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Spotlight on: Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon, a British/Indian actress probably best known for her portrayal of Cathy in Wuthering Heights (1939), is an interesting person in Gable history. No, they were never paired together onscreen; they did have a brief romance offscreen. But what’s interesting is that Merle, who at first glance is only a flicker on Clark’s romantic radar, was present at many of the defining moments in Clark’s life. In 1936, Clark had officially been declared “fair game” after moving into the Beverly Wilshire Hotel after separating from Ria, and Merle was one of the first to announce her intentions. She was a relative Hollywood newcomer and her romance with fellow British import…
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{New Article} 1932: Will Clark Gable Last?
It’s interesting to read what public opinion was when Clark Gable was just a newcomer. This article from raises the question if Clark has staying power as a star or not, based only on his weak resume at the time. Clark, like Garbo, introduced a new vogue in screen personality. He became the pattern from which screen idols who followed him were moulded. He is the epitome of the ruthless, handsome, knock-‘em-down, treat-‘em-rough he-man, the strong, virile, modern cave man. And not only women in Keokuk and Medicine Hat went crazy about Clark, but the actresses of Hollywood as well. Once he had become a sensation, Hollywood backed up the…
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Gossip Friday: Scarlett Also-Rans
From March 1940: Talk of Hollywood, recently, is how much luck the girls who did NOT get the Scarlett O’Hara role in Gone with the Wind had! Of course, Vivien Leigh was the “lucky” one who got the part. But look at the others– Bette Davis did Jezebel instead and won an Academy Oscar; Norma Shearer, in The Women, did such a swell job that she may get the next Award; Tallulah Bankhead, when she flopparooed on Scarlett, did the stage play that’s getting her international raves…ditto Katharine Hepburn, who also did NOT get the O’Hara plum, but who scored hugely behind the footlights in Philadelphia Story. And Susan Hayward,…
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CMBA Movies of 1939 Blogathon: Idiot’s Delight
Idiot’s Delight, one of those classic films where one might say, “What kind of a title is that?”, was based on a hit Broadway play starring Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt. It won the Pulitzer Prize and was revered for its strong anti-Nazi themes. When MGM bought the film rights, all anti-Nazi references were removed, leaving just the structure of the story. Pre-World War II America wouldn’t want to see such negativity, after all, and who wants to ruin the foreign receipts by risking it being banned in Europe? Gable is Harry Van, a World War I vet and struggling vaudeville performer when he meets Irene (Norma Shearer), while…
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Gossip Friday: A Toast to the Winner
Since the Academy Awards are this weekend, here’s one from May 1935: The afternoon before the Awards banquet Norma Shearer and Claudette Colbert were having tea together. “I haven’t any more chance of winning it than the man in the moon,” laughed Claudette. “Nor I,” laughed Norma. “Then let’s toast the winner with a cup of tea,” Claudette suggested. They poured the cups. “To Bette Davis,” they chorused. That night, of course, Claudette carried home the little gold statuette [for “It Happened One Night”]. ____ Claudette famously didn’t even attend the ceremony because she was so sure she wouldn’t win. She had to be stopped at the train station and rushed…
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Gossip Friday: Rhett and…his Scarlett?
From September 1938: With the announcement of Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Norma Shearer as Scarlett in “Gone with the Wind”, Clark and Norma, far from happy, are wearing two worried frowns on their personable faces. Gable is anxious to know these things: “Will I be the Rhett Butler of the fans’ dreams? If please the North, will the South be happy over the choice? Will I interpret each scene, each move, as the millions of readers have pictured it in their minds and hearts? Will I fail in this, my heaviest assignment to date? Frankly, I don’t see how any actor can win with this role and I’m…
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Gone with the Wind hits Los Angeles
The Los Angeles premiere of Gone with the Wind was 71 years ago this very evening. Jean Garceau, Clark and Carole’s faithful secretary, attended the event with them. Here is how she described it: The theater was decorated inside and out in keeping with the background and theme of the film. Huge searchlights probed the sky, bands played, streets were roped off and uniformed attendants held back the crowds as the police permitted only those cars with passes to draw up in front of the theater. A long flower-decked canopy extended to the sidewalk and a master of ceremonies stood there to welcome the stars, announce their names over a…
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Irving Thalberg
Norma Shearer, Irving, Ria and Clark, 1932. MGM producer Irving Thalberg died 74 years ago today. If it wasn’t for Irving, many classic stars would have never made the marquee–Clark included. As MGM’s “boy wonder” head of production, Irving oversaw many of Clark’s pictures, including The Secret Six, A Free Soul, Possessed, Strange Interlude, Mutiny on the Bounty and China Seas. He was never listed as a producer in the credits of any of the pictures he produced, stating that “credit you give yourself isn’t worth having.” Following his death, the Academy created the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award in his honor. It is presented to “creative producers whose bodies of work reflect…