Gossip Friday: Not a Clotheshorse

From April 1941:

One of the reasons, admittedly a minor one, that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard get along so famously is that both see eye to eye on the matter of “dressing up” and putting on the ritz.

Framer Gable goes for those dusty old trousers and sweaters in his real farm life as well as in the still pictures, and Carole, he says, will have no part in that general feminine conspiracy which aims at getting the male into white-tie-and-tails at the slightest provocation.

Gable’s new picture, with Rosalind Russell, is “The Uniform,” but the title doesn’t mean he’ll be duded up any more than usual. Gable is not one of our clothes-conscious stars–“Don’t have to be,” he says, “with the kind of parts I play.”

This relegation of wardrobe to the minor matters file in Gable’s life impressed Walter Pidgeon on their first meeting some years ago. Gable had been instrumental in having Pidgeon cast in a leading role with him, and Pidgeon–who has worked with clothes-conscious stars–sought him out to confer on wardrobe.

“Tell me what you’re wearing,” said Walter, “and I’ll pick out suits that don’t conflict.”

“You name it,” said Gable, “and I’ll steer clear of what you choose.”

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“The Uniform” was re-titled They Met in Bombay.