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Nutshell Reviews: Hold Your Man (1933) and Night Flight (1933)
In a Nutshell: Hold Your Man (1933) Directed by: Sam Wood Co-stars: Jean Harlow, Stuart Erwin, Dorothy Burgess Synopsis: Gable is Eddie Hall, a small-time con man on the run from the cops when he bursts into Ruby Adams’ (Jean Harlow) apartment and finds her in the bathtub. Ruby and Eddie quickly realize they are two peas in a pod: she is somewhat of a con artist herself, seducing and manipulating men to get what she wants. This is definitely pre-production code stuff, as the film offers no innuendo to cover up the fact that Eddie and Ruby are sleeping together. One of Eddie’s cons goes bad and he ends…
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Nutshell Reviews: Strange Interlude (1932) and The White Sister (1933)
In a Nutshell: Strange Interlude (1932) Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard Co-stars: Norma Shearer, Alexander Kirkland, Ralph Morgan Synopsis: Gable is Dr. Ned Darrell, who has fallen in love with Nina Leeds (Shearer), a free-spirited young woman who is mourning the loss of her love in World War I. Also in love with her are family friend Charlie (Morgan) and Sam (Kirkland), a friend of her deceased boyfriend. Sam proposes to Nina and even though she is still heartbroken, she accepts and decides to move on with her life. Right after their marriage, Sam’s mother (May Robson) tells Nina that she and Sam must never have a child because insanity…
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Gossip Friday: Devoted Mrs. Gable
From February 1941: More and more it’s becoming apparent in Hollywood that one movie career and one only in the family is the rule for happy marriage. With this so apparent, one smart girl, who loves her husband above all else, is taking steps in the right direction. Yes, Carole Lombard, who loves her husband Clark Gable so devotedly, has announced in the future she’ll make only one picture a year. “At the very most, I’ll make three in two years,” Carole said. “I want to be free to join Clark in his between picture vacations.” Maybe Carole has in mind that vacation Bob Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck have been…
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Nutshell Reviews: No Man of Her Own (1932)
In a Nutshell: No Man of Her Own (1932) Directed by: Wesley Ruggles Co-stars: Carole Lombard, Dorothy Mackaill, Grant Mitchell Synopsis: Gable is Jerry “Babe” Stewart, a crooked card shark on the run from a police investigator when he stops in on the sleepy small town of Glendale. There he meets the bored town librarian, Connie Randall (Lombard) who is just waiting for something exciting to happen to her. Their attraction is instant, although she tries to play hard to get. On the flip of a coin, they get married and she accompanies him back To New York, unaware of his seedy occupation. When she does figure out how he…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Clark Gives the Latest News on Gone with the Wind
On December 10, 1939, Clark Gable appeared on The Silver Theater radio show, in a performance called “For Richer, For Richer.” At the end of his performance, the host asked him for the latest news on Gone with the Wind. Clark talks about how he is flying down to Atlanta to be there for the premiere on Friday. Listen here! GWTWSilverTheater121039
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Nutshell Reviews: Red Dust (1932)
In a Nutshell: Red Dust (1932) Directed by: Victor Fleming Co-stars: Jean Harlow, Mary Astor, Gene Raymond Synopsis: Gable is Dennis Carson, a rubber plantation owner in Indochina. His no-nonsense way of life is interrupted by the arrival of Lily, or “Vantine” (Harlow), a sassy prostitute from Saigon who is on the run from the law and wants to lay low for a while. They clash at first but soon are bedfellows. Just as Vantine leaves, overseer Gary Willis (Raymond) and his lovely wife, Barbara (Astor) arrive. Vantine’s boat wrecks and when she returns to the plantation, she finds that Dennis now only has eyes for Barbara. Heartbroken, she watches…
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Nutshell Reviews: Hell Divers (1931) and Polly of the Circus (1932)
In a Nutshell: Hell Divers (1931) Directed by: Richard Boleslawski Co-stars: Wallace Beery, Dorothy Jordan, Marie Prevost Synopsis: Gable is Steve Nelson, a budding Navy pilot constantly at odds with Windy Riker (Beery), who has been in the service for years and has no patience for newbies. When Windy stages a farce that makes Steve’s girl Ann (Jordan) leave him, their relationship becomes hostile and costs one of them their position in the Navy. Best Gable Quote: “Say, there isn’t another girl in the world for me but you.. Never has been and never will be.” Fun Fact: Gable was in the midst of a heated affair with Joan Crawford…
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Nutshell Reviews: Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise (1931) and Possessed (1931)
In a Nutshell: Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise (1931) Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard Co-stars: Greta Garbo Synopsis: 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, seeking shelter in a barn owned by architect Rodney (Gable). Rodney lets her stay with him and soon they are in love. When he leaves for a business trip, her uncle finds her and she…
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Nutshell Reviews: Night Nurse (1931) and Sporting Blood (1931)
In a Nutshell: Night Nurse (1931) Directed by: William Wellman Co-stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell Synopsis: A quintessential pre-code, the film centers around Laura Hart (Stanwyck) as she struggles to keep her ideals while getting through nursing school. After she graduates, she is assigned to be a night nurse to two little girls suffering from malnutrition and anemia. Gable does not appear until halfway through the film and only appears for a few minutes, as one-dimensional character Nick, the evil brute of a chauffeur. Laura becomes suspicious of the doctor treating the children and of Nick. Nick throws her around, bullies her and the children say they are scared of…
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Gossip Friday: Gable Fever!
Letter to the Editor, February 1932: “Clark Gable! Clark Gable! Clark this–and Clark that!” I got tired of hearing my friends rave about him and went to find out what it was all about. I expected to see just another “great lover.” Wow! That guy just about knocked me out of my seat! A wonderful personality, marvelous actor and the most “exciting” person on the screen! That Gable will be as great as Valentino if given half a chance and the other had better look out for their laurels. No fooling! He’s a one hundred per cent man. “Now I’ve got the “Gables,” too! Everybody’s got the Gable fever! Mary…