Movie of the Month
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September Movie of the Month: Dancing Lady (1933)
In 1933, Clark was in a musical–but no singing and dancing for him…just brooding and yelling. In Dancing Lady, Clark 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 play…
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August Movie of the Month: Command Decision (1948)
I am going to be perfectly blunt. Here’s the thing about this movie: I don’t like it. I don’t like it and I wish that I did like it. But having just viewed it for probably the sixth or seventh time, it’s confirmed–not my cup of tea. Gable is K.C. Dennis, an American General in England during World War II. His duty is to plan bombing missions over Germany, at the loss of hundreds of men. Despite objections from fellow soldiers and Congressmen, he continues his mission because he believes it is key to the U.S. victory over Germany. Clark is supported by a great male cast, including Walter Pidgeon,…
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July Movie of the Month: A Free Soul (1931)
I began writing “Movie of the Month” posts in July two years ago, to start something new to celebrate the first anniversary of the site. For the first one, I selected Wife vs. Secretary because it’s one of my personal favorites and the following July I selected It Happened One Night because of its importance. I’m continuing the tradition of selecting an “important” Gable film in July with A Free Soul, the film that made Clark Gable a star. Gable is Ace Wilfong, a gangster on trial for murder being represented by upper class defense attorney Stephan Ashe (Lionel Barrymore). Stephan, while successful as an attorney, is an alcoholic who is…
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June Movie of the Month: Betrayed (1954)
Clark Gable reigned as the King of the MGM lot for 23 years. He felt safe on that big lot, protected by their scripts and directors and the familiar faces. Never very confident in his acting ability, his home playing field gave him the confidence he needed (although, ironically, two of his three Oscar nominations were for films in which he was on loan-out to other studios). Many actors free-lanced and hopped from studio to studio, but not Clark. He stayed on as MGM’s golden boy. But times changed. Clark returned from World War II older, grayer and emotionally damaged. Newer, fresher faces were emerging on the scene and Clark…
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{May Movie of the Month} Adventure (1945)
“Gable’s Back and Garson’s Got Him!” You couldn’t tread many places without hearing MGM’s infectious tagline for Adventure. The return of Clark Gable after a three year absence from the screen was heralded high and low. Clark, now a decorated war hero and a widower, was a bit thicker around the middle, a bit grayer around the temples, a bit sadder in the eyes…but was back in the saddle. While Clark had been overseas, British import Greer Garson had become the #1 leading lady at MGM, after such hits as Mrs. Miniver and Random Harvest. In the beginning this film has a lot in common with Teacher’s Pet, which would…
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April Movie of the Month: Laughing Sinners (1931)
Clark Gable is third billed in this syrupy drama behind Joan Crawford, naturally, and Neil Hamilton (who?) Unlike most of this roles of 1931–A Free Soul, Dance Fools Dance, Night Nurse–Clark is far from a thug; he plays the ultimate good boy out to save Joan Crawford’s soul. Clark is Carl, a saintly Salvation Army officer who rescues Ivy (Crawford), distraught over being dumped by her boyfriend (Hamilton), from jumping off a bridge. Under Carl’s influence, Ivy gives up her hard-drinking, hard-partying nightclub lifestyle and joins the Salvation Army. Temptation proves to be too great though, when her ex-lover returns and she falls back into old habits. If you are…
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February Movie of the Month: The Hucksters (1947)
Voted on by you Gable fans…The Hucksters is the Movie of the Month for February! And the winner of The Hucksters on DVD is Debbie Moore, who voted via Facebook! The Hucksters is my personal favorite of Clark’s films after he returned from the war. The script is good and with a cast that includes Deborak Kerr, Ava Gardner, Sydney Greenstreet and Adolphe Menjou, Clark is surrounded by talent. It was the first script offered to him after the war that he actually liked. The film is considered a drama, but it has some comedic moments and is really more of a satire, ridiculing the advertising industry. Clark’s character, Victor “Vic” Norman…
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{January Movie of the Month} Key to the City (1950)
Key to the City is only notable really for the re-teaming of Clark Gable with Loretta Young, his co-star in Call of the Wild fifteen years earlier…oh, and the mother of his daughter, Judy. Loretta was suggested as his leading lady because the studio was trying to bring back some of Clark’s romantic luster as the grim Any Number Can Play and female-less Command Decision has darkened it. Gable is Steve Fisk, the boorish mayor of Puget City, who meets Clarissa Standish (Young), the stuffy mayor of Winona, Maine at the annual mayors conference in San Francisco. They fall in love despite their differences but trouble arises as they try…
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December Movie of the Month: Too Hot to Handle (1938)
Following on the heels of the very successful Test Pilot, Clark and Myrna Loy were teamed again in 1938 for another romantic adventure drama. This film is an interesting look behind the scenes at the now-extinct-thanks-to-television newsreel business. Gable is Chris Hunter, a newsreel cameraman who is always where the action is. Walter Pidgeon is Bill Dennis, a rival newsreel cameraman who is constantly trying to out-scoop Chris. Both of them are bored in Shanghai since they can’t get anywhere near the action of the Chinese-Japanese war. His boss (Walter Connolly) demanding action shots of the war, Chris starts making up fake shots using toy airplanes and sending them in.…
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{For the Boys Blogathon} November Movie of the Month: The Tall Men (1955)
This post is part of The Scarlett Olive’s For the Boys Blogathon. I am, obviously, a Clark Gable completist. I read anything and watch anything Clark related. Whenever I meet men in their 50’s or 60’s, their favorite Gable movies are not usually the 1930’s fluffy comedies or even Gone with the Wind. They always usually say ones that would be near the bottom of my list, such as Soldier of Fortune or Command Decision or this month’s movie of the month, The Tall Men. I am generally not a fan of Westerns, and this one is not the greatest ever made. However, it does have its endearing moments and it is…