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Gossip Friday: Old Friends
From 1949: There was quite a stir among the guests at the party for the Ernie Byfields in the Beverly Hills Hotels’ Rodeo Room when Joan Crawford and Clark Gable walked in together. They’ve been friends for years but this was their first of a series of dates.
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{New Article} 1935: The Only Girl on a Gable Location
This piece from 1935 was written by a reporter sent to the Catalina Island set of Mutiny on the Bounty. Oh, to be the lone female reporter hunting down the scoop to the location shoot of the latest Clark Gable picture! Sounds glamorous, right? Apparently not… If you’re going from Hollywood, you ride the film boat from San Pedro wharf direct to the Isthmus, some ten miles across Channel. The boat makes it once a day carrying passengers and supplies. And so, surrounded by eight twenty-gallon gasoline tanks, four cartons of strawberries, two dead sharks, (to be used for Bounty atmosphere), and six milk cans, I started my great expedition.…
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{Photos} Love on the Run (1936)
Today we’re looking at some of the photos from Love on the Run (1936), one of the several Clark Gable/Joan Crawford pairings. A lot of people don’t, but I actually do like their films together–they have an easy chemistry. This one for me though is one of the weakest; the plot is silly. But these promotional stills of them dancing together are some of my very favorites (they are often times mis-credited as being from Dancing Lady): Some great on the set shots: And of course some great screenshots. Clark was right in his handsome, dashing leading man era here:
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Spotlight on: Norma Shearer
It is quite common to read that Clark Gable slept with every one of his leading ladies. And while that statement has been buzzing around for so long that many people take it as fact, it’s not true at all. In fact, I think the number of leading ladies he starred opposite that he wasn’t romantically involved with far outnumbers the opposite. Perhaps that is why Norma Shearer doesn’t get much attention as one of his onscreen lovelies–in fact she is one of the few that I can think of that I haven’t even heard a rumor he had slept with her! Nonetheless, Ms. Shearer is an interesting footnote in…
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Gossip Friday: Favorite Snack
From February 1940: For a midnight snack Clark Gable likes nothing better than to open up a can of tomatoes, put salt and pepper on them, and swallow them down. ___ A simple snacker…another favorite: sliced onion all by itself. Or just eating an onion like an apple!
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{Photos} Saratoga (1937)
Let’s have a look at some of the beautiful photos from Saratoga (1937). Taken at face value, Saratoga is not a spectacular film. It has become infamous because it was Jean Harlow’s final film–in fact she died of kidney failure before it was completed, at the young age of 26. When it came time to take publicity photos for the film, Jean was so weak she could hardly hold herself up. That is why in these beautiful pictures, Jean is laying down, leaning on Clark or being held up by him. Jean and Clark were good buddies and always had fun on the set. Clark was devastated by her death…
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Gossip Friday: Rhett Butler–A Menace to a Career?
From April 1940: I asked Clark Gable if he felt it dangerous to work so long in a single film such as “Gone with the Wind.” Fans forget easily. Will the role of Rhett Butler, no matter how colorful, be strong enough to hold Clark at the top, to overcome the long months of getting him on celluloid? Gable writes thus: “Rather than being too dangerous to work too long in one picture, I can say from experience that it is of definite value to an actor and makes for a superior film. There is no substitute for adequate and careful preparation. ‘Gone with the Wind’ proves this. From an…
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{Photos} Hold Your Man (1933)
Today, here’s some photos from one of my very favorite Clark Gable films, Hold Your Man (1933). Adorable publicity shots with Jean Harlow: Clark and Jean were buddies and it really shows. It is remarkable how much sexual chemistry they have but yet they were like playful brother and sister when the cameras weren’t rolling. On the set: And some Clark closeups:
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Gossip Friday: Star Studded Premiere
From 1948: I am sure that no imperial gala ever ordered by the Emperor Franz Josef himself ever surpassed the splendor of the party in the Crystal Room of the Beverly Hills Hotel, following the premiere of “The Emperor Waltz.” The first showing of the film, which was a formal, international affair, drew a record throng of celebrities to the Hollywood Paramount Theatre where they ran the gauntlet of cheers and shouts from thousands of admiring fans… The “cinema-soxers” roared their delight when Clark Gable and Bing Crosby swapped jokes right in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard where their cars were held up by the traffic jam. Incidentally Clark garnered…
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{Photos} Mogambo (1953)
Let’s have a look at some of the fantastic photos from Mogambo (1953) today… Shot on location in the wilds of Africa, the film provides some pretty great on the set shots: Clark Gable and co-star Grace Kelly’s relationship became romantic during filming and the candids from the set certainly don’t hide that fact: Sure, Clark and Grace were getting friendly in their tents, but there are some great candids of pals Clark and Ava on the set together: Hey, when you are out in the middle of nowhere in Africa, everybody needs haircuts: And, naturally, some Clark closeups: