Gable and Lombard (1976)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Sidney J. Furie

Writer:

Barry Sandler (writer)

Release Date:

8 October 1976 (Finland)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

It was the wildest, wackiest love affair Hollywood ever knew.

Plot Keywords:

Plane Crash | Divorce | Celebrity Couple | Ambulance | Hollywood Party

Cast

James Brolin	...	Clark Gable
Jill Clayburgh	...	Carole Lombard
Allen Garfield	...	Louis B. Mayer
Red Buttons	...	Ivan Cooper
Joanne Linville	...	Ria Gable
Melanie Mayron	...	Dixie
Carol McGinnis	...	Noreen
Noah Keen	...	A. Broderick
Alan Dexter	...	Sheriff Ellis (as Alan D. Dexter)
S. John Launer	...	The Judge
William Bryant	...	Colonel
Alice Backes	...	Hedda Hopper
John Lehne	...	Attorney Kramer
Robert Karnes	...	Gable's director
Betsy Jones-Moreland	...	Party guest

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Union Station - 800 N. Alameda Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Clark Gable was indeed sued in a paternity suit and he did wind up in the courtroom. However, 'Carole Lombard' did not come to Gable's defense. Gable was able to prove he was not in England where the conception was said to have taken place and the woman was sent to a year in jail for slandering his name.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Gable drives onto the Paramount lot to talk to Lombard about starring in "No Man Of Her Own" (released in 1932), a billboard outside her dressing room advertises "The Princess Comes Across" - a Lombard picture not produced until four years later.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 52nd Annual Academy Awards (1980) (TV)

Although it's not a great film, it's definitely worth checking out.

This movie was quite maligned when it came out. Since I had been a big fan of both vivacious Jill Clayburgh and the manly James Brolin at the time I went to see it. Since I was a teen, I took a lot of what was portrayed as quite accurate. True it is a mostly fictionalized account of the two stars, but it has got some redeeming qualities. Namely, Brolin's dead on Gable. He is indeed very good, and I kept forgetting that it was not really Clark Gable. Clayburgh, as attractive as she is does not have Lombard's classic beauty or figure, but she's so gosh darn likable as Lombard one can overlook her shortcomings. Seeing it again recently, Jill Clayburgh as Lombard is a stretch, but I felt she put so much into the character, and a better script couldn't have hurt. Physical aspects aside, the two actors have great chemistry, and one gets the impression they are really crazy about each other. It's ashame that neither Brolin or Clayburgh got more to do...the story does meander at times and the film is a tad too long. Although it's not a great film, it's definitely worth checking out. Be on the lookout for Melanie Mayron as Dixie, before she went from frump to vixen.