Jean Harlow, is probably most remembered for the films she made with Clark Gable. Gable and Harlow sparkled together on screen, with a sense of playfulness and fun. The two were close friends off screen. Gable's wife Carole Lombard, once said that she loved Jean Harlow, because Gable thought of her "as one of the guys."
Clark Gable once said, " She didn't want to be famous. She wanted to be happy."
Harlow and Gable, co-starred in a total of six films. The first on screen film was, The Secret Six (1931). Pre-Code crime film. Cast: Wallace Beery as a character loosely based on Al Capone. Also featuring: Lewis Stone, Johnny Mack Brown, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Marjorie Rambeau and Ralph Bellamy. The film was written by Frances Marion and directed by George W. Hill for MGM.
Clark Gable and Jean Harlow followed with their second film, Red Dust(1932). A Romantic drama directed by Victor Fleming. Produced during the Pre-Code era of Hollywood. Gable's performance in Red Dust, soon made him MGM's most important male star.
Next, they performed in the huge hit, Hold Your Man(1933). A story about a young girl who falls in love with con man, who accidentally kills the man they were setting up. The con man takes off and leaves the young girl behind to take the rap..
Soon after, MGM recognized the goldmine of the Gable-Harlow pairing, putting them in a couple more films, China Seas(1935). A adventure film where Clark Gable plays a sea captain and Jean Harlow as his ship mate.
Next they went on to perform together in the film, Wife vs. Secretary(1936). A story about wife of a publishing executive who believes that her husband's relationship with his sexy secretary is more than professional.
In their sixtieth and final film collaboration., Saratoga(1937). Directed by Jack Conway. After bookie Bradley wins a horse ranch he turns his attentions to the daughter of the now deceased gambler. When filming was 90% completed, Harlow collapsed on the set and died about a week later, reportedly of uremic poisoning. Harlow, was a wonderful comedic actress, I can not imagine how far she would have gone in Hollywood if she a lived longer.
Everyone on the MGM lot called her The Baby with the exception of Clark Gable. A very close friend, he always called her Sis.
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, first met when they worked together in their only film, No Man of Her Own(1932). The story begins when, Gambler Babe Steward is in trouble with the law and decides to hide out in a small town. There he meets librarian Connie Randall. They flip a coin to decide whether or not to get married, which of course it does. Babe, meanwhile, continues his gambling while Connie believes that he has a respectable job working on Wall Street. Then one day, Connie finds Babe's marked cards in his desk. She shuffles the cards and when Babe plays a game of poker, he loses. Angry, Babe leaves for Rio de Janeiro. But, realizing that he loves Connie, he gives himself up to serve his jail sentence. Will the couple be reunited when he is free?
After filming was over Carole Lombard gave Clark Gable a ham with his picture on it.
Gable makes a very charming card shark and Lombard makes a very playful librarian, with a bit of a wild side. They both performed well together. I'm very surprised they only did one film together.
They met again and fell in love in 1936 while attending the Mayfair Ball hosted by Lombard. Gable, at the time, was married to oil heiress, Rhea Langham. It was major factor in Gable accepting the role of Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind, Louis B. Mayer sweetened the deal for Clark Gable by giving him enough money to settle a divorce agreement with Langham and marry Lombard. Gable divorced Langham on March 7, 1939 and proposed to Lombard in a telephone booth at the Brown Derby.
Gable and Lombard drove out to Kingman, Arizona on March 29, 1939 and were married. They bought a ranch previously owned by director Raoul Walsh in Encino, California, where they raised chickens and horses.
Unfortunately, On January 16, 1942, Lombard was a passenger on Trans-World Airlines Flight 3. She had just finished her 57th movie, To Be or Not to Be, and was on her way home when the flight's DC-3 airliner crashed into a mountain near Las Vegas, Nevada, killing all aboard. Clark Gable was never the same.
Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960). Was nicknamed "The King of Hollywood". During his film career, Gable performed with some of the most famous actresses of the time: Joan Crawford, who was his favorite actress to work with was partnered with Gable in eight films, Myrna Loy performed with him seven times and he was paired with Jean Harlow in six films. He also starred with Lana Turner in four films and with Norma Shearer in three.
A young Gable wanted to become an actor after seeing the play, The Bird of Paradise. Gable first found work in small theater companies and he worked as a necktie salesman in a department store to help make ends meet. While there, he met actress Laura Hope Crews, who encouraged him to go back into acting.
His acting coach was a theater manager, Josephine Dillon. They traveled to Hollywood, where she became his manager and his first wife. He changed his stage name from W. C. Gable to Clark Gable. He found work as an extra in silent films, The Merry Widow (1925), The Plastic Age (1925), with Clara Bow.
Soon after, Gable returned to the stage, becoming lifelong friends with Lionel Barrymore. During the 1927-28s Gable acted with the Laskin Brothers Stock Company. Gable then moved to New York and Dillon found work for him on Broadway.
In 1930, after his wonderful performance in the stage production of, The Last Mile, Gable was offered a contract with MGM. His first role in a sound picture, The Painted Desert (1931). Gable's wonderful performance as Rance Brett, a criminal who does not feel sorry about the crimes he has committed, made him a very popular supporting actor.
Gable's timing in arriving in Hollywood could have not worked out better for him, as MGM was looking for more male stars. Joan Crawford asked for him as her co-star in, Dance, Fools, Dance (1931). A pre-code feature film about a reporter investigating the murder of a colleague. The film is loosely based on Chicago real-life events of the production's period such as reporter Jake Lingle's murder by underworld gangsters and the St. Valentine's Day massacre.
He also performed in the well known films: A Free Soul (1931), Susan Lenox Her Fall and Rise (1931), Possessed (1931), in which he and Joan Crawford steamed up the screen with the passion they shared in real life.
Unfortunately, Joan was still married at the time and Louis B. Mayer threatened to terminate both their contracts and for a while they kept apart and Gable shifted his focus on Marion Davies.
Gable's performance in the film, Red Dust (1932) made him MGM's most important star. After the film, Hold Your Man (1933), MGM recognized the goldmine of the Gable-Harlow pairing, putting them in two more films: China Seas (1935) and Wife vs. Secretary (1936). A very popular combination, on-screen and off-screen, Gable and Jean Harlow made six films together, the most popular, Red Dust (1932) and Saratoga (1937). The story about Carol Clayton the daughter of a horse breeder at Saratoga, who is engaged to wealthy Hartley Madison.
Gable was not the first choice to play the lead role in the film, It Happened One Night. A comedy directed by Frank Capra, a story about a spoiled rich girl who tries to get out from under her father's thumb and falls in love with a rogue reporter. The plot was based on the story Night Bus by Samuel Hopkins Adams. It Happened One Night was one of the last film romantic comedies created before the MPAA began enforcing the 1930 production code in 1934.
Robert Montgomery was originally offered the role, but he did not like the script. Gable won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his 1934 performance.
Gable also earned an Academy Award nomination in, Mutiny on the Bounty(1935). A story about a man named Fletcher Christian, who leads a revolt against Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. Bligh returns one year later, wanting revenge on his captors. Gable once said that this was his favorite film of his own, even though he did not get along with his co-stars Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone.
Even though Gable did not want to play the role, he is best known for his performance in one of my favorite films, Gone with the Wind (1939). A historical epic and romance-drama adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel. Set in the 19th century American South. Costars: Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, and Hattie McDaniel.
The film received 10 Academy Awards (8 competitive, 2 honorary), a record that stood for 20 years. "Gone With the Wind" has sold more tickets in the U.S. than any other film in history, and is considered one of the greatest and most popular films of all time. Carole Lombard may have been the first to suggest that he play Rhett Butler and she play Scarlett.
Carole Lombard was quoted as comforting Gable after his loss, with the comment "don't worry, Pappy. We'll bring one home next year". Gable replied that he felt this had been his last chance to which Lombard was said to have replied, "Not you, you self-centered blankly blank. I meant me.
Gable's marriage in 1939 to his third wife, actress Carole Lombard, was the happiest time in his life. Lombard enjoyed hunting and fishing with Gable and his friends. Unfortunately, On January 16, 1942, Lombard was a passenger on Trans-World Airlines Flight 3. She had just finished her 57th movie, To Be or Not to Be, and was on her way home when the flight's DC-3 airliner crashed into a mountain near Las Vegas, Nevada, killing all aboard.
A month later, he returned to the studio to work with Lana Turner in the movie, Somewhere I'll Find You. Gable was devastated by the tragic death of his wife and he began to drink heavily. However, he carried out his performances without a hitch. He acted in twenty-seven more movies, and he re-married twice.
Gable is also well known for his wonderful performance in, The Hucksters (1947) and soon followed by, Never Let Me Go (1953), opposite Gene Tierney. A story about Philip Sutherland, who is an American news writer stationed in Moscow since the war. While there he falls for a Russian ballet dancer, Marya Lamarkins. They marry, only to find that the Soviet nation has become a police state. Sutherland is forced to leave without Marya, but he's determined to get her back. Tierney was a favorite of Gable and he was very disappointed when she was replaced in, Mogambo(1953) by Grace Kelly. Mogambo, was directed by John Ford and was a remake of his earlier film, Red Dust.
Gable refused to renew his contract with MGM, and began to work independently. His first two films were, Soldier of Fortune and The Tall Men.
In 1955, Gable formed a production company with Jane Russell and her husband Bob Waterfield, and they produced , The King and Four Queens. His next project was, Band of Angels, with Sidney Poitier and Yvonne De Carlo. Next he paired with Doris Day in, Teacher's Pet. The film was good enough to bring Gable more film offers, including, Run Silent, Run Deep. At 57, Gable said, "Now it's time I acted my age". His next two films were light comedies, But Not for Me with Carroll Baker and It Started in Naples with Sophia Loren .
Gable's last film was, The Misfits, written by Arthur Miller, directed by John Huston, and co-starring Marilyn Monroe, Eli Wallach, and Montgomery Clift. The Misfits takes place in Reno, about a chance meeting and friendship of a divorcee, Roslyn Tabor, and Gay Langland, an aging ex-cowboy who likes to gamble and makes a living by rounding up mustangs. This was also the final film completed by Monroe. Many critics believe this film to be Gable's best performance.
Personal Quote: The things a man has to have are hope and confidence in himself against odds, and sometimes he needs somebody, his pal or his mother or his wife or God, to give him that confidence. He's got to have some inner standards worth fighting for or there won't be any way to bring him into conflict. And he must be ready to choose death before dishonor without making too much song and dance about it. That's all there is to it.
Cain and Mabel(1936). Romantic/comedy film designed to showcase Marion Davies in which she co-stars with Clark Gable and Robert Paige (credited under his original name, David Carlyle).
After reporter Aloysius K. Reilly, is responsible for Mabel O'Dare, to lose her waitress job, he helps find her a job in the chorus of a new production. Jake casts Mabel in the lead even though she isn't really a dancer. The night before her opening, while practicing her routine, she keeps her downstairs neighbor, boxer Larry Cain, awake. Because he has a big boxing match the next day, Larry asks Mabel to quit, but they get into a heated argument. Larry wins the championship, but his lack of charisma does not bring in the crowds. Mabel's show is also not doing well. So... Reilly comes up with the idea of spreading the rumor that there is a a romance between Mabel and Larry. The publicity about their love affair does help their careers. Larry shares with Mabel that his dream is to retire to New Jersey and work in his own garage. They decide to marry and make Larry's dream come true. Overhearing their plans, Reilly gives the story to the papers, and Mabel and Larry each think the other has betrayed their secrets. When Mabel finally learns the truth, she flies to Philadelphia to find Larry .
I do not know if I would not call this a great movie, more of a curiosity piece and a must see for fans of the stars.
Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982). She began her stage career at the age of 17 in 1913 in, The Quaker Girl. Her Broadway debut brought her to the attention of George M. Cohan, who cast her in many comic-relief roles. Though she made her first film appearance that same year, her Hollywood career took off in 1931 and lasted until 1957.
Filmography: Blessed Event (1932) Hard to Handle (1933) Ladies They Talk About (1933) Lilly Turner (1933) Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) Footlight Parade (1933) Ever in My Heart (1933) Female (1933) Wonder Bar (1934) Heat Lightning (1934) Housewife (1934) Hands Across the Table (1935) Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Thirteen Hours by Air (1936) Cain and Mabel (1936) More Than a Secretary (1936) A Slight Case of Murder (1938) The Affairs of Annabel (1938) My Little Chickadee (1940) You Belong to Me (1941) This Is the Army (1943) The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) The Snake Pit (1948) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) A Lawless Street (1955) Autumn Leaves (1956)
San Francisco (1936) Drama-adventure film directed by Woody Van Dyke, based on the April 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Cast: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy and Jack Holt.
"Blackie" Norton owns the Paradise Club on Pacific Street. He hires a classically-trained singer, Mary Blake, a romance develops between the two. Complications begin when Mary is hired by the Tivoli Opera House on Market Street and she becomes involved with, Jack Burley .
Blackie's long time friend, Roman Catholic Father Tim Mullen , keeps trying to reform him, while the other nightclub owners try to talk Norton into running for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in order to protect their interests. Father Tim, informs Mary that the new church organ was paid for by Blackie. On April 17, 1906 the San Francisco Police Department shuts down the Paradise. Then, at 5:13 a.m. April 18, 1906, the earthquake hits and the fires erupt. The water mains are broken. Mat has been taken from the destroyed Hall of Justice on Washington Street, a nurse tells Blackie, Mat will not survive. Blackie goes to Nob Hill, as the US Army troops from the Presidio have orders to blow up the mansions. Will Blackie ever find Mary alive?
Wonderful film about history, great acting and special effects. I also loved the cast and the great story line that will grab you from the beginning. A movie you will not soon forget.
Fun Facts: One of Mary's opera gowns was later used for "Glinda" in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
The dress Jeanette MacDonald wears while singing "Would You" was re-worn by Judy Garland in For Me and My Gal (1942).
Jessie Ralph (November 5, 1864 – May 30, 1944), made her Hollywood debut in 1916, she became a permanent actress in 1933. She was 70 at this time, her roles were those of frumpy old ladies, but.. she stole all the scenes she was in. Her best known roles are as Greta Garbo's maid in Camille, and as W.C. Fields mother-in-law in The Bank Dick. She performed in a total of 55 movies.
List of Jessie Ralph movies I have seen: Captain Blood (1935) San Francisco (1936) Camille (1936) After the Thin Man (1936) The Good Earth (1937) Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
The Hucksters (1947). Cast: Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou, Ava Gardner and Keenan Wynn .
War veteran Victor Albee Norman returns to New York City, wanting to land an advertising job with the Kimberly Advertising Agency. During his interview with Mr. Kimberly, Victor agrees to take on the company's toughest client, Evans Beauty Soap. Victor likes the idea of the new advertising campaign, in which twenty-five women, give testimonials for the soap in exchange for a donation to their favorite charity. At the photographer's studio, Victor and a representative from the Kimberly agency argue over how Kay should dress for the shoot. The argument results in an emergency board meeting, during which Victor meets Evans. To prove his point that consumers can be shocked into paying attention to advertisements, Evans catches the attention of the board members by spitting on the table. Evans shares his belief that the radio ad should irritate its listeners in order to be best remembered, Victor tell him that the soap should talk about cleanliness. Victor then impresses Evans with a new classier radio ad.
To celebrate, Kimberly and his wife take Victor and Kay out to the dinner club where Victor's past lover, Jean Ogilvie, is singing, Kimberly gets drunk and almost ruins the evening.
Later when they are alone, Victor and Kay make plans to spend a romantic evening together at the, Blue Penguin Inn. Victor is surprised to see that the hotel is under a new and less-than-attentive management. When Kay arrives, she takes one look at the hotel and misinterpreting Victor's intentions, immediately leaves. Victor is still waiting for Kay when he is called back to New York. His next job is to go to Hollywood to sign up radio personality Buddy Hare for the show.
While traveling Victor runs into Jean, after their conversation, Jean realizes that he is in love with Kay. Will Victor and Kay become engaged and will Victor complete his new assignment?
This was Ava Gardner's first big role in a major film. This was the first of three films she did with Gable, besides Lone Star and Mogambo. I think that you will love Ava's and Gable's, on screen chemistry.
Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was a character actor and member of a well-known show business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he very rarely had a lead role, he received prominent billing in most of his movie and TV roles.
List of Keenan films I have seen : Week-End at the Waldorf Easy to Wed (1946) The Hucksters (1947) Song of the Thin Man Neptune's Daughter (1949) Annie Get Your Gun (1950) Angels in the Outfield (1951) Royal Wedding (1951) Kiss Me Kate (1953) The Long, Long Trailer (1954) Men of the Fighting Lady (1954) The Glass Slipper (1955) The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) That Kind of Woman (1959) A Hole in the Head (1959) The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) Son of Flubber (1963) Dr. Strangelove (1964) Bikini Beach (1964) The Great Race (1965) Stagecoach (1966) Welcome to Hard Times (1967) The War Wagon (1967) Point Blank (1967) Terror in the Sky (1971) (TV) The Mechanic (1972) Hijack! (1973) Herbie Rides Again (1974) The Devil's Rain (1975) The Shaggy D.A. Best Friends (1982)
Manhattan Melodrama(1934). Director: W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: Clark Gable, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Leo Carrillo, Nat Pendleton, and Isabel Jewell. The movie also provided one of the earliest film roles for Mickey Rooney, who played the Gable character as a child. This is the first of 14 pairings of Myrna Loy and William Powell and the first of three movies they would make together in 1934.
Blackie Gallagher and Jim Wade lose their parents when the General Slocum sinks in New York harbor, and are rescued by Father Joe. A kind man, Poppa Rosen takes the boys in, but a few years later he is trampled by police horses used to break up a riot against the Russian Leon Trotsky.
Years later, Blackie runs a gambling club while Jim has been elected district attorney. Blackie looks up to Jim, even though they are on opposite sides of the law. Blackie's mistress Eleanor tries to convince Blackie to stop gambling and settle down with her. Knowing that he will not change his ways, she decides to marry Jim.
After gambler Manny Arnold is shot, Spud, accidentally left Jim's coat at the scene of the crime, Blackie has Spud bring an exact duplicate that he has had his tailor make to Jim. Soon Jim runs for governor, but his assistant, Richard Snow, tries to pressure him by indicating that the Arnold case makes Jim look like he is mixed up with murderers. The story takes off when Jim has to make the heartbreaking desicion of having to decide whether his friend should live or die. This is one of my favorite Powell performances and Gable's performance is wonderful as the bad guy we all root for.
Isabel Jewell, was a Broadway actress who achieved immediate success in, Up Pops the Devil (1930) and Blessed Event (1932). She was brought to Hollywood for the film version of the latter. Jewell performed in many supporting roles in the early 1930s. She played gangster's women in films, Manhattan Melodrama (1934) and Marked Woman (1937). She also performed well as a seamstress sentenced to death in, A Tale of Two Cities (1935). Her most significant role was as the prostitute Gloria Stone in Lost Horizon (1937). Jewell's films included Gone with the Wind (1939) in the role of "that white trash, Emmy Slattery", Northwest Passage (1940), High Sierra (1941), and The Leopard Man (1943). By the end of her career, Jewell had performed in more than one hundred films, between 1930 and 1971. She also performed in radio dramas in the 1950s, including This is Your FBI. Isabel Jewell played opposite Edie Sedgwick in her biographical/drama CIAO, Manhattan. Her final film was the "B" movie Sweet Kill (1973).
