September Movie of the Month: Lone Star (1952)

This month, Clark is a tough cattle baron and Ava Gardner is a sassy newspaperwoman in 1800’s Texas in Lone Star (1952).

In this semi-factual historical western, Gable is Devereaux Burke, a cattle baron enlisted by President Andrew Jackson (Barrymore) in 1845 to help convince Texas to become part of the United States. Gable encounters newspaperwoman Martha Ronda (Gardner) and her beau, Senator Thomas Craden (Crawford) who want Texas to become its own republic. Devereaux and Martha soon fall in love despite their differing opinions and he prepares for a final showdown with Craden.

This is definitely not Clark’s best Western….by a long shot. I daresay it’s his worst one. It tanked at the box office, with critics citing the lack of interest 1950’s audience had with a Western centering around Texas’ battle for independence.

What saves it from being entirely passable is his always reliable snap-crackle-pop chemistry with the lovely Ava Gardner. That chemistry is alive and poppin’ here, although one wonders why these two stars are wasted here with this mediocre plot and plodding script.

In fact, the best scenes of the film are the small little moments between Clark and Ava. I do like his line: “It’s convenient to have a woman you can take for granted. Not very exciting but convenient. I’ve never been that lucky.”

The brooding Broderick Crawford is the one-dimensional villain here, and he was as uninterested in the process as the rest of them. Director Sherman recalled that they all realized the film was awful during production, but being their assignment, got through it anyway without much gusto. Broderick Crawford was in a drunken stupor throughout filming and Gable and Gardner were just “showing up, reading lines and going home.”

The film has all the Clark Gable elements—he’s the rogue, wise crackin’ womanizer, full of wit and flirty lines, he punches a few guys out and wins the girl. But it all wasn’t cohesive here.

Clark was not in the best of spirits when filming began, as he had recently asked his fourth wife, Sylvia Ashley, for a divorce. His ranch home as in upheaval as she moved out and he began some construction to undo changes she had made. The stress of the situation caused him to drink more than usual and his head was not completely in the game on this one. Studio memos noted that “Gable doesn’t look like Gable anymore.”

This film marks the last screen appearance of the legendary Lionel Barrymore, who was wheelchair bound by this time due to arthritis and an injured hip. Clark and director Vincent Sherman convinced him to take the small role of President Andrew Jackson.