Classic Movies - Clark Gable

Today, let’s talk Classic Movies of Clark Gable! One of the top leading men of all time, Clark Gable, with his rugged good looks, rather large ears, and no-nonsense approach to acting, remained a favorite from the early 1930’s until his death in late 1960. Because of his “he-man” persona, as well as having a way with the ladies, Gable was popular with both men and women. His characters were usually tough, cynical, and a bit hard-hearted until the right woman came along, of course! Known throughout his career as “The King” or “The King of Hollywood”, Clark Gable was the first movie star to have a song dedicated to him. On his 36th birthday (1937), young Judy Garland immortalized him with her singing of “Dear Mr. Gable: You Made Me Love You”.

After working on stage and as a Hollywood extra, Clark Gable was given his first small part in The Painted Desert (1931). Better parts and bigger pictures would soon follow. His six classic films with feisty “blonde-bombshell”, Jean Harlow, were tremendous hits and are as follows: The Secret Six (1931),




Red Dust (1932), Hold Your Man (1933), China Seas (1935), Wife vs. Secretary (1936), and Saratoga (1937), Harlow’s last film before she died of uremic poisoning from kidney failure at age 26.



Several of our favorite films from Clark Gable’s 30-year career include Frank Capra’s delightful comedy, It Happened One Night (1934), with Claudette Colbert (for which Gable won his only Academy Award);




San Francisco (1936), with Spencer Tracy; Gone With The Wind (1939), with Vivien Leigh (we’ll talk about that film on a future post);

Boom Town (1940), with Spencer Tracy; Honky Tonk (1941), with Lana Turner; Across the Wide Missouri (1951), with Ricardo Montalban; Mogambo (1953), a remake of Red Dust, with Ava Gardner (“only Gable could play Gable 21 years later”);




Band of Angels (1957), with Sidney Poitier; Teacher’s Pet (1958 ), with Doris Day; Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), with Burt Lancaster; and his final film The Misfits (1961), with Marilyn Monroe, also in her final screen appearance. Always self-


deprecating concerning his acting ability, it is a shame that Mr. Gable did not live to see the release of The Misfits. Many consider his performance in that film to be his finest.

The Gable classic movie in the spotlight today, however, is the exciting sea adventure, Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), with Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone. You will never forget the tyrannical Captain Bligh (Laughton) as he drives his “HMS Bounty” crew to the limit with his harsh, often cruel, discipline, nor the daring revolt led by first-mate, Fletcher Christian (Gable), that results in taking the ship from Captain Bligh and casting him out to sea in a small boat, along with a few loyal shipmen. Bligh’s superior navigating and sailing experience sees them through, rather admirably, and upon reaching England, the chase is then on to bring the mutinous crew to justice. It really is an amazing story, based on actual events that occurred in the Royal Navy in 1789. In the role of Fletcher Christian, Clark Gable felt he was miscast, but the film proved to be such a success that he, Laughton, and Tone were all nominated for the Academy Award for best actor (the best supporting actor category would be in force the next year, due to that rather awkward occurrence). None of them won the coveted award, but Mutiny on the Bounty did win for best picture that year. We think this is one of Clark Gable’s best movies and a true classic. Take a look at it when you get a chance and see what we mean. Read a new post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on Let’s Talk Classic Movies.

**Trivia Question for Today: What happened to Clark Gable’s third wife, actress Carole Lombard, in 1942? Check our next post for the answer.

Trivia Answer for Previous Post: Janet Leigh’s character (Marion) in Psycho is only in the film for the first half of it before she is “killed off”. This was very unusual and unexpected for a leading role and a major star. Audiences had a difficult time accepting the fact that Janet Leigh was no longer in the picture. Actress, Vera Miles, who is only seen in the second half of the film, more or less replaces Janet Leigh as the female lead. She plays Marion’s sister, Lila.