Editing Clark Gable (section)

===1930–1935: Early success===
[[File:The secret six.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Jean Harlow]] and Gable in ''[[The Secret Six]]'' (1931)]]
In 1930, after his impressive appearance as the seething and desperate character Killer Mears in the Los Angeles stage production of ''[[The Last Mile (play)|The Last Mile]]'', Gable was offered a contract with [[Pathé|Pathé Pictures]]. His only film for them and first role in a [[Sound film|sound picture]] was as the unshaven [[villain]] in their low-budget [[William Boyd (actor)|William Boyd]] [[Western (genre)|Western]], ''[[The Painted Desert]]'' (1931). The studio experienced financial problems after the film's delayed release, so Gable left for work at [[Warner Bros]].<ref name ="spicer"/>{{Rp|58–66}}

The same year in ''[[Night Nurse (1931 film)|Night Nurse]]'', Gable played a villainous chauffeur who knocked [[Barbara Stanwyck]]'s character unconscious for trying to save two children whom he was methodically starving to death. The supporting role was originally slated for [[James Cagney]] until the release of ''[[The Public Enemy]]'' catapulted him to star status. "His ears are too big and he looks like an ape", said Warner Bros. executive [[Darryl F. Zanuck]] about Gable, after testing him for the second male lead in the studio's gangster drama ''[[Little Caesar (film)|Little Caesar]]'' (1931).<ref name="TCM"/> After his failed screen test for Zanuck, Gable was signed in 1930 by MGM's [[Irving Thalberg]] for $650 per week (equivalent to approximately ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|650|1931|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{inflation-fn|US}}).<ref name="spicer" />{{Rp|64}} He hired the well-connected Minna Wallis, a sister of producer [[Hal Wallis]], as his agent, whose clients included actresses [[Claudette Colbert]], Myrna Loy and [[Norma Shearer]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood|last=Leider|first=Emily W.|date=2011|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-25320-9|edition= 1 |jstor=10.1525/j.ctt1ppqr5 }}</ref>

[[File:Hell Divers 1932.jpg|thumb|alt=Three men in aviation outfits are standing facing each other; one is holding the arm of a second back from hitting the third.|Gable's 1932 supporting role in ''[[Hell Divers]]'' was almost as important as [[Wallace Beery]]'s, and he received second billing above the title for the aviation film's [[lobby card]].|240x240px]]
Gable's arrival in Hollywood occurred when MGM was looking to expand its stable of male stars, and he fit the bill. He made two pictures in 1931 with [[Wallace Beery]]. In the first, he had a seventh-billed support role in ''[[The Secret Six]],'' although his role was much larger than the billing would indicate, then he achieved second billing in a part almost as large as the film's star Beery in the naval aviation film ''[[Hell Divers]].'' MGM's publicity manager [[Howard Strickling]] started developing Gable's studio image with ''[[Screenland]]'' magazine playing up his "lumberjack-in-evening-clothes" persona.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfomDwAAQBAJ&q=Gable's+image+lumberjack-in-evening-clothes&pg=PA80 | title=Clark Gable: A Biography | last=Harris | first=Warren G. | date=September 1, 2010 | publisher=Crown/Archetype | page=80 | isbn=978-0-307-55517-5 | language=en}}</ref>

To increasing popularity, MGM frequently paired him with well-established female stars. [[Joan Crawford]] asked for him to appear with her in ''[[Dance, Fools, Dance]]'' (1931). The electricity of the pair was recognized by studio executive [[Louis B. Mayer]], who would not only put them in seven more films but also began reshooting ''Complete Surrender'', replacing [[Johnny Mack Brown|John Mack Brown]] as Crawford's leading man and retitling the film ''[[Laughing Sinners]]'' (1931).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Joan Crawford:A Biography|last=Thomas|first=Bob|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=1978|isbn=978-1-5011-9435-1|location=New York|pages=79–80}}</ref> His fame and public visibility after ''[[A Free Soul]]'' (1931), in which he played a gangster who shoved the character played by Norma Shearer, ensured that Gable never played a supporting role again. He received extensive [[fan mail]] as a result of his performance; the studio took notice.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfomDwAAQBAJ&q=mgm+offers+gable+contract+1930&pg=PA68 | title=Clark Gable: A Biography | last=Harris | first=Warren G. | date=September 1, 2010 | publisher=Crown/Archetype | page=68 | isbn=978-0-307-55517-5 | language=en}}</ref> ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' wrote "A star in the making has been made, one that, to our reckoning, will outdraw every other star ... Never have we seen audiences work themselves into such enthusiasm as when Clark Gable walks on the screen."<ref name="harris"/>{{Rp|80}}

Gable co-starred in ''[[Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)]]'' (1931) with [[Greta Garbo]], and in ''[[Possessed (1931 film)|Possessed]]'' (1931), a film about an illicit romantic affair, with Joan Crawford (who was then married to [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]]). [[Adela Rogers St. Johns]] later dubbed Gable and Crawford's real-life relationship as "the affair that nearly burned Hollywood down".<ref name="harris"/>{{Rp|82}} [[Louis B. Mayer]] threatened to terminate both their contracts, and for a while, they kept apart when Gable shifted his attentions to [[Marion Davies]] as he costarred with her in ''[[Polly of the Circus (1932 film)|Polly of the Circus]]'' (1932).<ref>{{cite book|author1=James Egan|title=3000 Facts about Actors|isbn=978-1-326-70113-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PKp6DQAAQBAJ&q=clark%20gable%20garbo%20snob&pg=PA118|access-date=June 2, 2017|year=2016|publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref> Gable was considered for the role of [[Tarzan]] in ''[[Tarzan the Ape Man (1932 film)|Tarzan the Ape Man]]'', but lost out to [[Johnny Weissmuller]]'s more imposing physique and superior swimming prowess.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfomDwAAQBAJ&q=clark+gable+tarzan&pg=PA82 | title=Clark Gable: A Biography | last=Harris | first=Warren G. | date=September 1, 2010 | publisher=Crown/Archetype | page=82 | isbn=978-0-307-55517-5 | language=en}}</ref> Gable then starred as the romantic lead in ''[[Strange Interlude (film)|Strange Interlude]]'' (1932), again teaming with Shearer, the second of three films they would make together for MGM.
[[File:Gable Harlow Red Dust Publicity.png|left|thumb|Gable in his star-making turn with Jean Harlow in ''Red Dust'' (1932)|alt= A young, platinum blonde woman in a satin dress is draped across a seated young, dark haired man with her arms raised up behind her, reaching behind his neck while his hands are resting on her torso, and he nuzzles her cheek.]]
[[File:Gable-Harlow.JPG|thumb|left|Gable and Harlow in ''Hold Your Man'' (1933), one of the six films they would make together]]

Next, Gable starred with [[Jean Harlow]] in the romantic comedy-drama ''[[Red Dust (1932 film)|Red Dust]]'' (1932) set on a rubber plantation in [[Mainland Southeast Asia|Indochina]]. Gable portrayed a plantation manager involved with Harlow's wisecracking prostitute; however, upon her arrival, Gable's character started to pursue Mary Astor's prim, classy newlywed.
<ref name="Shipman, David 1979"/>{{Rp|134}}
While some critics thought Harlow stole the show,<ref>Tookey, Christopher (1994). ''The Film Critics' Film Guide''. Boxtree Limited, London. p. 700.</ref><ref name="Thomson, David 1994 pg. 317">Thomson, David (1994). ''A Biographical Dictionary of Film''. Martin Secker and Warburg Ltd, London. p. 317.</ref> many agreed that Gable was a natural screen partner.<ref name="Thomson, David 1994 pg. 317"/>

Gable's "unshaven love-making" with [[bra]]less Jean Harlow in ''Red Dust'' made him MGM's most important romantic leading man.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bY0U5YVZoWkC&q=Gable's+unshaven+love-making+with+braless+Jean+Harlow+in+Red+Dust+made&pg=PT90|title=And the Rest Is History: The Famous (and Infamous) First Meetings of the World's Most Passionate Couples|last=Wagman-Geller|first=Marlene|date=January 25, 2011|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-101-47553-9|language=en}}</ref> With Gable established as a star, MGM positioned him in the same manner as Harlow for Myrna Loy, a previously lesser billed actor in [[Night Flight (1933 film)|''Night Flight'']], moving Loy to a costar role in [[Men in White (1934 film)|''Men in White'']], a movie filmed in 1933, though delayed in release due to [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] [[National Legion of Decency|Legion of Decency]] cuts until 1934.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cUUhGfrBPkUC&q=myrna+loy+clark+gable&pg=PA107|title=Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood|last=Leider|first=Emily W.|date=October 3, 2011|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-94963-8|language=en}}</ref> The relationship of a doctor (Gable) and nurse ([[Elizabeth Allan]]) implied intimacy with a resulting complication of pregnancy, a sensitive issue and new image for Gable.

Gable and Harlow were then teamed in ''[[Hold Your Man]]'' (1933), ''[[China Seas (1935 film)|China Seas]]'' (1935), in which the pair were billed above Wallace Beery, and ''[[Wife vs. Secretary]]'' (1936) with Myrna Loy costarring and supported by newcomer [[James Stewart]]. A popular combination on-screen and off, Gable and Harlow made six films together in five years. Their final film together was ''[[Saratoga (1937 film)|Saratoga]]'' (1937), a bigger hit than their previous collaborations. Harlow died during its production. The film was ninety percent completed, and the remaining scenes were filmed with long shots or the use of doubles like [[Mary Dees]]; Gable said he felt as if he were "in the arms of a ghost".<ref name="harris" />{{Rp|179}}

[[File:Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night film trailer.jpg|thumb|Gable and
[[Claudette Colbert]] in ''It Happened One Night'' (1934)]]
When [[MGM]] head [[Louis B. Mayer]] decided that Gable was getting difficult and ungrateful, he loaned Gable out to the lower-rank [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] studio, for one film ''[[It Happened One Night]]'', to teach Gable a lesson, but Columbia wanted him and had paid handsomely for it.<ref name="Harris">Harris 2002, pp. 112–114.</ref> The result was that Gable won the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his 1934 performance in the film. "Critics praised the fast-paced farce that would enter in a whole new romantic genre: the screwball comedy."<ref>Kinn, Earl, and Piazza, Jim (2002). ''The Academy Awards: The Complete History of Oscar''. Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, New York. p. 32.</ref> Gable's career was revitalized by his whimsical, good-natured performance<ref name="Shipman, David 1979"/>{{Rp|223}} and to the director [[Frank Capra]], Gable's character in the film closely resembled his real personality. Gable returned to MGM a bigger star than ever.<ref>Fox, Ken; Ed Grant; Jo Imeson; Andrew Joseph; and Maitland McDonugh (1999). ''The Movie Guide''. Berkley Publishing Group, New York. p. 323.</ref><ref name="GOS"/> From 1934 until 1942, when World War II interrupted his movie career, he was near the top of the box office money-makers lists.<ref name="Shipman, David 1979"/>{{Rp|223}}

[[File:Clark Gable in Mutiny on the Bounty trailer.jpg|thumb|Gable in ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' (1935)]]
Gable's first movie role back at MGM was to portray reluctant leader of mutineers [[Fletcher Christian]], an "Englishman in knickers and a three-cornered hat", one he had to be talked into by friend and producer [[Irving Thalberg]], and of which Gable said "I stink in it" after filming.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/08/leading-men-hollywood-clark-gable/ | title=Leading Men of Hollywood: Clark Gable | work=The Saturday Evening Post | first=Pete | last=Martin | date=August 14, 2017 | access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref> ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' (1935) was a critical and commercial success, receiving eight [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominations. There were three [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] nominations for stars Gable, [[Charles Laughton]] and [[Franchot Tone]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cinemasight.com/awards-history/8th-academy-awards-1935/8th-academy-awards-1935-nominees-and-winners/|title=8th Academy Awards (1935): Nominees and Winners|date=February 6, 2014|website=Cinema Sight by Wesley Lovell|language=en-US|access-date=May 19, 2019}}</ref> and the film won [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], the second of three films in which Gable played a leading role to do so. The film cost $2&nbsp;million and grossed $4.5&nbsp;million, making it one of the top moneymakers that decade.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Balio|first=Tino|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2GJRDwAAQBAJ&q=premiere+mutiny+on+the+bounty+1935&pg=PP126|title=MGM|date=March 14, 2018|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-42967-8|language=en}}</ref> It used life-size replicas of the ''Bounty'' and ''Pandora'', and was partly filmed in [[Catalina Island, California|Catalina]] and [[French Polynesia]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hanson|first=Patricia King|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e024jm9X7gQC&q=mutiny+on+the+bounty+1939+filmed+in+French+Polynesia&pg=PA1118|title=The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1931–1940|date=1993|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-07908-3|language=en}}</ref>