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Movie of the Week: Hell Divers (1931)
This week, Clark Gable is at odds with Wallace Beery (again) and plays a fearless pilot (again) in Hell Divers (1931). Clark 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 (Dorothy Jordan) leave him, their relationship becomes hostile. After a drunken brawl, Wally ends up in jail and misses the boat, causing Clark to be promoted to his position. This film is not one of Clark’s best, but it’s interesting to see a young Clark in uniform, battling it out…
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Movie of the Week: The Secret Six (1931) and Hold Your Man (1933)
This week, we’ve got a double dose of Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in The Secret Six (1931)and Hold Your Man (1933). The Secret Six is really only known today for being Clark Gable and Jean Harlow’s first film together. Both of them had not quite reached star status. Jean, who had recently made a big splash in Howard Hughes’ Hell’s Angels, was borrowed from Warner Brothers by MGM for her small role here. Clark was billed seventh–lagging behind Wallace Beery, Johnny Mack Brown and Lewis Stone for screen time. Not for long, mind you, as the release of A Free Soul a few months later would cement Clark’s name…
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Movie of the Week: China Seas (1935)
This week’s film is Clark Gable the disgruntled sea captain and Jean Harlow the hooker he tried to leave behind in China Seas. Gable is Alan Gaskell, a roguish captain of a ship that sails between Hong Kong and Shanghai. It’s established pretty early on that he’s been having some adult fun ashore with a Shanghai harlot, Dolly, who goes by the name China Doll (Harlow). So imagine his surprise when setting his ship off to sea that she is on board as a passenger! She confesses she is madly in love with him; he is weary of her and rejects her advances. She is green with jealousy upon the…
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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.
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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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Gossip Friday: Drives a Ford and Hunts Rabbits
From March 1932: The height of swank was reached the other day when a Hollywood florist started delivering flowers in a Rolls Royce. At the other extreme, Clark Gable and Wallace Beery, two of the town’s brightest celebrities, drive Fords. Clark Gable, by the way, never spends a weekend in Hollywood if he can help it. His latest hobby is jack-rabbit hunting, which is pursued far up in the hills at night, with an old car and a powerful searchlight.
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Clark Gable’s Star Rises in MGM Publicity
It’s interesting to see what a few short years in Hollywood will do to one’s stardom! Clark Gable burst on the scene in 1931 and literally went from a nobody to a somebody over night. His path can be traced through MGM’s magazine advertisements…. In 1931, he was a newbie and certainly didn’t merit a picture in the stars at the top or even listed in bold among names such as Marion Davies, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford or Norma Shearer (all of which would be Clark’s leading ladies!). No, Clark is listed in the small print among names such as Dorothy Appleby, Gus Shy and Edwina Booth. But also among…
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Movie of the Month: China Seas (1935)
China Seas is a real MGM high octane thriller, set on the high seas, with… Romance! Pirates! Deception! A torrid love triangle! Gable is Alan Gaskell, a roguish captain of a ship that sails between Hong Kong and Shanghai. It’s established pretty early on that he’s been having some adult fun ashore with a Shanghai harlot, Dolly, who goes by the name China Doll (Harlow). So imagine his surprise when setting his ship off to sea that she is on board as a passenger! She confesses she is madly in love with him; he is weary of her and rejects her advances. She is green with jealousy upon the arrival onboard…
