Since the Oscars were Sunday…”Look Lionel, what I’ve got!”

From October 1940:

These Barrymores are picturesque mimes. A question to Jack will bring you any intimate detail about his personal life that you may want. Ask Lionel and he will devote his comment to boosting someone else. I asked Lionel what he thought of the 1940 films as compared to the silent pictures of 1909 and 1910 when he started performing before the cameras. And he turned the whole reply into a eulogy of Clark Gable. Here it is: “I am often asked whether or not the motion picture has improved. There is only one answer to that. Nothing stands still. It must either go forward or backward. It has been my great privilege to watch and appear in pictures from infancy of the business. Out of all my experiendces, I think the one I have enjoyed most has been the success of Clark Gable. Gable’s career, in a very real sense, is an indication of how the screen has progressed. I first knew Clark when he was a struggling young actor, appearing on the stage with me in ‘The Copperhead’. Between times he was doing extra work in pictures. In 1932 I played with him in ‘A Free Soul’, the picture that made him a star. Now he has become one of the truly all-time favorites of the screen. Gable, more than any other star in the business, exemplifies the progress of the screen. When I first knew Clark, the screen was just beginning to find itself. Now it is a mature screen, willing to tackle mature and important subjects. I hope to be a part of it for a long time because the motion picture business never has been doing a better job of entertaining.”

New this week:

Pictures in the gallery

Under Info, new section with quotes from Clark

From September 1937:

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard told us this one. They were coming away from the fights the other night when a newsboy–age ten–gave Carole a paper. Clark fished for a coin, but the boy stopped him. Giving the burly Gable–ordinarily a great favorite of youngsters his age–a dirty look, he said: “Keep your pennies, you big ham! I’m GIVING this paper to Miss Lombard–see?”

New this week:

Pictures in the gallery

A rare article from 1932 in the Article Archive

TV Listings have been updated through May

A short article from June 1940 in which actress Ann Sheridan describes her ideal man:

Right here I’d like to mention that I don’t go around describing, unsolicited, my masculine ideal to everyone I meet. What I mean is, I was asked by Movie Mirror to do this…so in describing the sort of man I would choose if I were to marry I’m contriving a sort of composite of several men I know and like and admire…

He’d dance like Cesar Romero. The Romero dancing is in a class by itself.

He’d have Joel McCrea’s physique–tall, square-shouldered, rangy and not an ounce of spare fat on him! I hate bay windows, even small ones.

He’d have Clark Gable’s eyes, gray-blue and the kind that look at your straight. He’d have Gable’s nose and simples and his strong square chin.

He’d have Tyrone Power’s teeth, strong and white.

And Bob Taylor’s mouth, the most sensitive man’s mouth I’ve ever seen.

He’d have the charm of manner such as Gary Cooper possesses.

And he’d have the courtliness and poise that mark Franchot Tone.

He’d have Jimmy Cagney’s gentleness and his high morning spirits.

My composite would have Charles Boyer’s voice, slightly mysterious, caressing, the most persuasive voice I’ve ever heard.

And William Powell’s hands, the unmistakable hands of a gentleman.

And George Brent’s sense of humor. I’d rather marry a double-dyed villain than a man without a sense of humor. He’d have George Brent’s sophistication–that savoir-faire which is an indescribable combination of tolerance, wisdom, mental and social balance; and George Brent’s quick intellect, George Brent’s dependability, George Brent’s quiet air of authority which tells you if you were married to him he’d be the boss–but you’d like it!

Important to note here is that Ann was in the midst of a love affair with George Brent at the time of this article (can you tell?).  Apparently she didn’t like George being the boss in marriage, however—they were married in 1942 and the union lasted only one year.

That is quite a man she built though!

From September 1940, an article entitled “Would You Have Lost Your Poise, Too?”

...Clark Gable has done some nature facing, too, and has had a lot of years of trooping. But nothing had prepared him for the situation which arose when a piece of scenery fell on him and he heard that awful ripping sound and found himself without his trousers in front of five hundred delighted extras. To say nothing of a raucous cast and crew. Not only that. Unsympathetic blokes began cracking wise at once about the Gable knees.

What does a seasoned trooper do under these circumstances? Smile? Toss it off with an airy gesture? Not this seasoned trooper. He turned tail and ran for cover and wasn’t seen again for hours and when he did return to the set, he was distinctly unsocialble. Maybe next time he’ll merely bow and say something witty and appropriate but those things take time and thoughtful preparation.

New this week:

Some rare new pictures in the gallery

From September 1940:

None of this light lunch on a card table in the dressing room for Clark Gable. He eats a hearty lunch in the Metro commissary every day when he is working, and his presence rarely causes a flutter, except when there are tourists lunching there. But the other day he went over to the RKO studio to have lunch with Carole and there was so much excitement in the commissary that things didn’t get normal for hours. The waitresses became completely confused and people got soup who never ordered soup, and the poor RKO stars, who aren’t appreciated on their home lot, got shoved around something awful. The studio may have to pass a rule that Lombard keep her husband in her dressing room.

New this week:

Two new artciles from 1961 about Clark’s death in The Article Archive