Clark Gable Collection (Call of the Wild / Soldier of Fortune / The Tall Men)

Clark Gable worked mainly for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the studio that created, developed and nurtured his screen persona. This collection is from 20th Century-Fox, and contains the three films Gable made for Fox, one in the 1930's on loan out from Metro, and two from the mid-1950's after he had parted ways with Metro.None of the three films in the collection is truly great (though it's perhaps unfair to judge "The Call Of The Wild," since the original release print ran longer than the one currently available). Nonetheless I have always had a lot of fondness for all three of these pictures. Basically, they're colorful, well made entertainment, and they have Clark Gable in them.The Tall Men is a really excellent, sharp print. Soldier Of Fortune a bit less so, but not bad at all. Both are in CinemaScope and color. The Call Of The Wild is standard screen, black and white. Gable gives his usual dynamic 1930's performance in this great William A. Wellman production, which de-emphasizes the dog and emphasizes the master - though again, I have no idea what was cut for re-release.Soldier Of Fortune has a screenplay by the author of the book on which it's based - Ernest K. Gann - and Gann not only sticks too closely to his book but also writes dialogue too much like a novelist. The subplots, about some of the denizens of a Hong Kong bar, worked in the book but don't really belong in the film, though they're well done. Sam Goldwyn's old discovery, Anna Sten, is among the cast appearing in these vignettes unrelated to the main story, and she's darn good.Gable went to Hong Kong for the film but his costar, Susan Hayward, had to bow out, so her "location" scenes were faked, back in Hollywood. In fact there's a scene where she briefly walks along a Hong Kong street that's really on the back lot, but if you didn't know you'd swear it was the real thing.Gene Barry co-stars as Hayward's husband, a prisoner of the Red Chinese on the mainland, and the last part of the film is his rescue by Gable and a ragtag band, in an old junk. This sequence is supposed to be exciting but it's very leisurely, as is the entire film. Still, it's an enjoyable piece of colorful Hollywood entertainment, if you don't fight it. The scenes of Hong Kong in the mid-1950's are fantastic, as is Hugo Friedhofer's evocative score.The Tall Men is my favorite of the three. Like Soldier Of Fortune, it's very deliberately paced, and if you pay very close attention you may notice certain plot holes and loose ends. But since this is Gable co-starring with Jane Russell and Robert Ryan, directed by the great Raoul Walsh, with a lot of nice location photography of snowy Montana and hot, dusty western plains (shot in Mexico, I think) the entertainment value overrides everything. Gable and Russell have nice chemistry, and Cameron Mitchell, as Gable's brother, has a nice supporting role. It's all fairly predictable but that doesn't mean it isn't a good time.Victor Young provided one of his last scores and it's very leisurely, so that, rather than helping to give the film some dynamism, it actually slows it down even more. The endless scenes of cattle crossing the screen, accompanied by Young's beautiful, slow theme are almost hypnotic. And yet, somehow, it works! You'll have to see it to know what I mean.This is a worthwhile collection if you're a Gable fan.

All three movies were wonderful.

This Fox series includes my favorite Gable film: "Call of the Wild". Some complain this film bears little resemblance to London's book of the same title. So what. That's Hollywood's license. London's story is just a yarn too, and not nearly as entertaining. Actually, I think of Loretta Young as being the dominant character in this film, as she largely controls the eventual relationships between the main characters. The relationship between Gable, Loretta and her husband near the end of the film is reminiscent of the later "Casablanca", but the emotional content is much more intense because of the personalities and physiques of this duo and the circumstance of appearance of Loretta's husband. Off the screen, Gable developed strong relationahips with both Loretta and Buck, which shows in the film. Gable offered as much as $2000. for the dog, but the owner wouldn't budge. Buck really hated the villain, Reginald Qwen, as he showed in the film. Unlike most of Gable's films, he had a strong sidekick in the form of Jack Oakie, which is one reason I like this film. Initially, Gable was reluctant to do a film with Oakie, a notorious scene stealer. Most people seem to miss the main lesson of this film. Gable, Oakie, and Buck represent a team of legitimate,if rather primitive, venture capitalists. They try to grab as much as they can, but within limits of respectability, and they are loyal to their partners. Villain Owens represents the worst type of pretentious cutthroat robber baron, who ruthlessly eliminates his competition and disposes of his associates when they are no long essential to his ambitions. Loretta's ethos is "You get what you disserve, and no more": Jack London's supposed socialist ethos. When it comes to the choice between Gable and her husband, she exercises this ethos, to Gable's chagrin. This is a fun film to watch: great adventure and comrady, unsurpassed romance and heartbreak. "The Tall Men", made 20 years later and in color, is another frontier adventure-romance. In some repects, it echoes "Call of the Wild". We again have a beautiful woman rescued in a blizzard. At the film ending, she again has to choose between Gable and the other man. But the on again-off again romances between Jane Russell and these two men aren't nearly as convincing as in "Call of the Wild". In some respects, this film recalls "Red River", with its vast cattle herd, long trail drive, problems with Native Americans and jayhawkers and conflicts between its leaders. There is even an echo of director Raoul Walsh's earlier film "Dark Command", in that Gable and his brother evidently had spent some time riding with Quantrill's notorious raiders during the recent Civil War. The female lead again has to choose between a poor down to earth gunslinger and a sophisticated but overambitious rival who wants her for an ornament. "Soldier of Fortune" just isn't my kind of movie. Too comtemporary and tame. However, I found the run with commentary worthwhile. The Gable-Harlow "China Seas", of the 1930s, is a much more entertaining yarn involving Hong Kong, if in B&W. Gable's 1957 MGM movie "Band of Angels" would have been much more desirable as another choice from his late career. This might be thought of as Raoul Walsh's version of "Gone with the Wind"

Really good quality copies and the movies were a lot of fun, especially the Call of the Wild. The Tall Men is an excellent old western.

Included three separate Clark Gable Movies on DVD's. New and great and the price, including shipping was much cheaper than others wanted for just one.

He is the KING and these films help to prove it. A great actor, see GWTW or the last one, The Misfits, and anything in between and you see why he was and still is The King. A great buy here!

The main reason for ordering this collection was to get The Tall Men, my husband actually went to see this movie in 1959 and never forgot it, and since then has always spoken about trying to find it. So we are really pleased with this selection, and has certainly made his day to receive it and watch it, and enjoyed it once again.Thanks to Amazon it has been possible.

like Gable or not, his movies are always entertaining