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Ask Clark Gable a Question!
No, I’m not talking about with a Ouija board. The above ad ran in the February 1933 issue of Motion Picture magazine: Here, at last is your chance to find out from your screen favorites, themselves, the things that you have been wanting to know. Here is your chance to ask some of those interesting questions that interviewers have neglected to ask. As a beginning for this unusual series, MOTION PICTURE provides you with the opportunity to get in tuch with the man of the hour, Clark Gable. Read about it–and then rush in your query! Well, don’t rush to fill out the 80 year old query sheet! On Friday, I…
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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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Year in Review…
The following articles were added to the Article Archive in 2012: 1932: “I’m Not So Sure,” Says Clark Gable 1932: The Great God Gable 1939: The Hilarious Friendship of Clark Gable and Andy Devine 1934: Clark Gable Cuts the Apron Strings 1937: Clark Gable Answers the Call of the Wild 1931: Why Women Go Crazy About Clark Gable 1931: What a Man–Clark Gable 1940: I Was Afraid of Rhett Butler 1955: Live Alone and Like It? 1934: Let’s Go Home with Clark Gable 1938: Gentle Gable 1940: A Woman’s Lowdown on Clark Gable 1955: Clark Gable’s Haunted Love Life 1955: Clark Gable: His Life Story 1936: A Heart to Heart Letter to…
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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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Gossip Friday: Christmas with Classic Stars (Part 2)
Continued excerpt from last week, “Santa is a Headache”, Hollywood magazine, January 1940: Many of the stars, including Barbara Stanwyck, have started a considerable amount of Christmas charity work. Barbara tells me: “I’d a lot rather give the money to a hospital or to some needy groups of people than spend it on gifts for friends who already have a lot. I think they like it better, too.” There is a growing tendency among the players to get away from cards. Most send telegrams to friends who aren’t within the charmed gift circle. Or cards which read: “This card should be a very nice one. But it’s plain, because my…
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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: Christmas with Classic Stars (Part 1)
Excerpt from an article entitled “Santa is a Headache” from the January 1940 issue of Hollywood magazine: Claudette Colbert is one who started her shopping last August–with a notebook. Each time she found out what someone wanted, she wrote it down. Then she weny out and shopped. She put into the giving much of her own time and thought, which makes her gifts worthwhile. Joan Crawford will be doing the same thing. Jewelry, clothing, and countless other gifts will be selected and wrapped by Joan herself. Hearty Clark Gable will be shopping these days with Carole Lombard for three things: Gags, personal gifts and a large stock of liquid cheer…
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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…