Of all the movies he made, I think The King and Four Queens is the most fitting for Clark Gable. After all, he was dubbed "the King", and throughout the course of the movie, each of the four queens fall prey to his charms. There's a fantastic scene where he tries to warm up to the forbidding mother-in-law, Jo Van Fleet, by getting her to dance. She refuses, but each of her son's widows gladly pass Clark around. At last, we see Jo tapping her feet in spite of herself.
The plot of this entertaining western that mixes comedy, drama, and romance revolves around gold. Con man Clark Gable gets chased out of town, and when he overhears men in the town he's passing through talking about a group of bank robber brothers who hid their stash of gold, he decides to stick around. He makes up a phony story about being friends with the sole surviving brother and tries to get the mother and her four daughters-in-law to trust him enough to tell him where the gold is. He's charming, persuasive, and quick-thinking. It's no wonder wise Eleanor Parker, loose Jean Willes, dumb Barbara Nichols, and pious Sara Shane can't resist him!
With a fantastically rousing western theme from Alex North that gives Clark Gable a great entrance and puts you in the mood for a fun time, this movie is entertaining from start to finish. Each of the girls contributes to the plot, and Jo Van Fleet is unrecognizable as she once again plays someone far older than her real age. I've always liked Barbara Nichols, and found her to be completely interchangeable with Marilyn Monroe, and it was fun to see Jean Willes give a great Ava Gardner impression. Eleanor Parker can always hold your own, but if it's the King you've come to see, you won't be disappointed. He winds everyone (including the audience) around his little finger!
