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Nutshell Reviews: Men in White (1934) and Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
In a Nutshell: Men in White (1934) Directed by: Richard Boleslawski Co-stars: Myrna Loy, Elizabeth Allan, Otto Kruger Synopsis: Gable 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 (Loy). He soon learns that all work and no play lead him open to temptation and he falls for Barbara (Allan), a nurse, with devastating consequences. Best Gable Quote: “What good’s a profession that can’t give you bread and butter after you’ve wasted ten years of your life at it?” Fun Fact: On the set of…
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Gone with the Wednesday: “Here’s Rhett–You Asked For Him!”
Here is another article featured in the archive about Gone with the Wind: Here’s Rhett–You Asked For Him! from Modern Screen magazine, March 1940. It has some interesting quotes from Clark Gable about playing Rhett Butler: “One critic’s going to cause me trouble. I feel it in my bones. He said I ought to retire because I could never top my performance as Rhett. I like to be patted on the back as well as the next guy, but, boy, that pat has the makings of a knockout blow. I don’t want people getting the idea that, from here on, I’ll be slipping. God forbid. And I don’t want people…
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Nutshell Review: It Happened One Night (1934)
In a Nutshell: It Happened One Night (1934) Directed by: Frank Capra Co-stars: Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly Synopsis: Gable is Peter Warne, a cocky newspaperman who has just been fired. On a bus to New York, he meets Ellie Andrews (Colbert), a runaway heiress, on her way to be reunited with her new husband whom her father detests. Peter soon realizes her identity and befriends her so he can get the exclusive story. Along the way, after masquerading as man and wife at an auto camp, sleeping in a field, hitch hiking and stealing a car, they fall in love. When Peter leaves Ellie at a motel in the middle…
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Nutshell Reviews: Dancing Lady (1933)
In a Nutshell: Dancing Lady (1933) Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard Co-stars: Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone, Fred Astaire Synopsis: Gable is Patch Gallagher, a short-fused Broadway producer who hires down-on-her-luck ex-burlesque dancer Janie Barlow (Joan Crawford) for the chorus line of his latest show. Janie is constantly pursued by a rich playboy admirer, Tod Newton (Franchot Tone). Patch begins to have feelings for plucky Janie, but grows bitter as it becomes obvious she is wrapped up with Tod. When he promotes her to the lead in the production, Tod becomes impatient (Janie said she’d marry him if the play fell through) and pays off the Broadway powers-that-be to shut the…
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Nutshell Reviews: Hold Your Man (1933) and Night Flight (1933)
In a Nutshell: Hold Your Man (1933) Directed by: Sam Wood Co-stars: Jean Harlow, Stuart Erwin, Dorothy Burgess Synopsis: Gable is Eddie Hall, a small-time con man on the run from the cops when he bursts into Ruby Adams’ (Jean Harlow) apartment and finds her in the bathtub. Ruby and Eddie quickly realize they are two peas in a pod: she is somewhat of a con artist herself, seducing and manipulating men to get what she wants. This is definitely pre-production code stuff, as the film offers no innuendo to cover up the fact that Eddie and Ruby are sleeping together. One of Eddie’s cons goes bad and he ends…
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Nutshell Reviews: Strange Interlude (1932) and The White Sister (1933)
In a Nutshell: Strange Interlude (1932) Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard Co-stars: Norma Shearer, Alexander Kirkland, Ralph Morgan Synopsis: Gable is Dr. Ned Darrell, who has fallen in love with Nina Leeds (Shearer), a free-spirited young woman who is mourning the loss of her love in World War I. Also in love with her are family friend Charlie (Morgan) and Sam (Kirkland), a friend of her deceased boyfriend. Sam proposes to Nina and even though she is still heartbroken, she accepts and decides to move on with her life. Right after their marriage, Sam’s mother (May Robson) tells Nina that she and Sam must never have a child because insanity…
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Gossip Friday: Devoted Mrs. Gable
From February 1941: More and more it’s becoming apparent in Hollywood that one movie career and one only in the family is the rule for happy marriage. With this so apparent, one smart girl, who loves her husband above all else, is taking steps in the right direction. Yes, Carole Lombard, who loves her husband Clark Gable so devotedly, has announced in the future she’ll make only one picture a year. “At the very most, I’ll make three in two years,” Carole said. “I want to be free to join Clark in his between picture vacations.” Maybe Carole has in mind that vacation Bob Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck have been…
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Nutshell Reviews: No Man of Her Own (1932)
In a Nutshell: No Man of Her Own (1932) Directed by: Wesley Ruggles Co-stars: Carole Lombard, Dorothy Mackaill, Grant Mitchell Synopsis: Gable is Jerry “Babe” Stewart, a crooked card shark on the run from a police investigator when he stops in on the sleepy small town of Glendale. There he meets the bored town librarian, Connie Randall (Lombard) who is just waiting for something exciting to happen to her. Their attraction is instant, although she tries to play hard to get. On the flip of a coin, they get married and she accompanies him back To New York, unaware of his seedy occupation. When she does figure out how he…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Clark Gives the Latest News on Gone with the Wind
On December 10, 1939, Clark Gable appeared on The Silver Theater radio show, in a performance called “For Richer, For Richer.” At the end of his performance, the host asked him for the latest news on Gone with the Wind. Clark talks about how he is flying down to Atlanta to be there for the premiere on Friday. Listen here! GWTWSilverTheater121039
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Nutshell Reviews: Red Dust (1932)
In a Nutshell: Red Dust (1932) Directed by: Victor Fleming Co-stars: Jean Harlow, Mary Astor, Gene Raymond Synopsis: Gable is Dennis Carson, a rubber plantation owner in Indochina. His no-nonsense way of life is interrupted by the arrival of Lily, or “Vantine” (Harlow), a sassy prostitute from Saigon who is on the run from the law and wants to lay low for a while. They clash at first but soon are bedfellows. Just as Vantine leaves, overseer Gary Willis (Raymond) and his lovely wife, Barbara (Astor) arrive. Vantine’s boat wrecks and when she returns to the plantation, she finds that Dennis now only has eyes for Barbara. Heartbroken, she watches…