-
Gone with the Wednesday: 1938’s Casting Roundabout
1938– a year full of suspense and speculation in regards to Gone with the Wind. Who would be Rhett? Who would be Melanie? Who would be Ashley? And especially…who will play Scarlett? To call the book a sensation would be an understatement. In three separate celebrity interviews from that year, magazines stated that young Judy Garland “spent last Christmas reading Gone with the Wind,” Deanna Durbin “has read Gone with the Wind twice!” and–the horror–“Nelson Eddy admits he has not yet read Gone with the Wind!” There was a lot at stake for this cast… In February, Photoplay magazine reported: Our monthly “Gone with the Wind” Department…whispers now have it…
-
May Movie of the Month: Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise (1931)
It took me two months to do the Nutshell Reviews for all 66 of Clark’s credited roles. Now that that is over, it’s back to Movie of the Month! This month, Clark Gable is paired with the Grande Dame of the screen in this scandalous pre-production code romance, Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise. Garbo is Susan (born Helga), an illegitimate orphan raised in shame by her aunt and her cruel husband, who treats her like a slave. He picks a man for her to marry “so you won’t be without a wedding ring like your mother”. When the man tries to rape her, she runs away in a rainstorm,…
-
Gossip Friday: Take a Ride in Clark Gable’s Wheels
From November 1940: A few years back Clark Gable owned a very swanky car. The body was low-slung, with dazzling chromium from stem to stern. The gaudy paint job made the car recognizable blocks away. Clark finally had to give up his foreign-made pet because it attracted too much attention. Now the Gable stigma still clings to the machine. It’s owned by an executive of a large corporation here. He uses it, specifically, to show visiting officials about Southern California. They get a big kick out of riding in a car once owned by Clark Gable.
-
Gone with the Wednesday: Repost–Spotlight on: Vivien Leigh
This week, here is a spotlight I did in 2011 on Vivien Leigh. Read what Clark really thought of Vivien and how Vivien felt about winning the most coveted role of the century. http://dearmrgable.com/?p=1783
-
{New Article} 1940: Help Kill Crazy Rumors About Me!
This article is a little bit of fun. I’ve read here and there over the years about Carole Lombard’s “fragile health” after she married Clark Gable. I know she had poison ivy at one point, and appendicitis, but I’ve always suspected that this whole “fragile health” scenario was a bit of a cover-up for her struggle with fertility. It gave a reason as to why she wasn’t pregnant yet despite everyone’s held breath for the news, and as to why she had slowed down making movies. Well, here is one time where she is denying she’s an invalid; this article addresses Carole’s feelings on the subject of her being…
-
Gossip Friday: Mickey Rooney’s Idol
From May 1939: Clark Gable…played a very important part in Mickey Rooney’s career. No wonder Mickey wants to be just like him. It was about five years ago when Mickey was twelve, and on the verge of starvation. Vaudeville was a thing of the past, and Mickey couldn’t even get a job as an extra in Hollywood. He’d only worked about three days in three months. Then he had an idea. He called Clark Gable. “Mr. Gable,” he said, “there’s a good part for a boy in ‘Manhattan Melodrama,’ and I’d give my shirt to play it. I’ve been acting since I was a baby–and I know I can do…
-
Gone with the Wednesday: Frankly My Dear, I Think I’ll Have a Drink
The Atlanta Convention and Vistors Bureau, to help celebrate the 75th anniversary of the film, is promoting a contest among local restaurants to see who has the best Gone with the Wind-themed cocktail! Even if you don’t live in Atlanta and can’t make it out these fine restaurants to try the concoctions, you can make your own at home, per the recipes below. I’m not much of a drinker, but I’m enjoying the names–“Selfish and Shewd,” “A Bid for Scarlett,” “Courage or Reputation,” “Tara Tea,” “Don’t Call Me Sugar, “Sweet Melanie,” and “Don’t Drink Alone.” You can vote for your favorite here. Entries: ___ Aja Take Her to Bed After a long…
-
Four Gable Films Just Released on DVD!
I love Warner Brothers Archive Collection! Thanks to them, the majority of Clark’s films are available to us fans for our home viewing pleasure. And FINALLY they have just released a few of the missing titles: After Office Hours (1935) with Constance Bennett! Buy it here. Hell Divers (1931) with Wallace Beery! Buy it here. Parnell (1937) with Myrna Loy! Buy it here. and Test Pilot, which I have been anxiously awaiting the release of for years! Buy it here.
-
Gossip Friday: Good Lux from Carole Lombard
From July 1936: The latest gag present from Lombard to Gable was delivered to a somewhat bewildered Mr. G. at the close of a radio broadcast in which he was appearing in a dramatic skit with Marlene Dietrich. Just as the show ended an attendant brought in a huge floral horseshoe–the kind gangsters used to send their dead colleagues. The card from Carole read, “Good Lux.”
-
Gone with the Wednesday: Honor Page
Screenplay Magazine Honor Page, from December 1939: “Gone with the Wind” is the great picture of its time, as “Birth of a Nation” was great in its day. It runs for 3 hours and 45 minutes, It has an all-star cast and thousands of extras. It is all in brilliant Technicolor, with some scenes of breathtaking beauty, It’s always stirring and often thrilling. But you can’t describe this Selznick epic. You must see it in order to believe it. Three-star pictures are rare. In “Gone with the Wind” three performances are such absolute perfection in portrayal that all three must be given our award. Vivien Leigh reincarnates Margaret Mitchell’s headstrong…