Nutshell Reviews
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Nutshell Reviews: Honky Tonk (1941) and Somewhere I’ll Find You (1942)
In a Nutshell: Honky Tonk (1941) Directed by: Jack Conway Co-stars: Lana Turner, Frank Morgan Synopsis: Gable is fugitive con artist Candy Johnson, who stumbles upon the small town of Yellow Creek while on the run. He quickly takes advantage of the town’s lack of law and order. He also steals the heart of Elizabeth (Turner), a Boston-bred girl with a crooked father (Morgan). Although he insists he can’t be tied down, she manipulates him into marrying her and he becomes the most respected man in Yellow Creek. Her father doesn’t trust him, however, and sets out to destroy his reputation in town. Best Gable Quote: “You’ve got a full set of…
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Nutshell Reviews: Comrade X (1940) and They Met in Bombay (1941)
In a Nutshell: Comrade X (1940) Directed by: King Vidor Co-stars: Hedy Lamarr, Felix Bressart, Oskar Homolka, Eve Arden Synopsis: Gable is McKinley Thompson, an American reporter living in Russia who is secretly sending news out of the country as the elusive “Comrade X”. His bumbling valet, Igor (Bressart) discovers who he is and blackmails him to take his headstrong Communist daughter (Lamarr) out of Russia to protect her from prosecution. Everything doesn’t go as planned and soon the three of them are racing out of Russia with the Russian army on their tails. Best Gable Quote: “I don’t talk to ladies that start yelling. It’s a rule I’ve got.”…
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Nutshell Reviews: Strange Cargo (1940) and Boom Town (1940)
In a Nutshell: Strange Cargo (1940) Directed by: Frank Bozarge Co-stars: Joan Crawford, Peter Lorre, Ian Hunter Synopsis: Gable is Verne, a thief who has been imprisoned for years in a dirty jail on an island in New Guinea. Out on work duty one day, he comes across Julie (Crawford), a cafe singer. She turns him in when he breaks out to try and be with her. She is then banished from the island for harboring a criminal. When Verne manages to escape again along with fellow inmates, Julie joins them on their voyage to the mainland. Both are uneasy by the presence of Cambreau (Hunter), a mysterious Christ-like figure…
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Nutshell Review: Gone with the Wind (1939)
In a Nutshell: Gone with the Wind (1939) Directed by: Victor Fleming (and George Cukor and Sam Wood) Co-stars: Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Hattie McDaniel Synopsis: Still seventy five years later heralded “the greatest movie ever made”, Gone with the Wind singlehandedly guaranteed Gable’s immortality to movie goers for decades to come. He is the dashing and ruthless Rhett Butler, a blockade runner from Charleston, who falls in love with headstrong southern belle Scarlett O’Hara (Leigh) at first sight. Scarlett only has eyes for her childhood crush, Ashley Wilkes (Howard) despite that he is engaged to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton (De Havilland).Through the Civil War and Sherman’s march…
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Nutshell Reviews: Saratoga (1937), Test Pilot (1938), Too Hot to Handle (1938) and Idiot’s Delight (1939)
In a Nutshell: Saratoga (1937) Directed by: Jack Conway Co-stars: Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Frank Morgan, Walter Pidgeon, Una Merkel Synopsis: Gable is Duke Bradley, a bookie who acquires the deed to the Brookdale horse ranch because the owner, Mr. Clayton (Jonathan Hale) owes him a lot of money. When Clayton dies, his daughter Carol (Harlow), who dislikes Bradley, is determined to get the horse ranch back in the family by winning horse races to pay Bradley back. Meanwhile, Bradley tries to bait Carol’s rich fiancée (Pidgeon) to place bets with him. Best Gable Quote: “This is more work than I’ve done for a woman since my mother.” Not-So-Fun Fact:…
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Nutshell Reviews: Cain and Mabel (1936), Love on the Run (1936) and Parnell (1937)
In a Nutshell: Cain and Mabel (1936) Directed by: Lloyd Bacon Co-stars: Marion Davies Synopsis: Gable is Larry Cain, a small time boxer, whose publicity team cooks up a fake romance with Mabel O’Dare (Davies), an aspiring musical star, for publicity. The two loathe each other but begrudgingly agree to play along to help both of their careers. Of course along the way they actually do fall in love and decide to quit boxing and show business to be together. Their publicists won’t hear of it however and set to break them up. Best Gable Quote: “I’m supposed to be a fighter and what am I doing–playing post office all…
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Nutshell Reviews: Chained (1934) and Forsaking All Others (1934)
In a Nutshell: Chained (1934) Directed by: Clarence Brown Co-stars: Joan Crawford, Otto Kruger Synopsis: Gable is Mike Bradley, a South American rancher who falls for the glamorous Diana (Crawford) on a cruise ship. Diana falls for Mike too, despite the fact that she is romantically involved with a married Manhattan businessman, Richard (Kruger). She decides to leave Richard for Mike but, upon her return home, Richard tells her he has finally left his wife for her. Diana feels obligated to marry Richard and Mike is heartbroken. Best Gable Quote: “I admit I was on the prowl until you dropped down from the sky.” Fun Fact: The Crawford-Gable affair had…
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Nutshell Reviews: Men in White (1934) and Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
In a Nutshell: Men in White (1934) Directed by: Richard Boleslawski Co-stars: Myrna Loy, Elizabeth Allan, Otto Kruger Synopsis: Gable is George Ferguson, a young doctor working hard to prove himself at a New York hospital. He puts medicine and his patients before all else, much to the chagrin of his heiress fiancé, Laura (Loy). He soon learns that all work and no play lead him open to temptation and he falls for Barbara (Allan), a nurse, with devastating consequences. Best Gable Quote: “What good’s a profession that can’t give you bread and butter after you’ve wasted ten years of your life at it?” Fun Fact: On the set of…
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Nutshell Review: It Happened One Night (1934)
In a Nutshell: It Happened One Night (1934) Directed by: Frank Capra Co-stars: Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly Synopsis: Gable is Peter Warne, a cocky newspaperman who has just been fired. On a bus to New York, he meets Ellie Andrews (Colbert), a runaway heiress, on her way to be reunited with her new husband whom her father detests. Peter soon realizes her identity and befriends her so he can get the exclusive story. Along the way, after masquerading as man and wife at an auto camp, sleeping in a field, hitch hiking and stealing a car, they fall in love. When Peter leaves Ellie at a motel in the middle…
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Nutshell Reviews: Dancing Lady (1933)
In a Nutshell: Dancing Lady (1933) Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard Co-stars: Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone, Fred Astaire Synopsis: Gable is Patch Gallagher, a short-fused Broadway producer who hires down-on-her-luck ex-burlesque dancer Janie Barlow (Joan Crawford) for the chorus line of his latest show. Janie is constantly pursued by a rich playboy admirer, Tod Newton (Franchot Tone). Patch begins to have feelings for plucky Janie, but grows bitter as it becomes obvious she is wrapped up with Tod. When he promotes her to the lead in the production, Tod becomes impatient (Janie said she’d marry him if the play fell through) and pays off the Broadway powers-that-be to shut the…