7/14/11

The Clark Gable Show

That's what it's been around my tv the last couple days, and that is not a bad thing at all. Especially not after Cavalcade, which has been my least favorite film in the series since Wings. It's barely worth mentioning, honestly: Men go to war! Women sit around and fret! The world changes! Women sit around and fret some more! All this without Clara Bow to delight me? Awful.

Happily, my reward for sitting through Cavalcade was a double feature starring my boyfriend Clark Gable, who I have loved desired greatly admired for purely artistic, actor-y reasons since I saw Gone With the Wind. And like it or not, I do like Frank Capra -- so sappy, still so good. (Growing up here probably has something to do with that, too.) So It Happened One Night felt like dessert.

And then we came to Mutiny on the Bounty. On one hand, you see a lot less of Clark Gable in favor of characters who are far less attractive interesting. On the other hand, it's still Clark Gable. Seriously, I was born 80 years too late. In actual movie review news, I'm noticing that almost all the films from these early years have trouble ending in a succinct, satisfying manner, at least by today's standards. I didn't need the last half hour of Mutiny -- the details about how the castaways found their way home, the trial and its long monologues.

Were these also examples of scenes in which Clark Gable was noticeably absent? Yes. Yes they were.

Best Picture Death Race: 7 films seen; 75 to go.

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