Gable and Lombard

Slammed by critics in 1976 for playing loosely with the Hollywood facts (to put it mildly), this expensive, handsome-looking bio-pic regarding the romance between 1930s screen idols Clark Gable and Carole Lombard actually doesn't take the facts into consideration at all. Perhaps starting with the presumption that nobody knows the real dish, screenwriter Barry Sandler concocts a movie star yarn around personalities we mostly remember today through their pictures. Of course, film-historians were quick to point out all the inaccuracies, but I don't think Sandler nor director Sidney J. Furie was preoccupied with the truth. Sandler's Gable and Lombard appear to be based solely on his (and our) movie memories of them both, and leads James Brolin and Jill Clayburgh approach their roles in this precise spirit (particularly Clayburgh, who models her performance on Lombard's performance in "My Man Godfrey"). In a way, this was a novel concept considering that 1930s reality has now been permanently blurred via time and celluloid. Now for the bad news: Sandler's 'plot' spends far too much time on the loving couple having to sneak around since Gable was already married, and their meetings with Louis B. Mayer (Allen Garfield, playing Father Confessor) are pointless. In actuality, Clark and Carole brazenly showed up everywhere together, and the public ate it up. Sticking to the truth in this instance might've served Sandler better than the silly melodrama on display, which mitigates the screwball humor Furie stages at the beginning. This picture is a real mess from a narrative standpoint, and the acting isn't dynamic enough to hold interest. There's a terrible, shapeless sequence wherein Lombard barges into a Women's Press decency meeting yelling, "Cock-a-doodle-do!" and a limp bit in the courtroom with Carole getting blue on the stand (much to everyone's delight). Brolin has Gable's squint, mouth movements and vocal inflection down pat, yet his King is made to be so downtrodden that it comes as a surprise when Lombard expresses rapture over his bedroom prowess (again, in reality, the comedienne once famously confessed she adored 'Pa' but that their sex life was lacking). Had Sandler gone full-throttle with a high-comedy approach, the movie may have been a hoot. However, the phony dramatics overshadow everything in the end--and since the film is useless as a biography, a good portion of "Gable and Lombard" is utterly without purpose. ** from ****

I graduated in 1971 , so when this movie came out in 1976 I was 23 and at a time in my life when showing any emotion was something that only women would do.Then I went to see this movie about Clark Gable and Carol Lombard and it absolutely changed my outlook towards what real love should be.James Brolin was great in portaying Clark,they could not have picked a better actor for the part.Jill Clayburgh was also wonderful and held her own.This movie could lift you up with laughter and then make you wish that the end would never come,and to think it was a true story.This movie never got a fare shake from the critics, which has convenced me to never listen to critics on anything anymore and that really the only critic should be yourself and how you feel about something.I highly recommend this movie to anyone who would like to have a heartfelt experience.I give this movie its 4 star rating it deserves.Thank you , Jon Kodi

Have you ever heard a lie so supremely unbelievable (based upon what you know), you feel insulted and wish the teller were a better liar? That's how I felt suffering through the first 30 minutes of "Gable and Lombard". Historical inaccuracy upon historical inaccuracy tarnishes this telling of the love between two of Hollywood's brightest stars. There' nothing histrionically bad here (despite Clayburgh's terrible miscasting), production values are exceptional; yet movies such as "Gable and Lombard" can be career killers, and the producers deserved to lose every penny they invested. While no one's career was completely killed, James Brolin (who actually does a pretty good job) was never offered another major film role. Sidney J. Furie, who impressed so much with "The Ipcress File," "The Appaloosa" and "Lady Sings the Blues" found himself directing "Superman 4: The Quest for Peace" and the "Iron Eagle" series. Ironically, Jill Clayburgh, given her near inept performance as Carole Lombard, fared the best, snatching up hit roles in "Silver Streak," and Oscar nominations for "An Unmarried Woman" and "Starting Over." Clayburgh's problems playing Lombard are not entirely her fault; Clayburgh is simply not classy enough or pretty enough to play Lombard. Much of Lombard's appeal was her ability to handle vulgar material in a classy way. Coarse language can seem almost charming, depending upon how it's delivered. Lombard could pull it off for the same reasons Katherine Hepburn could do it, because she had the refinement.

Since I didn't finish the movie, I won't rate it. "Gable and Lombard" is okay as fiction, but I would have greatly preferred it had the writer stayed as closely as dramatically possible to the true story.

At first, I could not believe James Brolin was playing Clark Gable, but he is dead on with his portrayal!!! He's a great reason to see this film. I don't know why this film is rated so low. It was sweet, entertaining and the ending was heartbreaking. It was also great to see the implications of not being a "moral" and "upstanding" actor in the film industry during its early years. It shows how much times have changed. It was also fascinating to see if Clark Gable really had a softer side in him, since he was probably the greatest leading man in the history of Hollywood and a symbol of American manhood during his time. In my mind, this film is wonderful.

In the 70s after MGM compiled their wonderful THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT docos highlighting their musical treasure trove, other equally stocked companies decided not to do the same but actually make feature films about the same Hollywood history. So, instead of getting That's Fox or That's Paramount or Universal or Columbia (like the pubic actually wanted...and still do...) we were served new movies about old Hollywood. Enter GABLE AND LOMBARD (and WC Fields and Me, and Day Of The Locust...and Won Ton Ton The Dog That Saved Hollywood...and Hearts Of the West...and The Last Tycoon etc). Not as ominous as the proposed remake of Casablanca starring Tom Selleck and Jane Seymour, and nowhere near as 'bad' or 'wrong' as critics of the time cruelly labeled it, GABLE AND LOMBARD is a lush valentine to a fan mag style and memory of a period in time...rather like the production design of The Talented Mr Ripley is actually reflective of what Hollywood thought the jet set Mediterranean 50s were like as opposed to its fishing boat reality. As with At long Last Love, GABLE AND LOMBARD was slammed by crits and left to drown when without the bile and guffaw, there is a very entertaining biography with quite good casting and sensational visuals. Unfortunately for the producers, it was made when most everyone from the 30s were still alive and could spew on this film. Had it been made today, it would play 3000 multiplexes to a docile audience who struggle to know anything about 'the past' and be a $50million hit in week one by default of the TV ads and shopping center cinema location. I am sad not to see Jill Clayburg in films much past the 70s, like the superb Lee Grant she too can make an ordinary film watchable. In this case we have a great actress in a lavish (slavish) biography with sturdy James Brolin doing his damnedest not to be a dumb-Clark. As with WC Fields And Me this film deserves a better reception and a lush DVD transfer to be re discovered and appreciated. It's quite good.