Editing Clark Gable (section)

== Career ==
=== 1924–1930: Stage and silent films ===
[[File:Machinal-Johann-Gable-1928-crop.jpg|thumb|alt=A young woman in a slip dress is kneeling on a bed while smiling at the young man clasping her hands, who is laying in a prone position in a dress shirt and pants and is smiling back.|In 1928's ''[[Machinal]]'' with [[Zita Johann]], Gable was lauded as "young, vigorous, and brutally masculine" by one critic.]]
Gable and Dillon traveled to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] in 1924. Dillon became his manager and also his wife; she was 17 years his senior.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Brett L. Abrams|title=Hollywood Bohemians: Transgressive Sexuality and the Selling of the Movieland Dream|isbn=978-0-7864-8247-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV0b2o-XTq4C&q=clark%20gable%20Josephine%20Dillon%20wife%20manager&pg=PA72|access-date=June 2, 2017|date=November 21, 2014|publisher=McFarland }}</ref> He changed his stage name from W. C. Gable to Clark Gable<ref name="harris"/>{{Rp|29}} and appeared as an [[Extra (acting)|extra]] in such silent films as [[Erich von Stroheim]]'s ''[[The Merry Widow (1925 film)|The Merry Widow]]'' (1925), ''[[The Plastic Age (film)|The Plastic Age]]'' (1925) starring [[Clara Bow]], and ''[[Forbidden Paradise]]'' (1924) starring [[Pola Negri]]. He appeared in a series of two-reel comedies called ''The Pacemakers'' and in Fox's ''[[The Johnstown Flood (1926 film)|The Johnstown Flood]]'' (1926). He also appeared as a bit player in a series of shorts.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Anthony Slide|title=Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins|isbn=978-1-61703-475-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-caBwAAQBAJ&q=clark%20gable%20bit%20player&pg=PA13|access-date=June 2, 2017|date=September 5, 2012|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi }}</ref> However, he was not offered any major film roles, so he returned to the stage in ''What Price Glory?'' (1925).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hjvqp_Y2VL4C&q=acting+coach+Josephine+Dillon+was+a+theater+manager+in+Portland&pg=PA27|title=Clark Gable, in Pictures: Candid Images of the Actor's Life|last=Spicer|first=Chrystopher J.|date=October 14, 2011|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-8714-1|language=en}}</ref>

He became lifelong friends with [[Lionel Barrymore]], who initially scolded Gable for what he deemed amateurish acting but nevertheless urged him to pursue a stage career.<ref name="harris"/>{{Rp|36}}<ref>{{cite web| url = http://asp6new.alexanderstreet.com/atho/atho.detail.people.aspx?personcode=per0015952| title = Clark Gable – ''North American Theatre Online''}}</ref> During the 1927–28 theater season, he acted with the Laskin Brothers Stock Company in [[Houston]], Texas; while there, he played many roles, gained considerable experience, and became a local matinee idol.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.papercitymag.com/home-design/clark-gable-houston-house-demolished-413-hyde-townhomes/|title=Legendary Actor's Old Montrose Home Completely Demolished: Another Historic Bungalow is Gone with the Wind, Making Way for Townhomes|date=August 1, 2018|website=PaperCity Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=October 11, 2019}}</ref> He then moved to New York City, where Dillon sought work for him on Broadway. He received good reviews in ''[[Machinal]]'' (1928), with one critic describing him as "young, vigorous, and brutally masculine".<ref name="harris"/>{{Rp|49}}

Gable and Dillon separated, filing for divorce in March 1929, while he began working on the play ''Hawk Island'' in New York which ran for 24 performances.<ref name ="spicer"/>{{Rp|56–57}} In April 1930, Gable's divorce became final, and a few days later he married Texas [[socialite]] Maria Franklin Prentiss Lucas Langham, nicknamed "Ria". After moving to California, they were married again in 1931, possibly due to differences in state legal requirements.

===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>

=== 1936–1939: Tracy collaborations and ''Gone with the Wind'' ===
[[File:Test Pilot 4 1938.jpg|thumb|240px|right|[[Lobby card]] for ''[[Test Pilot (film)|Test Pilot]]'' (1938)]]
Gable made three pictures with [[Spencer Tracy]], which boosted Tracy's career and permanently cemented them in the public mind as a team. ''[[San Francisco (1936 film)|San Francisco]]'' (1936), with [[Jeanette MacDonald]], featured Tracy for only 17 minutes in an [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Oscar]]-nominated portrayal of a Catholic priest who knocks Gable down in a boxing ring.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/06/27/archives/san-francisco-at-the-capitol-is-a-stirring-film-of-the-barbary.html|title=' San Francisco', at the Capitol, Is a Stirring Film of the Barbary Coast – Other New Pictures.|last=Nugent|first=Frank S.|date=June 27, 1936|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 20, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Leslie|first=Roger|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7UsDwAAQBAJ&q=san+francisco+film+tracy+nomination&pg=PA154|title=Oscar's Favorite Actors: The Winningest Stars (and More Who Should Be)|date=June 26, 2017|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-6956-4|language=en}}</ref> The film was a box office hit and remains the third-highest-grossing film of Gable's career. Their next film together was the Academy Award–nominated box office success ''[[Test Pilot (film)|Test Pilot]]'' (1938), with Myrna Loy, who made seven pictures with Gable. He plays Jim Lane, the test pilot of the title; Tracy is his [[sidekick]] mechanic, Gunner Morse.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1937/film/reviews/test-pilot-1200411578/|title=Test Pilot|date=January 1, 1938|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=November 17, 2019}}</ref>

For their final film, 1940's ''[[Boom Town (film)|Boom Town]]'', Tracy would play a larger role, with billing directly under Gable and above Claudette Colbert and [[Hedy Lamarr]]. The picture, a lavish epic about two oil wildcatters who become partners then rivals, was a box office success, earning $5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2GJRDwAAQBAJ&q=boom+town+1940+a+huge+hit&pg=PP154|title=MGM|last=Balio|first=Tino|date=March 14, 2018|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-42967-8|language=en}}</ref> Gable and Tracy were off-screen friends; Tracy was one of the few Hollywood industry luminaries who attended Lombard's private funeral.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DrsDia1T8WIC&q=clark+gable+sylvia+ashley+unhappy+marriage&pg=PA209|title=Katharine Hepburn: A Remarkable Woman|last=Edwards|first=Anne|date=April 8, 2000|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-20656-7|language=en}}</ref> After ''Boom Town'' no more Gable-Tracy partnerships were possible; Tracy's success led to a new contract and both stars had conflicting stipulations requiring top billing in MGM movie credits and on promotional posters.<ref name="Shipman, David 1979"/>{{Rp|224}}

{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| width     = 200
| image1    = Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh - Wind.jpg
| caption1  = Gable and [[Vivien Leigh]] in ''[[Gone With the Wind (film)|Gone With the Wind]]'' (1939)
| image2    = Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind trailer.jpg
| caption2  = {{center|Gable as Rhett Butler}}
| image3    = Gable-Leigh GWTW-b.jpg
| alt3  = a man and woman in profile are in a passionate embrace as if about to kiss
| caption3  = Gable and Vivien Leigh strike an amorous pose in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939)
}}
Despite his reluctance to play the role, Gable is best known for his Oscar-nominated performance in the Academy Award-winning best picture ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' (1939). [[Carole Lombard]] may have been the first to suggest that he play [[Rhett Butler]] (and she play [[Scarlett O'Hara|Scarlett]]) when she bought him a copy of the best-seller, which he refused to read.<ref name="harris"/>{{Rp|164}} His total salary was $117,917 for the film (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|117917|1939|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{inflation-fn|US}}).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heller |first1=Corinne |title=Celeb Salaries, Then and Now: Kaley Cuoco's $900k Payday Could Have Been Just $1,500 in the '60s |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/846787/celebrity-salaries-then-and-now-includes-kaley-cuoco-and-jennifer-lawrence |website=eonline |date=April 28, 2017 |publisher=ENews |access-date=26 June 2023}}</ref>

Butler's last line in ''Gone with the Wind'', "[[Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn]]", is one of the most famous lines in movie history.<ref name=APC /> Gable was an almost immediate favorite for the role of Rhett with both the public and producer [[David O. Selznick]]. Since Selznick had no male stars under long-term contract, he needed to negotiate with another studio to borrow an actor. [[Gary Cooper]] was Selznick's first choice.<ref name="DOS" /> When Cooper turned down the role of Butler, he was quoted as saying, "''Gone With the Wind'' is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood history. I'm glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling flat on his nose, not me."<ref name="DPF" /> By then, Selznick had become determined to hire Gable, and set about finding a way to borrow him from MGM. Gable was wary of potentially disappointing an audience that had decided that no one else could play the part. He later conceded, "I think I know now how a fly must react after being caught in a spider's web."<ref name="harris" />{{Rp|189}}

According to Lennie Bluett, an extra in the film, Gable almost walked off the set when he discovered the studio facilities were segregated and signage posted "White" and "Colored".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/stormyweatherlif00gavi|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/stormyweatherlif00gavi/page/100 100]|quote=clark gable gone with the wind.|title=Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne|last=Gavin|first=James|date=June 23, 2009|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4391-6425-9|language=en}}</ref> Gable phoned the film's director [[Victor Fleming]] and told him, "If you don't get those signs down, you won't get your Rhett Butler." The signs were then taken down.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T4MtDwAAQBAJ&q=clark+gable+gone+with+the+wind+whites+only+signs&pg=PT43|title=Backwards and in Heels: The Past, Present And Future Of Women Working In Film|last=Malone|first=Alicia|date=August 15, 2017|publisher=Mango Media Inc.|isbn=978-1-63353-618-0|language=en}}</ref> Gable tried to boycott the ''Gone with the Wind'' premiere in segregated [[Atlanta]], because African American actors [[Hattie McDaniel]] and [[Butterfly McQueen]] were not permitted to attend. He reportedly only went after McDaniel pleaded with him to go.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/oscars-first-black-winner-accepted-774335|title=Oscar's First Black Winner Accepted Her Honor in a Segregated 'No Blacks' Hotel in L.A.|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=February 19, 2015|access-date=December 21, 2019}}</ref> They appeared in several more films, remaining life-long friends and he always attended her Hollywood parties.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Philip C. DiMare|title=Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia|isbn=978-1-59884-297-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0qUJ-JuSPdQC&q=clark%20gable%20McDaniel%20hollywood%20parties&pg=PA740|access-date=June 2, 2017|date=June 17, 2011|publisher=Abc-Clio }}</ref>

Gable did not want to shed tears for the scene after Rhett inadvertently causes Scarlett to miscarry their second child.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/73mar/wind3.htm|title=Gone With the Wind – 73.03 (Part Three)|website=www.theatlantic.com|access-date=November 28, 2019}}</ref> [[Olivia de Havilland]] made him cry, later commenting, "Oh, he would not do it. He would not! Victor (Fleming) tried everything with him. He tried to attack him on a professional level. We had done it without him weeping several times and then we had one last try. I said, 'You can do it, I know you can do it, and you will be wonderful{{nbsp}}...' Well, by heaven, just before the cameras rolled, you could see the tears come up at his eyes and he played the scene unforgettably well. He put his whole heart into it."<ref name="BAL" /> The role was one of Gable's most layered performances and partially based on the personality of director and friend Fleming.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/05/25/the-real-rhett-butler|title=The Real Rhett Butler|last=Denby|first=David|magazine=The New Yorker|date=May 18, 2009|access-date=October 19, 2019|issn=0028-792X}}</ref>

Years later, Gable said that whenever his career would start to fade, a re-release of ''Gone with the Wind'' would soon revive his popularity, and he continued as a top leading actor for the rest of his life. One reissue publicized "Clark Gable never tires of holding Vivien Leigh".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ug3MDAAAQBAJ&q=variety+movie+grosses&pg=PA364|title=Coming Back to a Theater Near You: A History of Hollywood Reissues, 1914–2014|last=Hannan|first=Brian|date=May 25, 2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-9813-0|language=en}}</ref>

=== 1939–1942: Established star ===
Between his marriage to Lombard and her death, Gable again costarred with Norma Shearer in the World War II romantic intrigue film, ''[[Idiot's Delight (film)|Idiot's Delight]]'' (1939). He plays a nightclub singer that doesn't recognize former love (Shearer) while Nazis are closing in on guests at a hotel on the brink of war. The film is memorable for Gable's song and dance routine, "Puttin' on the Ritz" and an alternative ending.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780452289789|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780452289789/page/13 13]|quote=Idiots delight.|title=Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide|last1=Maltin|first1=Leonard|last2=Sader|first2=Luke|last3=Clark|first3=Mike|date=2008|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-452-28978-9|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Clark Gable and Joan Crawford in 'Strange Cargo', 1940.jpg|thumbnail|left|Gable and Crawford in ''Strange Cargo'' (1940)]]
Gable also starred in ''[[Strange Cargo (1940 film)|Strange Cargo]]'' (1940), a romantic drama with [[Joan Crawford]], costarring [[Peter Lorre]] and [[Ian Hunter (actor)|Ian Hunter]].<ref name="Shipman, David 1979"/>{{Rp|134}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/04/26/archives/the-screen-strange-cargo-lands-at-capitolpalace-has-ma-hes-making.html|title=THE SCREEN; Strange Cargo' Lands at Capitol—Palace Has 'Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me'--Foreign Film Opens|last=Crisler|first=B. r|date=April 26, 1940|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 1, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The film's focus is on Gable and [[Devil's Island|French Devil's Islands]] convicts in an escape from the penal colony, who on the way pick up a local entertainer (Crawford) whom Gable had met earlier in the movie.<ref name="Kay, Eddie Dorman 1990 pg.14">Kay, Eddie Dorman (New York, 1990). "Box Office Champs: The Most Popular Movies from the Last 50 Years", M & M Books. pg.14.</ref> In their eighth and last film together, Gable and Crawford "again demonstrated their on-screen magic" and the film was among the top ten grossing films for the year.<ref name="Kay, Eddie Dorman 1990 pg.14" />

Gable then made his first film with 20-year old Lana Turner, a newcomer whom MGM saw as a successor for both Crawford and the now-deceased Jean Harlow.<ref name="Shipman, David 1979"
/>{{Rp|545}} ''[[Honky Tonk (1941 film)|Honky Tonk]]'' (1941) is a western where Gable's con-man/gambler character romances Turner, a prim, young judge's daughter.<ref>Thomson, David (London, 1994). "A Biographical Dictionary of Film", Martin Secker and Warburg Ltd, pg. 761.</ref>
,<ref name="Shipman, David 1979"/>{{Rp|545}} Gable had been reluctant to act opposite the younger Turner in the required romantic scenes. But their chemistry served them well in this and three later films, with ''Honky Tonk'' finishing third at the box office that year.<ref>"w Office Champs: The Most Popular Movies from the Last 50 Years", M & M Books. pgs.18–19.</ref>

Since the couple had been popular with the public, Gable and Turner were quickly paired again in ''[[Somewhere I'll Find You]]'' (1941) as war correspondents who travel to the Pacific theatre and get caught up in a Japanese attack.
<ref name="Shipman, David 1979"/>{{Rp|224}} The movie was another hit finishing No. 8 at the box office for 1942.<ref>"Box Office Champs: The Most Popular Movies from the Last 50 Years", M & M Books. pg.19.</ref> Film historian David Thomson wrote the quality of his movies after ''Gone With the Wind'' "hardly befitted a national idol" and began a career decline for Gable.<ref>Thomson, David (London, 1994). "A Biographical Dictionary of Film", Martin Secker and Warburg Ltd. pg. 272.</ref><ref name="Thomson 2010">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2NCODQAAQBAJ&q=david+thomson+clark+gable&pg=PA360|title=The New Biographical Dictionary of Film|last=Thomson|first=David|date=2010|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|isbn=978-0-307-27174-7|language=en}}</ref>

=== 1942–1944: World War II ===
{{for|details of Gable's combat missions|RAF Polebrook#Hollywood at Polebrook}}

[[File:Clark Gable 8th-AF-Britain1943.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Gable with an [[8th Air Force]] [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]] in England, 1943]]
On August 12, 1942, following Lombard's death and his completion of the film ''Somewhere I'll Find You'', Gable joined the [[United States Army]], under the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-archives-clark-gable-joins-the-army-20190102-htmlstory.html|title=From the Archives: Clark Gable joins the Army|date=January 2, 2019|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=October 5, 2019}}</ref> Lombard had suggested that Gable enlist as part of the war effort, but MGM was reluctant to let him go. Commanding General of the U.S. Army Air Forces [[Henry H. "Hap" Arnold]] offered Gable a "special assignment" with the [[First Motion Picture Unit]] following basic training.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0P04JuMSM8C&q=gable+joins+first+motion+picture+unit+wwii&pg=PA594|title=The Home Front Encyclopedia: United States, Britain, and Canada in World Wars I and II|last=Ciment|first=James|date=2007|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-849-5|language=en}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Star]]'' reported that Gable took a physical examination at [[Bolling Field]] on June 19, preliminary to joining the service.

<blockquote>"Mr. Gable, it was learned from a source outside the war department, conferred with Lieutenant General H. H. Arnold, head of the air forces yesterday." ''The Star'' continued, "It was understood that Mr. Gable, if he is commissioned, will make movies for the air forces. Lieutenant [[James Stewart|Jimmy Stewart]], another actor in uniform, has been doing this."<ref>Associated Press, "Gable Tested For Air Corps", ''The Spokesman-Review'', Spokane, Washington, June 20, 1942, Vol. 60, No. 37, p. 5.</ref></blockquote>

Gable had expressed an earlier interest in [[officer candidate school]], with the intention of becoming an aerial gunner upon enlisting in [[bomber]] training school. MGM arranged for his studio friend, the [[cinematographer]] Andrew McIntyre, to enlist with him and accompany him through training.<ref name="aaf" />

On August 17, 1942, shortly after his enlistment, he and McIntyre were sent to [[Miami Beach, Florida]], where they entered USAAF OCS Class 42-E. Both completed training on October 28, 1942, and were commissioned as [[US Second Lieutenant|second lieutenant]]s. His class of about 2,600 students (of which he ranked about 700th) selected Gable as its graduation speaker. General Arnold presented the cadets with their commissions. Arnold then informed Gable of his special assignment: to make a recruiting film in combat with the [[Eighth Air Force]] to recruit aerial gunners. Gable and McIntyre were immediately sent to Flexible Gunnery School at [[Tyndall Air Force Base|Tyndall Field, Florida]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G3ft--QdYd4C&q=clark+gable+wins+aerial+gunner+wings&pg=RA34-PA4|title=Yank|date=1942|publisher=Headquarters Detachment, Special Service, War Department|language=en}}</ref> followed by a photography course at [[Fort George Wright]], [[Washington State University|Washington State]] and promoted to [[US First Lieutenant|first lieutenants]] upon its completion.<ref name="aaf" />

On January 27, 1943, Gable reported to [[Biggs Army Airfield]], Texas to train with and accompany the [[351st Operations Group|351st Bomb Group]] to England as head of a six-man motion picture unit. In addition to McIntyre, he recruited the screenwriter [[John Lee Mahin]], camera operators Sgts. Mario Toti and Robert Boles, and the sound man Lt. Howard Voss, to complete his crew. Gable was promoted to [[captain (US Army)|captain]] while he was with the 351st Bomb Group at [[Pueblo Memorial Airport|Pueblo Army Air Base]], Colorado, a rank commensurate with his position as a unit commander. (Prior to this, he and McIntyre were both first lieutenants.)<ref name="aaf" />

Gable spent most of 1943 in England at [[RAF Polebrook]] with the 351st Bomb Group. Gable flew five combat missions, including one to Germany, as an observer-gunner in [[B-17 Flying Fortress]]es between May 4 and September 23, 1943, earning the [[Air Medal]] and the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] for his efforts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/32919|title=Clark Gable {{!}} American Air Museum in Britain|website=www.americanairmuseum.com|access-date=October 22, 2019}}</ref> During one of the missions, Gable's aircraft was damaged by flak and attacked by fighters, which knocked out one of the engines and shot up the stabilizer. In the raid on Germany, one crewman was killed and two others were wounded, and flak went through Gable's boot and narrowly missed his head. When word of this reached MGM, studio executives began to badger the Army Air Forces to reassign its most valuable screen actor to noncombat duty. Many of the men he served with, such as former Tech. Sgt. Ralph Cowley, said Gable actually unofficially joined other missions and the above five were only a fraction of the total.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/clark-gable-served-in-uniform-flew-combat-missions-in-world-war-ii/ | title=Actor Clark Gable Served in Uniform, Flew Combat Missions in World War II }}</ref> [[Adolf Hitler]] favored Gable above all other actors. During World War II, Hitler offered a sizable reward to anyone who could capture and bring Gable to him unscathed.<ref name="harris" />{{Rp|268}}

In November 1943, Gable returned to the United States to edit his film, on an old [[Warner Bros.|Warner's]] lot donated to the war effort, assigned to the [[First Motion Picture Unit|18th AAF Base Unit]] (Motion Picture Unit) at [[Culver City, California]], where other stars contributed with any film equipment they had as well.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/world-war-ii-the-movie-21103597/|title=World War II: The Movie|last=Betancourt|first=Mark|website=Air & Space Magazine|language=en|access-date=October 5, 2019}}</ref> In June 1944, Gable was promoted to [[major (United States)|major]]. While he hoped for another combat assignment, he had been placed on inactive duty and on June 12, 1944, his discharge papers were signed by [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] (later U.S. president) [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Spicer|first=Chrystopher J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=csMDnRXe4vMC&q=air+raid+wounds+clark+gable+kills+two+others&pg=PA222|title=Clark Gable: Biography, Filmography, Bibliography|date=January 15, 2002|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-1124-5|language=en}}</ref> Gable completed editing of the film ''[[Combat America]]'' in September 1944, giving the narration himself and making use of numerous interviews with enlisted gunners as focus of the film.<ref name="aaf" />

Because his motion picture production schedule made it impossible for him to fulfill reserve officer duties, he resigned his commission on September 26, 1947, a week after the Air Force became an independent service branch.<ref name="afmuseum">[https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196680/maj-clark-gable/ Maj. Clark Gable] [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]]. Retrieved October 5, 2019.</ref> Gable was awarded military honors for service: the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]], [[Air Medal]], [[American Campaign Medal]], [[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]], and [[World War II Victory Medal]]. He was a qualified [[Air gunner|aerial gunner]] having received his [[Gunner Badge|wings]] upon completion of flexible gunnery school at Tyndall field.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26700959/sioux_city_journal/|title=Clipped From Sioux City Journal|date=January 7, 1943|work=Sioux City Journal|access-date=October 9, 2019|pages=11}}</ref>

=== 1945–1953: After World War II ===
Immediately after his discharge from the service, Gable returned to his ranch and rested. Personally, he resumed a pre-war relationship with [[Virginia Grey]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/06/arts/virginia-grey-a-veteran-of-100-films-dies-at-87.html|title=Virginia Grey, a Veteran Of 100 Films, Dies at 87|last=Gussow|first=Mel|date=August 6, 2004|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 20, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> a co-star from ''Test Pilot'' and ''Idiot's Delight'', that newspapers reported might be the next Mrs. Gable.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/virginia-grey-8689059.html|title=Virginia Grey|date=August 7, 2004|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=November 26, 2019}}</ref> Professionally, Gable's first movie after World War II was ''[[Adventure (1945 film)|Adventure]]'' (1946), with [[Greer Garson]], by then the leading female star at MGM. Given the famous teaser tagline "Gable's back, and Garson's got him", the film was a commercial hit, earning over $6&nbsp;million, but a critical failure.<ref name="Mannix">{{Citation | title = The Eddie Mannix Ledger | publisher = Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study | place = Los Angeles}}.</ref>

[[File:Lana Turner and Clark Gable in Homecoming, 1948.png|thumb|right|Turner and Gable in ''Homecoming'' (1948)]]
Gable was acclaimed for his performance in ''[[The Hucksters]]'' (1947), a satire of post-war Madison Avenue corruption and immorality, which co-starred [[Deborah Kerr]] and [[Ava Gardner]]. The film was popular with audiences, placing 11th at the box office,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_32CDwAAQBAJ&q=the+hucksters+motion+picture+herald&pg=PA181-IA67|title=In Theaters Everywhere: A History of the Hollywood Wide Release, 1913–2017|last=Hannan|first=Brian|date=December 20, 2018|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-7414-8|language=en}}</ref> but both ''Variety'' and ''The New York Times'' reviewed it as a sanitized version of the novel with script issues, that was heavy on Gable screentime, who struggled in the role.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/07/18/archives/the-screen-the-hucksters-starring-gable-and-kerr-opens-at-capitol.html|title=THE SCREEN; ' The Hucksters', Starring Gable and Kerr, Opens at Capitol – 'Slave Girl', Take-Off on Film Adventures, Has Twin Debut|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|date=July 18, 1947|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 20, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1946/film/reviews/the-hucksters-2-1200414978/|title=The Hucksters|date=January 1, 1947|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref> Gable followed this up with ''[[Homecoming (1948 film)|Homecoming]]'' (1948), where he played a married doctor enlisting in World War II and meeting Lana Turner's army surgical nurse character with a romance unfolding in flashbacks.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfomDwAAQBAJ&q=mervyn+leroy+homecoming&pg=PA292|title=Clark Gable: A Biography|last=Harris|first=Warren G.|date=September 1, 2010|publisher=Crown/Archetype|isbn=978-0-307-55517-5|language=en}}</ref> After that he made the war film ''[[Command Decision (film)|Command Decision]]'' (1948), a psychological drama with [[Walter Pidgeon]], [[Van Johnson]], [[Brian Donlevy]], and [[John Hodiak]]. It was a hit with audiences, but it lost MGM money due to the high cost of the all-star cast.<ref name="Mannix"/><ref name=":5" /> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' said, "[Gable's] is a believable delivery, interpreting the brigadier-general who must send his men out to almost certain death with an understanding that bespeaks his sympathy with the soldier... ".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1947/film/reviews/command-decision-1200415875/|title=Command Decision|date=January 1, 1948|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=October 5, 2019}}</ref>

A very public and brief romance with [[Paulette Goddard]] occurred after that.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5EzBBAAAQBAJ&q=paulette+goddard+affair+clark+gable&pg=PT113|title=The Last Romantic: A life of Eric Maria Remarque|last=Tims|first=Hilton|date=September 19, 2013|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-1-4721-1335-1|language=en}}</ref> In 1949, Gable married [[Sylvia Ashley]], a British model and actress previously married to [[Douglas Fairbanks|Douglas Fairbanks Sr]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/23149576/gable_marries_sylvia_more_details_with/|title=Gable marries Sylvia, more details with Muir|newspaper=Daily News|date=December 21, 1949|page=99|language=en|access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref> The relationship was profoundly unsuccessful; they divorced in 1952.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hjvqp_Y2VL4C&q=clark+gable+sylvia+ashley&pg=PA175|title=Clark Gable, in Pictures: Candid Images of the Actor's Life|last=Spicer|first=Chrystopher J.|date=October 14, 2011|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-8714-1}}</ref> Gable did a series of films with female co-stars: ''[[Any Number Can Play]]'' (1950) with [[Alexis Smith]], ''[[Key to the City (film)|Key to the City]]'' (1950) with [[Loretta Young]], and ''[[To Please a Lady]]'' (1950) with [[Barbara Stanwyck]]. They were reasonably popular, but he had more success with two Westerns: ''[[Across the Wide Missouri (film)|Across the Wide Missouri]]'' (1951), and ''[[Lone Star (1952 film)|Lone Star]]'' (1952).<ref>{{Cite book|title=The movie makers|last=Chaneles, Sol.|date=1974|publisher=Derbibooks|others=Wolsky, Albert|isbn=0-89009-002-5|location=Secaucus, N.J.|oclc=940571}}</ref> He then made ''[[Never Let Me Go (1953 film)|Never Let Me Go]]'' (1953) opposite [[Gene Tierney]]. Tierney was a favorite of Gable's, and he was very disappointed when her mental health problems caused her to be replaced in ''[[Mogambo]]'' by [[Grace Kelly]].<ref name="THW" />

[[File:Mogambo2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Gable and Grace Kelly in ''Mogambo'' (1953)]][[File:Plb-stewart-gable.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Two men, actor James Stewart and Gable are in their dress uniforms and are seated comfortably on a couch, smiling happily at each other.|[[James Stewart]] and Gable, 1943]]
''Mogambo'' (1953), directed by [[John Ford]], was a somewhat sanitized and more action-oriented remake of Gable's hit [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] film ''Red Dust'', with Jean Harlow and Mary Astor. Ava Gardner, in her third and final pairing with Gable, was well received in Harlow's leading lady role, as was Kelly in Astor's role, with both receiving Academy Award nominations, Gardner for Lead Actress and Kelly for Supporting Actress.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/10/02/archives/the-screen-in-review-mogambo-with-ava-gardner-and-clark-gable.html|title=THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; 'Mogambo', With Ava Gardner and Clark Gable, Presented at Radio City Music Hall|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|date=October 2, 1953|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 20, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> While on location in Africa, reports of an affair between Gable and Kelly began to surface (the result of private dinners the stars were having), but their relationship was an intense friendship according to costar Gardner,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Spoto|first=Donald|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_09VcLrGoAIC&q=clark+gable+affair|title=High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly|date=2010|publisher=Three Rivers Press|isbn=978-0-307-39562-7|language=en}}</ref> with Kelly herself later commenting on the lack of any sexual aspect, "maybe because of the age difference".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/letters-show-another-side-to-grace-kelly-1428119.html|title=Letters show another side to Grace Kelly|date=March 10, 1994|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=csMDnRXe4vMC&q=clark+gable+sex+life&pg=PA148|title=Clark Gable: Biography, Filmography, Bibliography|last=Spicer|first=Chrystopher J.|date=January 15, 2002|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-1124-5|language=en}}</ref> The publicity only helped ticket sales as the film finished No. 7 at the box office, grossing 8.2&nbsp;million for the year, easily his most popular hit since he returned to MGM after the war.<ref name="Michael Gebert 1996, pg. 305">Michael Gebert, ''The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards'', St. Martin's Paperbacks, New York, 1996, pg. 305.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1952/film/reviews/mogambo-1200417451/|title=Mogambo|date=January 1, 1953|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref>

===1954–1957: Leaving MGM===
[[File:Lionel Barrymore 61st birthday 1939.jpg|right|thumb|Lionel Barrymore's 61st birthday in 1939, standing: [[Mickey Rooney]], [[Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery]], Clark Gable, [[Louis B. Mayer]], [[William Powell]], [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]], seated: [[Norma Shearer]], [[Lionel Barrymore]], and [[Rosalind Russell]]]]
Despite the positive critical and public response to ''Mogambo'', Gable became increasingly unhappy with what he considered mediocre roles offered by MGM, while the studio regarded his salary as excessive. Studio head [[Louis B. Mayer]] was fired in 1951, amid slumping revenue and increased Hollywood production costs, due in large part to the rising popularity of television.<ref name="Balio">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2GJRDwAAQBAJ&q=clark+gable+breakthrough+red+dust&pg=PP103|title=MGM|last=Balio|first=Tino|date=March 14, 2018|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-42967-8|language=en}}</ref> The new studio head, former production chief [[Dore Schary]], struggled to maintain profits for the studio. Many long-time MGM stars were fired, or their contracts were not renewed, including Greer Garson and [[Judy Garland]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wl7VmMIn38kC&q=dore+schary+lets+garland+go+mgm&pg=PA171|title=Judy Garland: A Portrait in Art & Anecdote|last=Fricke|first=John|date=2003|publisher=Bulfinch|isbn=978-0-8212-2836-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2000/04/judy-garland-excerpt-200004|title=Till MGM Do Us Part|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=April 2000|language=en|access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref> Gable refused to renew his contract.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2730464/the_childress_index/|title=Clipped From The Childress Index|date=February 5, 1954|work=The Childress Index|access-date=January 2, 2020|pages=6}}</ref> His last film at MGM was ''[[Betrayed (1954 film)|Betrayed]]'' (1954), an espionage wartime drama with Turner and [[Victor Mature]]. Critic Paul Mavis wrote, "Gable and Turner just don't click the way they should here...poor plots and lines never stopped these two pros from turning in good performances in other films."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ehkcZFT8fMoC&q=Gable's+last+film+released+in+color&pg=PA31|title=The Espionage Filmography: United States Releases, 1898 through 1999|last=Mavis|first=Paul|date=June 8, 2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-0427-5|language=en}}</ref> In March 1954, Gable left MGM.<ref>{{cite news|author=THOMAS M PRYOR |title=GREER GARSON TO DO A MOVIE IN ENGLAND|date=December 18, 1953|work=The New York Times|id={{ProQuest|112727444}}}}</ref>

His next two films were made for [[20th Century Fox]]: ''[[Soldier of Fortune (1955 film)|Soldier of Fortune]]'', an adventure story in Hong Kong with [[Susan Hayward]], and ''[[The Tall Men (film)|The Tall Men]]'' (1955), a Western with [[Jane Russell]] and [[Robert Ryan]]. Both were profitable, although only modest successes, earning Gable his first profit sharing royalties.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfomDwAAQBAJ&q=raoul+walsh+clark+gable&pg=PA342|title=Clark Gable: A Biography|last=Harris|first=Warren G.|date=September 1, 2010|publisher=Crown/Archetype|isbn=978-0-307-55517-5|language=en}}</ref> In 1955, Gable would be 10th at the box office – the last time he was in the top ten.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/motionpictureher201quig|title=Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1955)|last1=Quigley Publishing Co.|last2=Quigley Publishing Co.|date=1955|publisher=New York, Quigley Publishing Co.|others=Media History Digital Library}}</ref> That same year, Gable married fifth wife [[Kay Williams|Kay Spreckels]] (née Kathleen Williams). A former fashion [[model (person)|model]] and actress, she had previously been married three times: first to Charles Capps (1937–39), then to Argentinian cattle tycoon [[Martín de Álzaga (racing driver)|Martín de Alzaga]] (1942–43), and to [[Sugar refinery|sugar-refining]] heir Adolph B. Spreckels Jr. (1945–52). Gable became stepfather to her son [[Bunker Spreckels]], who went on to live a notorious celebrity lifestyle in the late 1960s and early 1970s [[surfing]] scene, ultimately leading to his early death in 1977.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-dec-23-ca-spreckels23-story.html|title=A surfing god rides again|date=December 23, 2007|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=October 5, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Yvonne de carlo - 1957.jpg|thumb|Gable and [[Yvonne De Carlo]] in ''[[Band of Angels]]'' (1957)]]
Gable also formed Russ-Field-Gabco in 1955, a production company with Jane Russell and her husband [[Bob Waterfield]], and they produced ''[[The King and Four Queens]]'' (1956), a film Gable thought would also star Russell to capitalize on ''The Tall Men''<nowiki/>'s moderate success. That role instead went to [[Jo Van Fleet]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bret|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9TnIPJGPJXYC&q=Jo+Van+Fleet&pg=PA230|title=Clark Gable: Tormented Star|date=October 22, 2008|publisher=Hachette Books|isbn=978-0-7867-2675-2|language=en}}</ref> It was Gable's only time as producer.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WiLgQUah478C&q=clark+gable+king+four+queens+and+a+king&pg=PA98|title=When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Movie Making in Utah|last=D'Arc|first=James|date=September 1, 2010|publisher=Gibbs Smith|isbn=978-1-4236-1984-0|language=en}}</ref> He found producing and acting to be too much work and this [[Raoul Walsh]] western was the only film made.<ref name=":4" /> After turning down the lead role in Universal-International's ''[[Away All Boats]]'',<ref>Brode, Douglas ''From Hell To Hollywood: An Encyclopedia of World War II Films Vol 1'' BearManor Media 2 March 2020</ref> his next project was the [[Warner Bros.]] production ''[[Band of Angels]]'' (1957), co-starring [[Yvonne De Carlo]] and featuring relative newcomer [[Sidney Poitier]]; it was not well received, despite Gable's role's similarities to Rhett Butler. ''[[Newsweek]]'' said, "Here is a movie so bad that it must be seen to be disbelieved."<ref name="harris" />{{Rp|351}}

=== 1958–1961: Paramount and ''The Misfits'' ===
Next, he paired with [[Doris Day]] in ''[[Teacher's Pet (1958 film)|Teacher's Pet]]'' (1958), shot in black and white at Paramount. He did ''[[Run Silent, Run Deep (1958 film)|Run Silent, Run Deep]]'' (also 1958), with co-star and producer [[Burt Lancaster]], which featured his first on-screen death since 1937, and which garnered good reviews. Gable started to receive television offers, but rejected them outright. At 57, Gable finally acknowledged, "Now it's time I acted my age".<ref name="harris" />{{Rp|361}} His contracts began including a clause that his filming and work days ended at 5 p.m.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jun-04-et-loren4-story.html|title=Series takes Loren back to where it all started|date=June 4, 2008|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=November 3, 2019}}</ref>

His next two films were light comedies for Paramount: ''[[But Not for Me (1959 film)|But Not for Me]]'' (1959) with [[Carroll Baker]], and ''[[It Started in Naples]]'' (1960) with [[Sophia Loren]]. ''Naples'' was written and directed by [[Melville Shavelson]] and it mainly showed the beauty of Loren and the Italian island [[Capri]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/09/03/archives/screen-backdrop-for-sophia-lorenappears-with-gable-in-it-started-in.html|title=Screen: Backdrop for Sophia Loren:Appears With Gable in 'It Started in Naples' Kept in Foreground by Cameras and Script|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|date=September 3, 1960|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 3, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It was a box-office success and was nominated for an Academy Award for art direction<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1959/film/reviews/it-started-in-naples-1200419688/|title=It Started in Naples|date=January 1, 1960|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=November 3, 2019}}</ref> and two Golden Globes, one for picture and Loren for actress in a leading role.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/it-started-naples|title=It Started in Naples|website=www.goldenglobes.com|language=en|access-date=November 7, 2019}}</ref> Filmed mostly on location in Italy, it was Gable's last film released in color. While there Gable's weight had increased to {{convert|230|lbs}}, something he credited to pasta, and he started on a crash diet to achieve a goal weight of 195, along with briefly quitting drinking and smoking, to pass a required physical for his next movie.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux2dz6PbRKQC&q=clark+gable+production+company&pg=PA236|title=Clark Gable: Tormented Star|last=Bret|first=David|date=December 14, 2007|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-7867-2093-4}}</ref>

On February 8, 1960, Gable received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] for his work in motion pictures, located at 1608 [[Vine Street]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/clark-gable|title=Clark Gable {{!}} Hollywood Walk of Fame|website=www.walkoffame.com|access-date=August 23, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/clark-gable/|title=Clark Gable – Hollywood Star Walk |work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 23, 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Marilyn Monroe Misfits.jpg|thumb|left|Marilyn Monroe and Gable with Eli Wallach and Montgomery Clift (in the background) in ''The Misfits'' (1961)]]
Gable's last film was ''[[The Misfits (1961 film)|The Misfits]]'' (1961), with a script by [[Arthur Miller]] and directed by [[John Huston]]. Co-starring with Gable were [[Marilyn Monroe]] (in her last completed film), [[Montgomery Clift]], [[Eli Wallach]] and [[Thelma Ritter]]. Many critics regard Gable's performance to be his finest, and Gable, after seeing the rough cuts, agreed,<ref name="miller" /> although the film did not receive any Oscar nominations. Miller wrote the screenplay for his wife Monroe; it was about two aging cowboys and a pilot that go mustanging in Reno, Nevada, who all fall for a blonde. In 1961, it was a somewhat disconnected film with its antihero western themes, but it has since become a classic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-09-26-0409250253-story.html|title='The Misfits': Arthur Miller's Hollywood story|author=Michael Wilmington|website=Chicago Tribune|date=September 26, 2004 |language=en-US|access-date=November 7, 2019}}</ref>

Portraitist [[Al Hirschfeld]] created a drawing, and then a lithograph, portraying the film's stars Clift, Monroe, and Gable with screenwriter Miller, in what is suggested as a typical "on-the-set" scene during the troubled production.<ref name="The Misfits, On the Set">{{cite web|last=Hirschfeld|first=Al|title=The Misfits, On the Set|url=http://www.alhirschfeld.com/cgi-bin/cat_litho_movies?CAT=Mo#TOP1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724051508/http://www.alhirschfeld.com/cgi-bin/popup?ID=3731&CAT=A1|archive-date=July 24, 2017|publisher=Margo Feiden Galleries Ltd.|access-date=May 17, 2013}}</ref> In a 2002 documentary Eli Wallach recalled the mustang wrangling scenes Gable insisted on performing himself, "You have to pass a physical to film that" and "He was a professional going home at 5 p.m. to a pregnant wife".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-oct-01-et-king1-story.html|title='The Misfits' Finally Gets Some Respect|date=October 1, 2002|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=June 15, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' found "Mr. Gable's performance as a leathery old cowboy with a realistic slant on most plain things" ironically vital, with his death before the film's release.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/02/02/archives/gable-and-monroe-star-in-script-by-miller.html|title=Gable and Monroe Star in Script by Miller|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|date=February 2, 1961|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 25, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

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