Gossip Friday: The New Gable
From March 1945:
I had the good fortune, when in Hollywood recently, to attend a radio broadcast starring Clark Gable–one of his first acting assignments since his return to civilian life. The studio audience was tense with anticipation, awaiting his appearance. The reception given him when he did come on the stage was one of the most sincerely hearty I think I have witnessed. Here was someone the fans not only admired as an actor, but truly respected and honored as a person. His splendid war record, the dignity with which he has conducted his private life, his off-screen natural friendliness, all have made of Gable something of a beloved tradition.
It occurred to me then that the type of pictures he once starred in wouldn’t be quite acceptable now. He has outgrown them, just as the public’s feeling toward him has changed. The What-A-Man Gable days are obviously gone, and if his producers are wise I think they will realize this and choose a different type of story for him now. Something with more dignity and importance.
The new Gable possesses all the easy charm and humor of the old, plus an added depth which, it seems to me, shouldn’t be ignored.
–D. H. Chapman, San Francisco, Calif.
3 Comments
Lou Cella
Well that bit of good advice was mostly ignored. For the life of me I never understood pairing so obviously aged men like Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart and Gable with women like Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and other twenty-two year olds. I agree heartily with the writer. Roles Gable played in Homecoming and Run Silent Run Deep made much more sense. In these he was cast appropriately. He was a much better actor than given credit for. Had he been healthy and active another ten years he would have been brilliant in True Grit or in The Last Picture Show as Sam the Lion.
CocoB
A few of his post- war movies were duds. Adventure, The King and Four Queens to name two, but he made a bunch of good ones as well. Of all the actors who aged through the 40’s and then had very young actresses cast with them in the fifties some worked some didn’t. Gable’s usually did. But Not forMe is a good one as is Mogambo.
Dan
Two of my favourite post-war films which showcased this maturity were Homecoming and Command Decision. He was the quiet and dignified statesman who had experienced trauma and he played this so well after Carole’s death. He really had changed.