Humphry
Bogart and Eleanor Parker feature in the aviation romance drama, “Chain
Lightning,” available on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive Collection. Bogart is hot-shot
test pilot Matt Brennan flying for an aircraft manufacturer contracted to
produce a supersonic jet for the newly formed United States Air Force. The
movie soon flashes back to 1943 in WWII England where we see the origins of the
relationship between Bogart and Parker. Parker is Joan “Jo” Holloway, an
American Red Cross nurse stationed in England where Lieutenant Colonel Matt Brennan
is an experienced B-17 pilot. Richard Whorf is Carl Troxell, an engineer working
for a B-17 aircraft manufacturer sent to research the reason for aircraft
failures. Matt tells Carl exactly the issue which is obvious to those flying
the bombing missions, the air war and the lack of long-range air cover support.
While on a mission, they encounter a German Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, a
rocket powered interceptor that moves faster than anything in the allied
arsenal.
Matt
gets word he’s being rotated stateside to sell war bonds after surviving so many
bombing missions over Europe. He’s faced with a complicated choice because he
has to leave Jo in England. We hope he fulfills his promise to her, but this is
Bogart and I think we know what will happen. We meet up with Matt again after
the war working as a pilot trainer until he has a chance meeting with Leland
Willis, the head of Willis Aviation, that leads to a job as test pilot working
on developing jets for the Defense Department. Willis is played by Raymond
Massey as the semi-villain of the film. Carl is working for Willis and is also
now involved with Jo. The Matt, Jo, Carl love triangle is resolved, but tension
arrives in the rivalry between Matt and Carl as they each work on projects to
create a safe, fast jet.
Bogart
is good playing Bogart and this role is no exception. He does have genuine
chemistry with Eleanor Parker playing the girl who never fell out of love with him.
While this is by no means a Bogart classic, it is certainly a small gem in his
film career. Massey is good as the businessman who is willing to risk lives in
order to succeed and Whorf is a bit too predictable as the third part of the
love triangle and works hard to be the opposite of Bogart.
The
movie is chockfull of WWII aviation footage which is integrated well into the
story,including the crash landing in the early part of the movie. There is also
pretty good model work later as we see Bogart piloting the jets and he’s seen
at the controls in a studio cockpit and models used for the new jet attempting
to break a cross- continent flight record.
The
film was directed by Stuart Heisler, who had a career working on mostly B-movie
dramas and thrillers, though he had a few stand-outs like “The Biscuit Eater”
in 1940, “The Glass Key” in 1942, “Storm Warning” in 1950 and “Tokyo Joe” from
1949, the first of two movies with Bogart. Bogart’s filmography is filled with
classics, duds and those in between like “Chain Lightning.” Eleanor Parker
appeared in many movies, sometimes as the lead, throughout the 50s and early
60s. Raymond Massey was great at playing heavies and semi-villainous roles with
occasional heroic figures such as Abraham Lincoln. Richard Whorf is a bit of an
enigma for me, featuring in mostly B-movies and never quite reaching leading
man status.
Released in 1950 with
a flight time of 95 minutes, the movie looks and sounds terrific on this
region-free Blu-ray upgrade from the previous DVD release. Extras on the disc include the
animated “Bear Feat,” the Joe McDoakes comedy short film “So You Want to Be an
Actor” and the trailer for the film. The movie is recommended for Bogart fans
and aviation movie enthusiasts.