page_title: China Clipper (film)
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: China Clipper (film) / Production
caption_attribution_description: China Clipper (NC14716), Martin model 130, passenger-carrying flying boat, Figure 8.15 (mfr)
context_page_description: China Clipper is a 1936 drama film directed by Ray Enright and written by Frank Wead, produced by First National Pictures, distributed by parent company Warner Brothers, and starring Pat O'Brien, Ross Alexander, Humphrey Bogart and, in his last motion picture appearance, the venerable Henry B. Walthall as "Dad." Walthall was gravely ill during production and his illness is incorporated into his character's role; he died during production.
context_section_description: The screenwriter of China Clipper, Frank "Spig" Wead, based the film on a thinly disguised bio of the life of Juan Trippe, in particular, his life just prior to, during and after the founding of Pan American Airways. Filmed with the cooperation of Pan Am, actual newsreel and production footage of the Martin M-130 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 the highlight of the film with famed Hollywood stunt pilot Paul Mantz working with veterans Elmer Dyer and H. F. Koenekamp to create realistic aerial photography. There are scenes of the aircraft flying over the incomplete Golden Gate Bridge while it was still under construction. The film is a rare example of a new technology and mode of travel put before the Hollywood cameras just as it was developing.
  The aircraft used in China Clipper are:
  Martin M-130 c/n 558, NC14716
  Lockheed Vega5C c/n 100, NC48M
  Fokker F-10A c/n 1042, NC582K
  Douglas Dolphin1 Special c/n 999, NC967Y
  Consolidated Model 16 Commodore
  Sikorsky S-40
  Sikorsky S-42 Clipper
  Ford Trimotor4 ATE
  Keystone LB-7
  Keystone B-4A
caption: Martin M-130 "China Clipper"
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