shakespeare. Clark Gable and Myrna Loy were the number one box office draws of 1938 and it seems that what made them famous was not believability but that their films were so much fun. Gable's films were always high on the action, romance and fun while Ms. Loy became famous for her wonderful banter in the THIN MAN movies. So, in this case, you merge the two into a very light adventure film filled with laughs and some marvelous dialog--and a romance that doesn't always work. It's certainly NOT the best film they did together, nor is it the worst and fans of both are sure to enjoy the film because it is pure "1930s MGM formula". Now modern viewers might not find the film so magical--after all, the plot is pretty tough to believe and the characters seem pretty cartoonish. But, given my love for this genre and these actors, I don't mind terribly. Sure, it's not super-memorable, but it was more than worth the energy I spent watching the film.Clark is a "get it at ANY cost" cameraman for a company specializing in newsreels. He meets Loy my accidentally causing her plane to crash. Instead of being mad, she unbelievably praised Clark for saving her life (hey lady, it was HIS obnoxious actions that CAUSED the plane crash in the first place!). The rest of the film is on again/off again romance between them with Walter Pigeon trying to horn in between them. It's not at all believable and awfully silly, but the action and comedy bits are pretty cool, so they make up for the deficiencies and result in a decent and watchable flick. But, for persnickety people like me who delight at spotting problems with movies, take a look at the Amazonian villagers. They are all Black Americans who look and dress EXACTLY like extras from a TARZAN movie--and look not one bit like South American Indians!

I liked this movie, probably a little more than I expected to. Loy sometimes seems confused unless she's strongly supported by a leading man, but this is one of those cases where the leading man (Gable) is up to the task. Pigeon also has a large role in the film but his is pretty much the subordinate role and almost no attempt is made to mask the fact that he will not "get the girl".The film's plot basically has Gable and Pigeon as rival photographers for newsreel companies in NYC. Loy is a daredevil female pilot (think Amelia Earhardt) who they both try to woo on a professional and personal level. Her main angle is that her brother was lost in a crash in South America and she's trying to raise money to send out a rescue party.The characters aren't too convincing or realistic, but this is an action/romance so that doesn't really matter. The dialogue is fun and Conway's direction makes the film flow very smoothly. The most impressive photography in the film is the aerial footage where Gable and Loy are photographing a burning ship at sea.... the effects for this were quite well done for the time.Overall a pleasing, not too memorable, adventure film. I expected a sort of "Red Dust" type of film but found Gable's character somewhat less interesting, and the story somewhat more, than in that film.

A sometimes thrilling adventure that is first and foremost a Clark Gable vehicle. He's as cocky and quick-witted as ever. There are some good lines and a few good laughs, but his performance completely dominates and overshadows this movie, even when he's in a chicken suit. You would think that a movie with Myrna Loy would have some great zingers back and forth with the male lead. This happens too few times, however, and Loy looks like she doesn't want to be in this movie. This is some of the least amounts of chemistry from either of these two actors that I've ever seen.I liked the story a lot, with its focus on the "backstage" of early newsreels. Much of the satire is still true today, and this movie doesn't look dated because of it. There are some holes and only Gable is truly worth watching. There are also a few too many racist references that might make a modern viewer uncomfortable.It's still worth watching though, even if just for the antics of Gable and the jokes about the news business.