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We’re Two!
DearMrGable.com is two years old today! I can hardly believe it has been two years since I decided to create a little Clark Gable niche on the internet. In two short years, this site has come a long way. Over 9,000 pictures, a page for every one of Clark’s 66 films, lots of information pages, 20 radio shows, a Facebook page and weeks and weeks of “Gossip Fridays’! And there’s so much more to come! I have a stack of CDs of radio shows waiting to be uploaded and my most prized possessions at the moment are these scrapbooks. What’s in them? Well, they were kept by a very devoted Gable fan…
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{Reference} Gable Films on DVD
I should do more posts about recent Gable DVD releases. Here’s my way of making up for it–a complete list of what Gable films are available on DVD. Thanks to the Warner Brothers Archive Collection, many of his films have been made available the past few years. There are still a few that I can’t believe aren’t available, such as Red Dust, Hold Your Man and Saratoga. I have often thought perhaps WB was holding on to those to release a big grand Jean Harlow centennial boxed set, but her 100th birthday has come and gone and there is no such set. Grumble, grumble. Well, us Gable fans don’t have much to grumble…
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Gossip Friday: Comrade X Currency
From November 1940: In “Comrade X”, Hedy Lamarr plays a street conductor in Russia. Clark Gable gets on her car and gives her some “rubles” for his carfare. We just happened to be looking at the “rubles”–and they turned out to be Marie Antoinette coins, last used in [the 1937 Norma Shearer picture] “Marie Antoinette”. _____ Interesting piece of film trivia there! New this week: Photos in the gallery Four new articles, all from the 1940’s
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{New Article} 1942: Why Gable Wants to Fight
This article drums over the reasons Clark would want to join the army and whether or not he should. A mute point, of course, since by the time this article was published in October 1942, Clark was already sworn in and in officers school. If this were a time of peace in the world, Clark Gable would probably seek escape on a desert island. It would have to be an island that offered excitement, however, because, at heart, Gable is an adventurer, a man who loves the mystery of the unknown, who has lived close to nature and knows her changing moods—a man who has always been able to find…
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Clark on the Auction Block
As was widely publicized, the first auction of Debbie Reynolds’ amazing collection of Hollywood artifacts was held this past weekend. Her collection was/is absolutely amazing– there is no other word for the truly astounding pieces included. Although not really the “jaw-droppers”, there were a few Clark Gable items up on the block, unfortunately all a bit out of my price range: Clark’s personal dressing gown, which he owned for many years and used during production of Gone with the Wind, Honky Tonk and other films. (Clark’s wearing it in the picture above) Described: Clark Gable personal dressing gown for off-screen use during filming of Gone with the Wind. (David O.…
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Gossip Friday: The Skilled Horseman
From September 1935: When the entire world became Clark Gable-conscious the studio sent word to the newly-arrived idol that they wanted some special portraits. Magazines were clamoring for art on the virile Gable in outdoor attire. They wanted Gable in riding clothes, Gable on a horse. This was Clark’s first big sitting and he determined that nothing should stand in the way of making it a huge success. Although he really couldn’t afford it, he chose the most exclusive tailor in town for his riding habit. The outfit, of imported English whipcord, was fashioned after the smartest English lines. Perfectly fitting boots, an imported turtleneck sweater and hand-knitted gloves completed…
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Listen up! More New Audio
I’m very excited to be adding quite a few new radio shows over the next few weeks. New today are: Clips from “The Chase and Sanborn Hour”: Listen to Clark and Edgar Bergen with dummy Charlie McCarthy compare hunting stories and compete for a date with Dorothy Lamour. A short clip from December 10, 1939 in which Clark discusses attending the Gone with the Wind premiere at the end of the week in Atlanta. Happy listening!
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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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June Movie of the Month: But Not For Me (1959)
This month’s film is a little-viewed gem that I love recommending to Gable fans. It’s unfortunately not on DVD and TCM does not own it so it gets zero television airplay. Which is a shame because it is a really entertaining film. Gable is Russ Ward, an aging Broadway producer deep in debt and losing his touch. When he finally decides to throw in the towel, his much younger secretary, Ellie Brown (Carroll Baker), admits to being in love with him. Her speech to him gives him the idea for a great play and he sets to work on it, reviving his career, leading Ellie on in the process. She…
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{New Article} 1933: The True Story of Clark Gable’s Romantic Temptations
Whew. I usually don’t mind typing articles for the site; in fact I like it. This particular article was quite a chore, however. First of all, the magazine is in very bad shape and was literally falling to pieces in my hands. The dust from the crumbling newsprint is probably toxic and made my eyes itch. So the only way I could type it was to photocopy it and type it from there. Secondly, the writing is quite tedious and the article is the longest I have come across! And probably mostly fictional, but I digress… This piece is from 1933 and appeared in True Story magazine. True Story…