Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. 2013 review:
Mr. Gable was bought and paid for by his first wife (his acting coach). She paid to get his teeth repaired and his ears surgically pinned back. Ms. Davies was bought and paid for by a famous publisher. Davies and Gable were set for Hollywood careers. We can in 2013 still see this great pair's performance preserved on screen.
Sinful woman loves a minister, in The Little Minister (Katharine Hepburn, 1934). A gypsy, no doubt. Naturally, the church is horrified. This film came to mind as I watched Polly (a "sinful" circus performer) get attracted to Gable.
Contrast "Polly" with 1936's "San Francisco". Gable is a sleazy nightclub owner, and Spencer Tracy plays the clergy. Gable wants singer Jeanette MacDonald to dress in a skimpy outfit (shades of Polly!), but Tracy sez ixnay. Gable gets converted to religion, after the SF Earthquake.
I realized that Marion would not do her own flying-trapeze stunts here. She made quite a lovely picture, standing on the high platform. Gowns by Adrian? The white pants on the elephant were hilarious, and quite a nice touch.
10/10
Update May 4, 2017:
This was from a 1907 story by Margaret Mayo. Polly was a "circus riding girl" -- an equestrienne standing on the back of the horse Bingo while he ran inside the circus ring. This was an anathema to the church, when Polly met the minister.
The real Polly's injury was from falling off Bingo. John Douglas was the minister. Hartley was the last name of the doctor. Mandy, African American, assisted Douglas in nursing Polly back to health -- not Irish Mrs. Jennings, as in this film.
A church deacon is the big troublemaker in the original story, not the minister's uncle as shown in this film.
Looking closely at the in-flight trapeze footage in this film, I see who looks like the famous Alfredo Codona actually doing the (deadly triple) in-air transfers.
Versatile Gable played many character types. He made tons of films in the early sound and pre-code era, playing opposite sirens such as Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford. All actors need to portray sleazy, swashbuckling or nice guy types. Gable could do it all. You can think of Red Dust, It Happened One Night and Mutiny on the Bounty.
Not bad for a boy from the coal mining era in our state of Ohio. I have visited his childhood home, and it is chock full of personal Gable memorabilia. Huuuuuuuuge there is Gone With the Wind. For a fee, the tour guide showed Gable's blue 1950s Cadillac on display in the garage.
Mr. Gable was bought and paid for by his first wife (his acting coach). She paid to get his teeth repaired and his ears surgically pinned back. Ms. Davies was bought and paid for by a famous publisher. Davies and Gable were set for Hollywood careers. We can in 2013 still see this great pair's performance preserved on screen.
Sinful woman loves a minister, in The Little Minister (Katharine Hepburn, 1934). A gypsy, no doubt. Naturally, the church is horrified. This film came to mind as I watched Polly (a "sinful" circus performer) get attracted to Gable.
Contrast "Polly" with 1936's "San Francisco". Gable is a sleazy nightclub owner, and Spencer Tracy plays the clergy. Gable wants singer Jeanette MacDonald to dress in a skimpy outfit (shades of Polly!), but Tracy sez ixnay. Gable gets converted to religion, after the SF Earthquake.
I realized that Marion would not do her own flying-trapeze stunts here. She made quite a lovely picture, standing on the high platform. Gowns by Adrian? The white pants on the elephant were hilarious, and quite a nice touch.
10/10
Update May 4, 2017:
This was from a 1907 story by Margaret Mayo. Polly was a "circus riding girl" -- an equestrienne standing on the back of the horse Bingo while he ran inside the circus ring. This was an anathema to the church, when Polly met the minister.
The real Polly's injury was from falling off Bingo. John Douglas was the minister. Hartley was the last name of the doctor. Mandy, African American, assisted Douglas in nursing Polly back to health -- not Irish Mrs. Jennings, as in this film.
A church deacon is the big troublemaker in the original story, not the minister's uncle as shown in this film.
Looking closely at the in-flight trapeze footage in this film, I see who looks like the famous Alfredo Codona actually doing the (deadly triple) in-air transfers.
Versatile Gable played many character types. He made tons of films in the early sound and pre-code era, playing opposite sirens such as Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford. All actors need to portray sleazy, swashbuckling or nice guy types. Gable could do it all. You can think of Red Dust, It Happened One Night and Mutiny on the Bounty.
Not bad for a boy from the coal mining era in our state of Ohio. I have visited his childhood home, and it is chock full of personal Gable memorabilia. Huuuuuuuuge there is Gone With the Wind. For a fee, the tour guide showed Gable's blue 1950s Cadillac on display in the garage.