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Gossip Friday: Oh, Buster!
From December 1931: Buster Keaton got generous one day and invited the entire cast of “Possessed” to be his guests for luncheon. Joan Crawford and Clark Gable were the honored guests. Then he served them corned beef and cabbage and onions. And that afternoon Joan and Clark had to do a big love scene. Oh, Buster!
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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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Gossip Friday: Carole’s Free Films
From September 1941: Clark Gable gave Carole Lombard a 16mm projector and sound equiptment last Christmas, and she decided it would be very nice to have a 16mm library of all her hit pictures. She made inquiries and discovered that a 16mm copy of a feature film, with sound, costs four hundred dollars and she could get a twenty percent discount. So, very blithely, she made the rounds of the various studios where she’d made the films, and told them about her wonderful idea. The studio heads insisted upon presenting her with the copies. Not one would let her pay for them. Which was pretty heartwarming for Miss Lombard—thinking, after…
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These are a Few of His Favorite Things…
Well, as I have lamented in prior years, Clark Gable never made a Christmas movie. There isn’t even a great Christmas scene in any of his films. All we have is the brief scene at the very end of The Easiest Way in which him and Constance Bennett see Anita Page trimming the tree on Christmas Eve. Well, although we have no Christmas scenes to savor this time of year, we can wonder: whatwould Clark have liked for a present? Let’s speculate… Clothes: Clark was very picky about clothes. He liked his clothes to be well made and fit perfectly. Once he found a piece he liked, he kept it for decades. He didn’t…
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A New Ending for Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind had its world premiere in Atlanta 73 years ago today and ever since, people have pondered if Scarlett would ever get Rhett back. Margaret Mitchell refused to ever answer the question, so everyone was left to their own imaginations. Screen Guide magazine held a contest for their readers to come up with the best new ending for GWTW and published the winner in its September 1940 issue: ___ The fadeout of “Gone with the Wind” whets the curiousity of millions of moviegoers. They watch Scarlett return to Tara alone, deserted by Rhett, and they argue hotly among themselves about what happened afterward. “He’d never go back…
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Gossip Friday: Battle of the Beard
From March 1937: Parnell will always be remembered in MGM records as the picture of the battle of the beard. Because Parnell wore a beard, they wanted Clark Gable, who portrays the great Irish leader, to grow one. Gable protested. Director John M. Stahl, stickler for realism, insisted and produced bearded Parnell photos. Gable hired a research expert, unearthed Parnell pictures showing him smooth shavem. Finally they shot tests of Gable wearing a false beard, and they looked so funny and foolish that they abandoned the idea. During shooting of the production, the MGM commissary had to strike blackberry pie off of its menu, because the extras got their beards…
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{New Article} 1932: “I’m Not So Sure,” Says Clark Gable
This article appeared in Photoplay magazine in January 1932, when Clark Gable was a new star and nobody knew much about him yet. It’s rather funny how nowadays a quick internet search provides anyone with information about virtually anybody, but 80 years ago the journalists were scrambling to separate fact from fiction in Clark’s history. Has he been married twice, three times or four? What is his true background? Every writer in Hollywood is trying to find answers to these questions. Some have printed stories without waiting to get the truth. It’s a very old Hollywood custom. But a custom which Clark, a newcomer, is incapable of understanding. “Why don’t…
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December Movie of the Month: Honky Tonk (1941)
This month, it’s Clark Gable conning and scamming a small town as a ruthless gambler in Honky Tonk. Clark is fugitive con artist Candy Johnson, who stumbles upon the small town of Yellow Creek while on the run. He quickly takes advantage of the town’s lack of law and order. He also steals the heart of Elizabeth (Lana Turner), a Boston-bred girl with a crooked father (Frank Morgan). Although he insists he can’t be tied down, she manipulates him into marrying her and he becomes the most respected man in Yellow Creek. Her father doesn’t trust him, however, and sets out to destroy his reputation in town. The beginning of…
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Gossip Friday: Mrs. Clark Gable Pays Her Bill
From March 1932: Well, well, well, Mrs. Clark Gable certainly pays her bills on time. She was in Magnin’s shortly after the first of January and gave the saleslady a check to take to the accounting department to see if it checked with the store’s figures of what she owed them. She had kept track of her bill and brought in the check before she received an accounting! And was she getting attention! Seven salesladies hovering over her at once. And the customers whispering to each other, “That’s Mrs. Clark Gable.” I couldn’t help but remember Clark’s remark, “And a year ago I could have walked down Hollywood Boulevard munching…
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Prepare for Turkey Day with Lots of Rhett and Scarlett
American Movie Classics, or AMC, used to be a top contender with TCM as the place on the tube to view classic films. As the years have worn on, commericals have entered their fold, their classic film expert commentators disappeared, and the movies became more recent and more undesirable. Now, the channel is more known for its award winning television programs, such as “Breaking Bad” and (my personal favorite) “Mad Men”. Not tomorrow! Because frankly my dear, AMC is going back to its classic roots and showing Gone with the Wind for 24 hours tomorrow! With commericals (ugh), it’s five hours long! They are showing it at 8:00am, 3:00pm, 8:00pm…