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Gossip Friday: Something’s Missing
From December 1940: I knew something had been wrong with Hollywood these past few months. But I couldn’t put my finger on it. There didn’t seem to be any snap and pep in the place. Why there were days when everythings was as silent as the tomb. And just about as cheery. Now I know what was the matter and I am delighted to report that everything is inder control again. It was Missy Lombard–that charming screwball who has more humor in her little finger than an executive has in his entire writing department. Carole, the dope, went serious on us. No squeals and screams, no “simply out of this…
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Ahoy to the USS Carole Lombard
Two years after the death of his wife, Clark joined Irene Dunne to launch the USS Carole Lombard, in honor of Carole and her dedication to her country. It is noted that the event was the first time in public that Clark visibly showed emotion over Carole. You can see the tears in his eyes, even in these newspaper photos. He had just come home from serving overseas and I am sure as he watched the ship back out of the harbor, it was with a heavy heart. Associated Press account: The mist that reddens a man’s eyes and passes for tears was plainly discernable in the eyes of Captain Clark Gable…
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September Movie of the Month: Men in White (1934)
Men in White is a complicated film to review. It is hard to view the film as it is, without thinking of what it could have been. This film was one of the surefire victims of the Legion of Decency. (Spoilers ahead) Gable, mustache-less, baby-faced and wearing far too much pancake makeup, is George Ferguson, a young doctor working hard to prove himself at a New York hospital. He puts medicine and his patients before all else, much to the chagrin of his heiress fiancé, Laura (Myrna Loy). He soon learns that all work and no play lead him open to temptation and he falls for Barbara (Elizabeth Allan), a nurse. Soon…
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{New Article} 1941: She Knew What She Wanted
From 1941, this article, taking its title from her recent film, boasts the triumphs of Carole Lombard, a gal who knows what she wants and goes out and gets it! What makes Carole Lombard different from Ye Average Woman is that she knows what she wants. What removes her to another planet entirely is that she goes after it—and gets it. Most women lead lives of noisy desperation. They ask everyone, including the corner cop, just which man to marry, what dress to wear today, what car to buy, which recipes to use, and in the end what cemetery to choose for the final collapse. They haven’t the faintest idea of…
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Gossip Friday: “What’s that you say?” and some Carole pics
From December 1939: If you want to drive Carole Lombard crazy, just pretend to talk merrily while she is under a dryer. She is certain that you are telling a juicy tidbit and that she’s missing out on something. She’ll never believe that you were simply saying that it’s hot for this time of year. ______ Coming up this weekend–rare pics of Clark and Carole in the gallery! Until then, here are some of my personal favorite shots of candid Carole. One of the reasons I adore her so is that her candids actually LOOK candid. She didn’t care if she came across as a total goofball or not. …
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Carole as Her Own Critic
A brief photo-essay from Life Magazine, September 1940: This episode in the making of a movie is a dramatic moment rarely, if ever, photographed before. The movie is RKO’s version of They Knew What They Wanted, from the play that won Sidney Howard a Pulitzer Prize in 1925. The characters are director Garson Kanin, Actors Carole Lombard and Charles Laughton. For two months they have worked like beavers on what they beleive is to be a great movie script. They have had the usual quarrels. On location at Napa, Calif., 550 miles from home, they have run into the usual location troubles: bad weather, delays, throngs of bothersome autograph hounds.…
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{New Article} 1941: The Gags of the Gables–Like Crazy!
This is a fun article detailing a lot of the pranks and gags Clark and Carole were notorious for pulling on each other. It all began, this frenzied funning, on the night Mammy and Pappy had their first date. They went to the Mayfair Ball on this history-making occasion. Clark, at that time, was living at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. Carole had her home in Brentwood. At the Ball, they had their first fight. Carole went home with friends. Clark, presumably, went home alone. Came the Dawn and Mr. G. was awakened by a loud and furry cooing. He opened his big, still-dreaming eyes and there were seven white doves…
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Gossip Friday: Hello, Goldilocks
From February 1939: Andy Devine, about to be a proud papa for the second time, went through a strenuous time just recently trying to explain things to his four-year-old Tad. It was a tough job. “The stork is bringing our baby,” Andy explained over and over. “What stork?” asked Tad. “The one in the cage over at Catalina?” “No.” “Why?” “Because it can’t get out of the cage.” “Why is that stork in the cage?” “Because,” Andy cired, “it’s too old to bring babies!” That evening Carole Lombard came over to the Devines for dinner. “Oh hello, Goldilocks,” Tad cried, using his pet name for Carole. “We’re going to have…
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September is Carole Lombard Month!
It’s Carole Lombard month on DearMrGable.com! In past years, Carole Lombard month has been in October, to commemerate Carole’s birthday October 6. But something very special will be happening for the site in October (more on that soon!) so I am moving Carole up a month–I didn’t think she’d mind! Stay tuned to the blog this month for rare Carole pictures, Carole gossip items, Clark and Carole articles and much more on one of Hollywood’s favorite couples!
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{New Article} 1957: I Call on Clark Gable
Folks, as far as articles go on Clark Gable, this one is a gold mine! If you’ve perused through our Article Archive here, you know that many interviews with Clark are pure fluff. MGM protected what was published about its stars and Clark was no exception. Most interviews never asked the questions people really wanted to know, and instead of a true sit-down interview, it was a quick conversation (if any at all) that was beefed up by the writer’s own assumptions and fluffy writing. This one is different. Of course by this time, it was the late 50’s and the “studio system” had dissapated. Clark was no longer under MGM’s protective wing,…