Directed by Victor Fleming
Screenplay by John Mahin, based upon the play of the same name by Wilson Collison
Starring Clark Gable, Jean Harlowe, Mary Astor, Gene Raymond, and Tully Marshall
Here’s a question: when you think of Clark Gable, what’s your flavor? With, or without, mustache? In my world I can only picture Gable with a mustache, largely because I most closely associate him with Gone With The Wind, where his mustache was so front and center it was basically the defining characteristic of Rhett Butler. And while Gable didn’t win an Oscar for that role, it is his signature role, so if the mustache defines the role, so it defines him.
Which means it might come as a surprise to realize he wasn’t completely tied to the mustache. History says he originally hated the facial hair as a sign of uncleanliness, but when it became part of his star, he then hated shaving it. Now and then, though, you’d catch him on screen with a bare upper lip. They were rare, but happened. Most notably he went without in Mutiny on the Bounty – a fantastic film – and also in his supporting turn in A Free Soul. Relevant to this entry? He doesn’t have a mustache in Red Dust.
Let’s dig in. Continue reading