Movie of the Week: They Met in Bombay (1941)

This week, Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell are rival jewel thieves in They Met in Bombay (1941).

Clark is Gerald Meldrick, a jewel thief who has trailed a British duchess to India to steal her antique diamond necklace. He encounters Anya Von Duren (Russell), a rival thief out for the same score. She succeeds in stealing the necklace, but he fools her into believing he is a detective and gets the necklace from her. She figures him out and he proposes they be partners. They hop on a Chinese ship headed for Hong Kong but the crooked captain (Peter Lorre) tries to turn them in for ransom. Paddling their way to shore, they hide out in Hong Kong. Gerald disguises himself as a British officer in hopes of getting them out of there, but he is soon sent to the front to fight against the Japanese.

Gerald Meldrick might just be my least favorite Clark Gable character name. What an odd choice of name to give a character who is supposed to be a manipulative jewel thief!

This is the first time Clark had Rosalind Russell as a leading lady–she had secondary roles in both Forsaking All Others (1934) and China Seas (1935) but Clark’s all hers in this one. I wouldn’t say that their chemistry is off-the-charts, but it’s fine. That’s pretty much the thing with this movie–it’s fine. The script is fine, the exotic sets are fine, the stars are fine. It’s not spectacular by any means, but it’s not a bad movie.

In a review Modern Screen magazine gave after the film’s release, they stated: “Here is an interesting example of an old, old theory of ours: it’s not what the movie’s about that counts; it’s who’s in it. If this movie had been made by some other studio or with less important stars, you would have said, okay, so what? But it happened to be made with Roz Russell and Clark Gable, so it’s super elegant.” I’m inclined to agree. If this film had starred some B-list actors, it would have been swept under the rug.

The film is a typical Gable formula—he’s a rogue pursuing a pretty lady in an exotic location.

My favorite scene is the one in the elevator. He pushes the emergency button so they’ll be stuck together and lays that Gable charm on thick. “Whenever I look at you I get the strangest feeling that I’m suddenly shooting up towards heaven.”

And this quote is quite true: “When a man’s a dreamer, a woman wants him to be practical. When he’s practical, she wants him to be a dreamer. That’s the story of my whole life.”

The last bit of the film changes the whole tone–it goes from silly jewel thief romp to war drama rather quickly. Clark turns hero, earns the Victoria Cross, and decides to play it straight. Of course.

They met in Bombay was made during Clark’s marriage to Carole Lombard, the happiest time of his life. I always think you can see this in his face, in his mannerisms. Everything is light. A year later he would be a widower and be putting on a uniform for real.

Full review is here

Nutshell review is here

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