

An aviator ignores skeptics to make the first commercial flight from San Francisco to China.
Practical Effects
Real aircraft footage that probably cost more than the cast.
Costume
Pilots in leather jackets so crisp they squeak.

Director
Ray Enright
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released the same year Pan Am actually launched its first China Clipper service—this was basically a feature-length commercial with better lighting.
Ross Alexander, who plays doomed sidekick Tom, died by suicide just two years later; his final scenes hit differently with that context.