Gossip
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Gone with the Wednesday: Honor Page
Screenplay Magazine Honor Page, from December 1939: “Gone with the Wind” is the great picture of its time, as “Birth of a Nation” was great in its day. It runs for 3 hours and 45 minutes, It has an all-star cast and thousands of extras. It is all in brilliant Technicolor, with some scenes of breathtaking beauty, It’s always stirring and often thrilling. But you can’t describe this Selznick epic. You must see it in order to believe it. Three-star pictures are rare. In “Gone with the Wind” three performances are such absolute perfection in portrayal that all three must be given our award. Vivien Leigh reincarnates Margaret Mitchell’s headstrong…
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Gossip Friday: Can Clark Gable Stay Married?
From December 1931: Can Clark Gable stay married? Clark recently said: “Neither my wife nor I ever expect to be married again. She is my ideal woman. I hope I never fail as her ideal man.” And Hollywood, remembering that Clark has been married before and that he is younger than his wife, sighs: “Ah…” If Clark Gable and Rita [sic] Langham can stay married, it will be a great thing brought to pass between a man, a wife and that most exacting mistress of all, Fame. The only other two men upon whom she has bestowed her hysterical favors so lavishly have been Rudolph Valentino and John Gilbert. And…
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Gossip Friday: Eligible Gable
From March 1936: All things considered, Clark Gable will probably have the most terrifc year of anybody in Hollywood. Imagine Clark on the semibachelor list! The first announcement of the formal separation of himself from Ria Gable was immediately followed by an onslaught of rumors concerning fair ladies and Clark. He was variously reported engaged or about to be engaged to Elizabeth Allan, Mary Taylor and Loretta Young. It can be wagered that they’ll be no peace or contentment in and about the colony until Clark is married again. The suspense will be pretty terrible, because even after a divorce is filed, it takes a year for the final decree…
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Gossip Friday: Beard Protest
From April 1937: Just a little publicity story sent out about Clark Gable wearing a beard in “Parnell” caused more of a furare than anything of a similar nature with the single exception of Marlene Dietrich’s determination to wear trousers a few years ago. Mail was received from all parts of the United States, a great deal from fans, but some from barbers’ associations advising that the idea be dropped for fear of a falling off in the tansarial trade. Also, it seems there are various bearded organizations in the United States which strongly advocated the idea. After the stage play, there was nothing in particular to suggest that Gable…
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Gossip Friday: Two Worried Mothers
Letter to the editor, February 1935: We are two young mothers who feel it our duty to not let the evil influence of our cinema contaminate the innocent young minds of our children. You can imagine our distress when we found out that our little Freddie, aged ten, and Johnnie, aged eleven, had wandered into the neighborhood theater during the showing of “Dancing Lady.” We feel that such pictures are a menace to civilizaton and that they should be abolished. Our little ones now prefer to attend an evening show instead of hearing bedtime stories. “Peter Rabbit” and “Bunny Brown” are being sadly neglected these days. We wonder if such…
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Gossip Friday: A Silly Business
From January 1935: Clark Gable shoves his hands into his pockets at every oppurtunity. Close-ups frequently prevent the audience from noticing this, but it is quite apparent in long shots. Clark always gives the impression that acting is a silly business for a man and that he never feels quite at ease when engaged in it. And when a man is ill at ease it’s the most natural thing in the world for him to stick his hands in his pockets.
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Gossip Friday: Clark Gable? No Such Person
From April 1937: The screen’s most forward sophisticate has evidently learned that yesteryear’s reticence is best for a fine romance. At Paramount there is just no such person as Clark Gable. Carole Lombard is aghast at any suggestion that she be linked in print with Clark. However, at MGM he admits his fondness for her. Carole’s friends say that she’s too much in love to risk any blunders, and silence is her best bet.
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Gossip Friday: Clark Gable to the Rescue
From March 1937: A young lady we know experienced the double thrill of being rescued from a predicament by Clark Gable, and of being mistaken by him for Carol [sic] Lombard, all on the same afternoon. Stranded on the roadside by motor trouble, the attractive blonde girl was just about to go for help when Clark drove up. First he apologized for mistaking her for Carol [sic], and then pushed her ailing car down the street a few blocks to a garage. Prior to that adventure the young lady’s favorite actor was Clark Gable. He’s still her favorite actor.
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Gossip Friday: The Answer to All Questions
From December 1938: [Clark Gable’s] favorite ambition is to make enough money to travel three years, then relax. I asked him, how would he relax? Just sit still? He said no. He’d relax with raising animals an’ feeding ’em an’ taking care of ’em and building fences an’ anything outdoors, because even if it was hard work, he’d think it was fun. Me too. Spencer Tracy’s his favorite actor. Looks like pretty near everybody’s favorite acttor’s Spencer Tracy. And, oh, gosh, it was the cutest thing. When I said, “What’s your favorite hobby?” he said, “Carole Lombard.” When I said, “Who’s your favorite actress?” he said, “Carole Lombard.” When I…
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Gossip Friday: Gable and Cagney, Up-and-Comers
From September 1931: Clark Gable and James Cagney are the two lads you want to keep your eyes on. They’re the sensations of 1931. (And doesn’t it seem like old times to have sensations again?) Their reputations have grown like Jack’s beanstalk. Each is slated for stardom in the fall. Women–even the hard-to-please Hollywood kind–are calling Clark Gable the greatest lover since Valentino. And Gable’s career, in part, is suprisingly like Valentino’s. After considerable banging around the world, he finally drifted to Hollywood. After much struggle, he became an extra, finally graduationg to “heavy” parts. But here their records differ. No single picture has pushed Gable ahead the way “The…