REVIEW POTPOURRI: Clark Gable, William F. Buckley Jr. & Alma Gluck

by Peter Cates

Clark Gable

Clark Gable

Clark Gable (1901-1960) might not have achieved the same level of greatness as, for example, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Rod Steiger, George C. Scott and, among the living, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branaugh, when it came to getting inside the skin of a range of different characters; but he had an on-screen charisma in his portrayal of the same charming, arrogant character in every film I ever saw of his.

They include Call of the Wild with Loretta Young, Soldier of Fortune with Susan Hayward, Teacher’s Pet with Doris Day, Command Decision with Van Johnson and last, but far from least, Gone with the Wind with Sir Lawrence Olivier’s then-wife Vivian Leigh; I had my first viewing of it at the long gone Winslow Drive-In during the summer of 1961.

His first appearance in the now legendary role of Rhett Butler is at the foot of the long staircase at the Tara plantation. He’s staring up at Vivian’s Scarlet O’Hara and this first eye contact sows some very turbulent seeds of ballistic romance.

One critic referred to Gable’s presence as brutally masculine. He was a man among men and hunted and fished. Yet he was also a voracious reader, had a huge library of books and absolutely did not want his men friends knowing about this hobby.

Gable was married five times, including a much publicized second one to actress Carole Lombard, who perished in a 1942 plane crash in Nevada.

He died in November 1960, at the age of 59, after suffering two heart attacks over a ten-day period. His widow was pregnant with his only biological son John Clark Gable, born four months later. Gable also fathered a daughter in 1935 during a brief affair with actress Loretta Young while filming Call of the Wild.

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr.

A 1988 biography, William F. Buckley Jr. Patron Saint of the Conservatives, by John B. Judis, proved a fascinating book to browse in. Buckley (1925-2008) brought a wit and intellectual brilliance to conservative thinking via the weekly magazine he founded in 1955, National Review, and his television show Firing Line. His nice guy debating skills both thrilled and terrified those on the other side of a given issue.

In 1965, Buckley ran as an independent in a three-way race against Democrat contender Abe Beame and Republican winner John Lindsay. Buckley wrote the following sardonic quote about Lindsay:

“For some people, politics is the ultimate concern. Of them, it can be said that they are serious about politics, in the sense in which Mr. John Lindsay is serious about politics. He is as serious about politics as, for instance, a flagpole-sitter is serious about flagpoles. Politics sustains Mr. Lindsay, even as the flagpole sustains the flagpole-sitter. Others care less for politics than for the end of politics. We climb flagpoles, but only in order to look at the horizon.”

Alma Gluck

Alma Gluck

A 12-inch acoustic shellac disc (Victrola Red Seal 88434) from 1914 features soprano Alma Gluck (1884-1938) in a collaboration with her husband, violinist Efrem Zimbalist (1889-1985), and pianist Eugene Lutsky performing Braga’s Angel’s Serenade, a frequently recorded concert piece during the World War I years. Gluck had one of the most beautiful voices of that era and sang a wide range of music including opera, hymns and folk songs.

They were the parents of actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and the grandparents of actress Stephanie Zimbalist.

This very fine record can be heard via YouTube.

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