Diane and her Book Club just finished reading All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani, a novel about Hollywood. Clark Gable plays a key role in the book during the filming of The Call of the Wild (1935). Diane and I had never seen The Call of the Wild so we acquired a copy and watched it. But, before we watched it, I read Jack London’s classic novel that the movie is based on. As you might remember, the book is narrated by Buck, the dog. The character Clark Gable plays in the movie doesn’t appear until halfway into the novel. The plot is concerns the Yukon gold rush. Everyone is looking for a lost gold mine. Twenty-one year old Loretta Young is luminous in The Call of the Wild. There’s some real chemistry between Gable and Young. If you haven’t seen this film, it’s worth viewing. GRADE; B+
I didn’t know this was out on Blu-ray – thanks George, any film from this era in High Def is always high up on my list of possible acquisitions!
Sergio, the picture on this Blu-ray still has two parallel black spaces on either side of the picture. This is film from 1935 after all. But the B&W looks crisp!
Director William Wellman was perfectly suited to this story.
Dan, Wellman produced a very watchable picture!
I think I read somewhere that it was during the filming of this movie that Loretta Young and Clark Gable began an affair (the truth may be more–or less–complicated and involve what we now would call “date rape”) which resulted in Young’s (well-concealed) pregnancy and subsequent “adoption” of her daughter Judy (who only met Gable once and did not know of her true parentage until very late in life). So when you watch the scenes of Gable and Young together, think of what was going on when the cameras stopped rolling!
Deb, much of what you describe takes place in ALL THE STARS IN THE HEAVENS. Loretta Young looks luminous in this film. I want to drop everything and watch some Loretta Young movies!
Deb beat me to it. I was going to comment on your “real chemistry” comment. Apparently, their daughter was easily recognizable by the resemblance between her ears and Gable’s. Although it seems to me there is quite a difference between “they fell in love” and “date rape.”
Jeff, Diane was appalled at Clark Gable’s behavior, too. But Loretta Young lived a surprisingly turbulent life.
Despite the somewhat “click bait-y” headline, this is a fairly interesting overview of the Young-Gable relationship: https://www.buzzfeed.com/annehelenpetersen/loretta-young?utm_term=.qeAv2lmye#.ynYDrqGVe
Deb, thanks for the link! Sounds like “date-rape” to me.
If I watch it, I DON’T want to think about what might be going on off camera. I watch films for what is happening ON camera. Examining who did what with whom, when and where and why just ruins my enjoyment of the film. For me, a movie is a self-contained experience.
I just finished reading a massive Jack London biography. The guy was truly amazing. Died at about 40, but he lived more than most people who live to be 100.
Bill, I remember reading a bio of Jack London when I was a teenager. Like you say, the guy lived Large. I’m also a fan of London’s THE SEA WOLF.
Going to repeat what Deb said. And yes, she was gorgeous, wasn’t she? I almost remember her TV show when she would sweep through the door to begin the show.
Patti, I watched those LORETTA YOUNG SHOW episodes as a kid. She cast a spell on me early on from 1953 to 1961.
I hadn’t heard of this movie, that I remember. When I restart netflix after Bcon, I’ll put it in the queue
Maggie, I found THE CALL OF THE WILD entertaining, especially for a movie from 1935.
What I remember most about the Loretta Young TV show is a family tragedy. We went to visit a cousin of my father’s and his family on Long Island. (This was ca. 1961.) The “kids” watched this show while the adults did whatever adults do (knowing the people involved, drank a lot is my guess).
Not long thereafter (a week?) we got word that my cousin (a few months older than me) has sledding in her back yard and slammed into a big rock. She seemed OK so nothing was done, but it turned out she’d ruptured her spleen and later died on the operating table.
I’ve associated this with the TV show ever since.
Jeff, what a tragic accident! But they didn’t have CT scans or MRIs back then. Plenty of internal damage was hidden.
It’s a very good book, but a lot is – naturally enough – left out of the film. I’ve read it a couple of times, and saw the film on TCM years ago. No black lines, because it was an “old size” TV.
Rick, I read a lot of Jack London as a kid. We read THE CALL OF THE WILD in school but I went beyond that with WHITE FANG and THE SEA WOLF and London’s wonderful short stories.
Irving Stone wrote a bio of London that I read 40 years ago. Martin Eden is my favorite novel of his-its very autobiographical. His short story To Build A Fire is another favorite of mine.
Steve, I’m a big admirer of “To Build a Fire.” I saw a short film based on it and loved it.
Don’t forget “The Shadow and The Flash”