Clark's Chemistry

I think we can all comfortably say that Clark Gable is one of -- if not the -- best actor of all time. Yet what I've noticed is that, despite all his talent, there rarely seems to be chemistry between him and his on-screen love interest.

Tonight I watched The Misfits, which was the last performance of both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. The film lacked the wit and clutch hold classics from the 1960s had, and instead is just a slight step down memory lane. There are a few problems with this film, primarily why the 35 year-old Marilyn Monroe, a kind-hearted city girl, would choose to end the movie with the 60 year-old Clark Gable, who is a cowboy at heart and only wants the thrill of catching horses and selling them to be made into dog food. Sure, at the end of the film we get some 'realizations,' but it seems Marilyn would have been much better off with the great Montgomery Cliff, who seems to understand her far better than Clark ever would. But Gable had the higher billing, so he gets the girl.

Let's go back to a younger Gable. Everyone should have seen It Happened One Night, which is arguably one of the best films of all time. Here Gable was 33 years-old, and his co-star Claudette Colbert was 29, which is much more reasonable. Here, Gable's lack of chemistry is what makes the film all that more believable, because until the very last minutes we don't know what he'll do. But can we imagine Gable simply sweeping Claudette Colbert off her feet like, perhaps, Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart? I cannot.

In perhaps Gable's best performance, his Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind, again his detachment from the women species plays out perfectly. How great, his closing line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." One of the best lines of all time. Would a softer-looking man be able to get away with that? No. We would laugh, thinking, "Yes, you do." We would wait for Vivien Leigh to shut the door, and then to hear a knock ten seconds later, like in so many other movies of that era.

Another perfect performance for this is Mutiny on the Bounty, where there are almost no women in the entire film (correct me if I'm wrong -- I haven't seen this film in a while). With that, there's never any doubting of Gable because his all-man persona is what that film is all about.

I'm sure many will disagree with me, but hey, here I am, just thinking through my keyboard....