To Please a Lady (1950)

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

Marge Decker (writer)
Barré Lyndon (writer)

Release Date:

13 October 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

MGM's thrill-a-minute romance of a daredevil and a darling!

Plot Keywords:

Love Hate | Journalist | Arrogance | Stunt Pilot | Indianapolis Speedway

Cast

Clark Gable	...	Mike Brannan
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Regina Forbes
Adolphe Menjou	...	Gregg
Will Geer	...	Jack Mackay
Roland Winters	...	Dwight Barrington
William C. McGaw	...	Joie Chitwood
Lela Bliss	...	Regina's Secretary
Emory Parnell	...	Mr. Wendall
Frank Jenks	...	Press agent
Helen Spring	...	Janie
Bill Hickman	...	Mike's pit crew
Lew Smith	...	Mike's pit crew
Ted Husing	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Newell	...	Hank Harmon (as Billy Newell)
Erville Alderson	...	Newspaper editor (uncredited)
Henry Banks	...	Driver (uncredited)
Morgan Brown	...	Racing Spectator (uncredited)
Hal K. Dawson	...	IMBA promoter (uncredited)
Marcel De la Brosse	...	(uncredited)
Dominic 'Pee Wee' Distarce	...	Driver (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Greengrove race spectator (uncredited)
Cay Forrester	...	(uncredited)
Byron Foulger	...	Shoe fitter (uncredited)
John Gallaudet	...	IMBA promoter (uncredited)
Joe Garson	...	Joe Youghal (uncredited)
Cecil Green	...	(uncredited)
Tom Hanlon	...	Greengrove race announcer (uncredited)
Jerry Hausner	...	(uncredited)
Harry Hayden	...	Bainsville track owner (uncredited)
Holmes Herbert	...	Benson (Regina's butler) (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	Steward #1 (uncredited)
Art Howard	...	Racing Spectator (uncredited)
Frank Hyers	...	(uncredited)
Richard Joy	...	Television voice (uncredited)
Arthur M. Loew Jr.	...	Studio production man (uncredited)
Jack McGrath	...	(uncredited)
John McGuire	...	Newark referee (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Racing Spectator (uncredited)
Carlotta Monti	...	(uncredited)
Ernest Ohman	...	(uncredited)
Anne O'Neal	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Johnnie Parsons	...	Driver (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Steward #2 (uncredited)
Jean Ransome	...	(uncredited)
Marilyn Rich	...	(uncredited)
Tim Ryan	...	(uncredited)
Dick Simmons	...	Regina's radio show announcer (uncredited)
Stephen Soldi	...	Racing Spectator (uncredited)
Johnny Tolan	...	Driver (uncredited)
William H. Welsh	...	Sports announcer (uncredited)

Directed by
Clarence Brown

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Marge Decker		writer
Barré Lyndon		writer

Produced by
Clarence Brown	....	producer

Original Music by
Bronislau Kaper

Cinematography by
Harold Rosson

Film Editing by
Robert Kern

Art Direction by
James Basevi
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Jack Bonar
Ralph S. Hurst
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Helen Rose

Makeup Department
Robert Ewing	....	makeup artist
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carl 'Major' Roup	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording supervisor

Special Effects by
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	special effects
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects

Stunts
Joie Chitwood	....	stunt driver: Clark Gable
J. Lewis Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Peter Ballbusch	....	montage

Other crew
Wilbur Shaw	....	technical advisor
Babe Stapp	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1979) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (re-titled)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Red Hot Wheels (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Arlington Downs Racetrack - 2225 E. Randol Mill Road, Arlington, Texas, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Clark Gable wanted the name of the movie changed because shortly before filming he married Lady Silvia Ashley and did not want people to make comparisons.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the "pit race", the closer shots were filmed with prominent "Mike Brannan" and "Brannan Spl." on the pit wall, but after a cut, the real #17 car is shown in actual race footage, which has no "Mike Brannan Spl." painted on the car just forward of the windshield, a tire obscures most of Joie Chitwood's name on the pit wall, and the pit wall is marked "Wolfe Spl.".

Quotes:

Regina Forbes: It's like the Fourth of July and the heavyweight fight and the World Series all rolled into one.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gable: The King Remembered (1975) (TV)

okay, but wouldn't you think Gable and Stanwyck could have had something else?

Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck star in "To Please a Lady," a 1950 film directed by Clarence Brown. Adolphe Menjou also stars.

It took Gable's career a while to get back on track - excuse the pun - after World War II. He was older than the other matinée idols, he was a grieving widower when he returned from the war, and the indelible image he had created as Rhett Butler would haunt him. It wasn't until the mid-fifties that he really found his groove with some very good films.

This is one of the ordinary type films Gable made during this period, and here he's joined by Barbara Stanwyck as a sharp columnist. She is critical of midget car racer Gable when, during a race, another driver is killed, and he was part of the collision. She basically destroys his career in midget car racing. After some stunt driving, he earns enough to buy a car to enter the big car races. Feeling at first guilty about hurting his career, Stanwyck seeks him out while he's stung driving; they fall for one another, but she can't get past his ruthlessness in competition.

Both stars are very good. Stanwyck did these cold businesswomen well. She's moving here into older women roles, her wonderful figure intact.

There is a lot of speedway racing in this film.

This movie is pleasant enough, but it would have been nice if stars of this stature could have been given a really top-notch script and production values.