clark gable Tagged Articles at Cinematical

These days, special features and behind-the-scenes featurettes are an expected part of the movie experience. I know I'm not the only one who has held off on buying bare-bones discs, even if I loved the movie (like, oh, Kill Bill). The hows, the whys, and the real people behind the film are now a part of the experience, and maybe this is why a behind-the-scenes film of Marilyn Monroe on the set of The Misfits is going on the auction block.

Jam! Showbiz reports that On Set with The Misfits -- two color reels of silent footage weighing in at 47 minutes -- will be auctioned off with bids starting between $10,000 and $20,000. It's being listed through Julien's Auctions, appropriately at Planet Hollywood in Vegas. It seems that Stanley Floyd Kilarr (an amateur photographer) shot the scenes during the making of Misfits -- which was the last completed film for both Monroe and Clark Gable. (Clark had his fourth heart attack soon after and died on November 16, 1960.) "The video shows the actors preparing for scenes, chatting with crew members and others on the set, and relaxing between takes."

The best thing about this is that while most of us don't have the cash handy to try and nab it for ourselves, we might still see it. The winning bidder owns the rights and can license it for public media like DVDs and documentaries.

The Guardian is one of my daily must reads, because they often have really interesting articles. Monday brought us a thought-provoking piece on well-known actors who turned down roles other actors became well-known for. The article reveals such tidbits as: Madonna turned down Whitney Houston's role in The Bodyguard opposite Kevin Costner (can you even picture Madonna and Costner getting it on? I don't think he could handle it.) Costner, the article says, was considered for Keanu Reeves' sexiest role, Neo in the Matrix films (Costner in those skintight black suits, leaping around like that? Uh, no.) And my personal fave, Emma Thompson in the role Sharon Stone made famous in Basic Instinct. (As if Emma Thompson would ever want to be most remembered for flashing her hoo-hah on the big screen.)

That got me thinking about other iconic roles and how I associate the star with that role -- the kind of roles I couldn't imagine another actor in. Like Tom Cruise in Top Gun -- would that film have been the same if it had starred, say, Andrew McCarthy or Emilio Estevez? Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable as Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey. Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator. Signourney Weaver as Ripley. Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko. Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in The Shining. William Shatner as Captain Kirk. Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter (OK, that last doesn't really count as high cinema, but who else could have played that role as well?).

What other roles can you think of that are so defined by the actor who played them, you can't imagine someone else in that role?

Director Frank Capra, whose best known film is perhaps It's a Wonderful Life, was born on this day in 1897. Some film historians credit Capra with the invention of the romantic comedy film in 1934: It Happened One Night. The film was the first (and one of the few) to win Oscars in the five major categories: Director, Picture, Actress, Actor, and Screenplay.

It's difficult for me to say much about It Happened One Night because it's such a landmark film that it feels like everything has already been said. If you've seen it, you don't need me to tell you about the wonderful dialogue ("Do you love her?" "Yes, but don't hold it against me. I'm a little screwy myself!"), Clark Gable with his shirt off, Claudette Colbert in men's pajamas, the iconic hitchhiking scene, or Walter Connolly's amusing performance as Colbert's father. If you haven't seen the movie, you've probably seen dozens of movies it influenced, particularly the climactic scene at the wedding. (Some theorize that the movie inspired Fritz Freleng in creating Bugs Bunny.) And if you haven't seen it, you're probably allergic to romantic comedy and don't want to hear much about it -- too bad for you. I first saw this movie in college, at a theater showing classic movies at the end of the semester for 25 cents admission (the long-gone Varsity Theater in Baton Rouge). I fell in love with it instantly and just looking at the above photo makes me want to see the movie again. If you're fond of Thirties movies, It Happened One Night makes a great double-feature paired with another film from the same year, Twentieth Century: both movies share several character actors, and you can argue afterwards about which film was actually the first romantic comedy.