Movie Reviews

‘Chain Lightning’ Blu-Ray Review – Humphrey Bogart Takes To The Skies In Aviation Drama

By Dillon Gonzales
June 21, 2021
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Few professional relationships have resulted in such an impressive body of work as that of the twenty-year association between Warner Bros. and Humphrey Bogart. Not long ago, I took a closer look at the four amazing collaborations between Bogart and his lovely wife Lauren Bacall at the historic studio, but these features represent only a fraction of the notable films produced during this time. One of the final films released under this deal was the 1950 American aviation film Chain Lightning from director Stuart Heisler (The Glass Key) based on the story “These Many Years” by Lester Cole. While not widely considered to be one of Bogart’s best efforts, the film serves as a solid display of American technological advancement during the period following the war. If Top Gun has taught us anything, it’s that audiences love learning about fighter jets, and Chain Lightning was no exception. The film is not without its flaws, but it serves as an entertaining effort from one of the great Hollywood icons.

Bogart plays Lt. Colonel Matt Brennan, a top Air Force pilot who sets himself apart as a bit of a maverick – way before Top Gun – while letting his skills in the air get him out of trouble on land. Brennan is also in a recurring fling with Jo Holloway (Eleanor Parker, Caged), but she is the type of lady that makes you want to settle down. When Brennan suddenly gets called up to a mission, he wants to make it official with Jo, but fate puts up roadblocks that keeps the two lovebirds apart. Flashforward a few years and the war is over and Brennan is now running a struggling civilian flying school. Brennan gets a life raft when he is reunited with an old US Army Air Force buddy, Major Hinkle (James Brown). Brennan has been on his own for years, but when he is brought back into the fold of his old life he is offered a job at the Willis Aircraft Company as a test pilot. By trying to move forward in the present, he gets thrown into memories of the past.

Along with forging a partnership with his enterprising new boss, Leland Willis (Raymond Massey), Brennan gets reconnected with Carl Troxell (Richard Whorf), another notable figure from his time in the war. Perhaps most importantly, he finds himself once again face-to-face with Jo, who is now working as a secretary for Willis. Troxell is responsible for developing the experimental high-speed fighter jet that Brennan will be testing out. The movie turns into a balancing act between the thrill of the skies, the loyalty between friends and the desire of a good woman. Bogart injects some complexity into this individual who wants to push himself and the technology to the limits, but ultimately has a heart in the face of morally unjust circumstances. The dynamic between himself and Troxell are strained due to the conflicting philosophies on what they should be striving to achieve, and the end result of this dispute is something that will pack a punch. Brennan is not always a likable protagonist, but he typically finds his way to the right path.

Eleanor Parker makes the most out of her fairly narrow role conjuring up some nice chemistry with Bogart. She is such a pleasant presence in this film that you do wish more could have been made out of her character, but this is Bogart’s show in the end. The special effect work does not look too dated despite the limitations of the time. It is humorous to read about how certain audiences at the time were quite dubious of the “advanced technology” shown in the film, going as far as to label it as science fiction. While it was quite a ways off, the aviation advisor on the film actually predicted what would come of jet aircraft technology with pretty impressive accuracy. The scenes of Brennan in the aircraft are designed to bring about the most thrilling moments, but for this audience member the majority of the excitement happens all on the ground. This last film for Warner Bros. is not a grand send-off for the star, but it ranks as a respectable entry in a career filled with genre-defining classics.

Video Quality

Warner Archive presents Chain Lightning for the first time on Blu-Ray with 1080p transfer sourced from what is almost assuredly a 4K scan of the original camera negative, but these details were not made available. You can always count on Warner Archive to deliver top-notch work, and the image is nothing short of stunning for a film that is over seventy years old. This black and white feature has nice, natural film grain throughout that provides a great amount of detail to the image. The presentation has a pleasing amount of depth to it including in the shadows where there is no evidence of any black crush. Print damage is virtually nonexistent to these eyes throughout the duration of the movie. It is always amazing to see how film preservation can give a film a new vibrancy, and Warner Archive has reached perfection with this release.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray release comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that sounds simply wonderful. Humphrey Bogart has a very specific vocal intonation to his delivery that always comes through crystal clear. As a matter of fact, none of the sound effects or the score from David Buttolph ever overpowers the dialogue on this release. The more kinetic sequences including numerous turns in the jet are appropriately lively in the speakers. There does not appear to be any damage or age related wear to the track. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles available on the disc for those who need it. Overall, this is an excellent audio presentation that gives the material the life it deserves.

Special Features

Bear Feet: A seven-minute Merrie Melodies cartoon from Chuck Jones presented in HD starring The Three Bears. The short depicts their attempt to get into a vaudeville act and all that goes wrong. This is a fun one.

So You Want To Be An Actor: An eleven-minute Joe McDoakes short that has a bit of meta-fun when Joe struggles to make it as a thespian.

Trailer: A two-minute trailer that does a good job of hyping up the excitement of the film.

Final Thoughts

Chain Lightning is a respectable capper to the long career that Humphrey Bogart had at Warner Bros. for over twenty years. The film does not break the mold in any particular way, but the story offers up a fair amount of thrills and dramatic confrontations to feel you got your money’s worth. Bogart has an easy chemistry with Eleanor Parker that gives the film much of its charm when it starts to feel a bit sluggish. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray that features a splendid A/V presentation and a pleasing assortment of special features. If you are a fan of Bogart, this is a great addition to your collection. Recommended

Chain Lightning can be purchased directly through the Warner Archive Amazon Store or various other online retailers. The release will be available on June 22, 2021.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.