Culver City Welcomes Mrs. Rhett Butler!

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were nortorious for  their constant pranking of one another. Clark was usually the butt of the joke; Carole was usually the more elaborate one. One of the few times he was able to successfully turn the tables on his wife was when she reported to work for the first day of shooting in Culver City for her film Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

When she drove up to the studio, she was startled by a huge billboard on a truck proclaiming, “Culver City Welcomes Carole Lombard (Mrs. Rhett Butler) Home of GWTW”. She was handed the “key to the city” and a bouquet of carrots!

Carole couldn’t contain her amazement at her surprising welcome:

The caption for these photos reads, “Gagster Gable upset all of Culver City with the welcome he gave Carole when she arrived to begin ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ with Jimmy Stewart.” Actually, the film co-stars Robert Montgomery!

[Here] She’s showing her appreciation of the vegetable corsage presented to her by Gable’s stand-in.

A public address truck bellowed out a salute to the newcomer.Rest assured, “Mrs. Rhett Butler” got her revenge!