Gossip Friday: Like a Husband with a Hangover

From September 1954:

The London Daily Sketch, a tabloid, criticizes Clark Gable for something that he can’t help–the fact that he is growing older. Somewhat uncharitably, it seems, the Daily Sketch says Gable’s kisses lack fire and that his tread is heavy, his eyes dull and his manner weary. Then, as if to add insult to injury, the paper claims that Gable in his latest movie, “Betrayed,” kisses Lana Turner “like a husband with a hangover.”

Since Clark Gable hasn’t found the fountain of youth, nor the editors of the Daily Sketch either for that matter, no one is going to make an outright denial that Gable at 53 is 53. His temples are gray and his wrinkles are a little more noticeable than they used to be. But to millions of women in the United States, from ages 16 to 76, Clark Gable, we dare say, is still the movie symbol of romantic masculinity. And since romance is always identified with youth, Clark Gable thus is theoretically still young and handsome. We’d like to see the Daily Sketch get around that logic.