The King of Hollywood's ten best movies

CAIRO – 1 February 2018: February 1 is the day famous American actor Clark Gable was born in 1901. Dubbed 'The King of Hollywood', he was a celebrated icon of the Golden Age of Cinema, made famous because of his role in “Gone with the Wind”.

Here are ten of his best loved movies, giving a taste of Gable's incredible talent:
Red Dust (1932)


Directed by Victor Fleming, this romantic drama casts an early Gable as plantation owner Dennis Carson, whose operation in the French Indochina is fraught with horrific circumstances, such as overworked employees, tigers in the jungle and the titular dust storms. Things get even more complicated with the arrival of a fugitive prostitute named Vantine, on the run from the law, who entangles Carson into a steamy love triangle with married woman Barbara Willis (Mary Astor).

“Red Dust” would be remade years down the line into 'Mogambo', once again featuring Gable.

It Happened One Night (1934)


Considered the first 'slapstick comedy', this outrageous film by director Frank Capra features Gable as reporter Peter Warne, who helps spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) run away from home to escape an arranged marriage, in return for her giving him a great story to write. Gable won his first ever Academy Award for this film, with his performance being so iconic that it inspired animator Friz Freleng in designing Bugs Bunny, heavily based on Peter Warne's carrot eating scenes.

Manhattan Melodrama (1934)


This crime drama by director W.S Van Dyke sees Gable as Blackie Gallagher, lifelong friend of fellow orphan Jim Wade (William Powell). As they grow old, the two begin to operate on different sides of the law, with Gallagher becoming a casino-owner and avid gambler while Wade becomes the city's prosecutor, eventually in line to become Governor. When Gallagher is tried for murder, Wade is forced to make an impossible decision.

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)


Set in 1787, director Frank Lloyd puts Gable into the role of Fletcher Christian, who helps partake in a mutiny against the tyrannical ship captain Bligh (Charles Laughton), leading the crew to freedom as they hijack the ship. Unfortunately for them, the Captain manages to return after being cast to sea, and he wants revenge.

San Francisco (1936)


In this fictionalized romantic retelling of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake by director W.S Van Dyke, Gable stars as Saloon owner Blackie Norton, who falls for the dazzling singer Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald), but must deal with a rival to her love in the form of rich socialite Jack Burley (Jack Holt).

Gone with the Wind (1939)



One of the most enduring and beloved films of all time, Victor Fleming's “Gone with the Wind” was the film that crowned Gable as the 'King of Hollywood', turning him from a little-known name to one of the most famous actors alive at the time. Here he is Rhett Butler, a dazzling southern rogue who falls in love with the beautiful yet self-centered Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), a romance for the ages set in the backdrop of the American Civil War.

Command Decision (1949)



Gable is forced to make hard decisions in this war drama from director Sam Wood. As Army General K.C. 'Casey' Dennis, Gable portrays with great skill a powerful man dealing with a burden far too great for anyone to bear when he must make a call to send his planes into German air space to bomb a factory producing fighter jets that could lead the Germans into victory during WWII.

Mogambo (1953)



This remake of Gable's early film “Red Dust” sets the action in Africa, with Gable portraying a big game hunter named Victor Marswell, who encounters the stunningly beautiful Eloise Kelly (Ava Gardner) and begins to fall for her. However, his heart also begins to yearn for the beautiful Linda Nordley (Grace Kelly), married to a scientist. Who will win his heart?

Run Silent Run Deep (1958)



Robert Wise directs Gable in this tense WWII drama set under the sea, in the dark halls of a submarine. Gable is Commander 'Rich' Richardson, who is hell-bent on seeking revenge against the Japanese submarine that sent his Submarine a year ago, which threatens the crew of the new sub he's on. Burt Lancaster co-stars as Lieutenant Jim Bledsoe, who butts heads with the Commander.

The Misfits (1961)


Gable's final film also happens to be the one of the last films of his co-star, none other than the beautiful Marilyn Monroe. Here Gable is aging Cowboy Gay Langland, who alongside his buddy Guido (Eli Wallach) accompanies recently the divorced Roslyn (Monroe) to Guido's desert ranch, where the two men begin to fall in love with her.