Never Let Me Go

Clark Gable and Gene Tierney are teamed in "Never Let Me Go," a 1953 film.

An American news writer, Philip Sutherland, (Gable) falls in love with a beautiful ballerina Marya, (Tierney), but she isn't allowed to leave Russia with him, despite being given an exit visa.

A desperate Gable devises a plan to smuggle her out. British star Kenneth More plays a friend, Steve, who helps him, and Richard Haydn and Belita play another couple in similar circumstances.

Gable went through a tough time post-war - he returned from the service a widower, in the shadow of Rhett Butler, and well into his forties, older than many of the leading men who had gone into the service.

Men his age had stayed home. Also, MGM hadn't been sitting around waiting - they had new stars. His immediate films post-war aren't memorable.

"Never Let Me Go" is a good romance, however, and a good watch. Gene Tierney is beautiful, if not very Russian, and Gable is earnest and sympathetic as a tough guy who will do anything to reunite with his wife. Thanks to some good acting, one feels invested in these characters.

You have to give it to Gable - his first credited film was in 1931, and when his last film, The Misfits, was released in 1961, he was still a huge star. Despite some so-so movies, he never lost his appeal. "Never Let Me Go" is better than a lot of films MGM gave him during this period.

An odd film but one that is surprisingly watchable and provides an interesting insight into the early stages of the Cold War. The film conveys the menace of the era and the grim, cold and hate filled place that the Soviet Union always was. Indeed from what we now know, one may even regard the film as being soft on the Communists, as the two Russian women in the film who take western husbands would quite likely have been taken off to labour camps (and 90% likely to have been killed therefore) by Stalin's secret police rather than just denied the chance to leave the country.

Some of the acting leaves a little to be desired and Clark Gable particularly seems like he is being forced into a part and a budget that was several sizes too small for him, but nevertheless a worthy and reasonably intelligent effort.

The Anglo-American angle in the film is one I always enjoy, it is always good to see the Brits and the Americans getting together!

To me, the films Clark Gable made in the 1950s are a notch below his prior films. That's because too often Clark played "Clark Gable" (sort of like many of John Wayne's later films) and he didn't veer far from the expected. However, NEVER LET ME GO, dares to be different. While not a great plot, it is interesting and worth seeing. Gable falls for dancer, Gene Tierney, and marries her. However, she is Russian and the government basically holds her hostage and ships Gable out of the country and refuses to renew his VISA. So, Gable organizes a mission where he sneaks into the country to smuggle his wife out from under the commies' noses. While difficult to believe, it is a great curio of the era and illustrates life in the Stalinist era (which ended the same year the film debuted).

I never watch war-like movies. But since Clark Gable starred in it, I knew I had to give it a try. This movie is well rounded because it has romance, drama, and even a little mystery. I'm my own movie critic. I pick apart endings and insist they should have been different! This ending is perfect. Anyone that picks this movie apart should watch boring modern day movies that get their ideas from old movies! And they're never as good!

"Never Let Me Go" is truly Clark Gable's last romantic movie. It shows the hardships on how an American reporter and a Russian ballerina must endure in order to marry and leave Russia. The movie shows how the Russian government interferred with the romance. In real life, Russia would hve done worst things to stop the romance, but this is a Hollywood romantic movie in the 1950's.

Clark Gable and the beautiful Gene Tierney make a beautiful couple and you route for them to escape and live happily ever after. This is a great movie to see on a rainy day or any day. It is on video.