Sun 23 Jul 2017
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: TO PLEASE A LADY (1950).
Posted by Steve under Films: Drama/Romance , Reviews[9] Comments
TO PLEASE A LADY. MGM, 1950. Clark Gable, Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, Will Geer, Roland Winters, Frank Jenks. Director: Clarence Brown.
The two lead characters were bound to clash. Clark Gable portrays Mike Brannan, an amoral racecar driver who will do anything to win. Barbara Stanwyck appears as Regina Forbes, a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist who isn’t afraid to use the written word to make and break men.
When they first meet at the racetrack, it’s natural that there’s going to be some tension between these two strong personalities, and before you know it, “tension†is an understatement. When Regina lays into Brannan in one of her columns, all but accusing him of negligently murdering a fellow racecar driver during a particularly aggressive race, that all but ends Brannan’s career. Somehow, though, Regina can’t keep her mind off the man whose career she ruined, and thus begins an unlikely love-hate relationship between the two. No explanation is given, of course. The plot goes where it has to.
Putting aside the plot for a moment, the most important thing to know about To Please a Lady is that it has immense star power. The names Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck on the marquee were sure to fill the seats. Unfortunately, aside from the screen presence of these two Hollywood giants, this rather formulaic romantic drama really doesn’t have all that much to offer.
Sure, the movie hits all the proverbial beats that one would expect in such a film: initial hatred between the two leads, tension, falling in love, falling out of love, tension, conflict, and ultimate reconciliation and permanent love. Unfortunately, these plot turns are as dizzyingly predictable as the final race scene filmed in Indianapolis, all of which makes this movie about speed a rather turgid affair.
July 23rd, 2017 at 10:20 pm
I didn’t like the film either, but Clark Gable was fine, as were the racing sequences, but there is a long moment, I call it a masturbation scene, when Clark talks Barbara into a near orgasm.
And any film that uses Marshall Neilan’s lovely ballad Wonderful One as a theme, a favorite of Mr. Mayer’s is more than okay with me.
July 24th, 2017 at 12:10 pm
I haven’t seen the movie, so I can’t comment on the scene you mention, Barry. But even without that as a reason, I’d like to, just to see two giants of the movie-making business play off each other.
From Wikipedia: “According to MGM records the film earned $2,061,000 in the US and Canada and $861,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $47,000.”
That’s studio bookmaking, I’m sure, but it’s also the equivalent of $1,330,000 in 2015 using the nominal GDP per capita, whatever that means.
IMDb says the only other movie they were both in was Night Nurse (1931), and at that time, neither was the star they were both going to be.
July 24th, 2017 at 3:04 pm
Night Nurse is a good film.
Gable is a brutal and villainous chauffeur, his alcoholic (female – they had limits in Hollywood, even before the Code) employer (no, she’s not Stanwyck – she’s the night nurse)’s lover, who is starving her children to death to collect their inheritance. Not exactly type-cast.
July 24th, 2017 at 3:27 pm
We should all always remember the suits, for the most part, have no idea who or what will be effective. Gable was thought of by Jack Warner is ugly and by others as a tall Jimmy Cagney. Barbara Stanwyck said, this picture did well on initial release, but had an even more successful second run because they, the audience, could not get enough of him (Gable).
July 24th, 2017 at 3:52 pm
Gable’s part in Night Nurse was originally going to be Cagney’s, but he was too successful to be affordable when the film went into production. Gable is good, but he isn’t “standard” Gable – which is one of the things that makes the film worth watching now.
July 24th, 2017 at 9:45 pm
NIGHT NURSE is a much better film, precode to its heart down to Stanwyck’s gangster boyfriend. This one is an dressed out with A stars. Substitute B actors for the leads and it would barely be a decent programmer.
February 13th, 2018 at 12:35 am
I found it humorous and trivia worthy that Stanwyck’s character uses the line “You’re Nobody til somebody loves you”. The quote falls on a time line between the writing of the lyrics and song by Russ Morgan,Larry Stock,James Cavanaugh in 1944 and recorded by the Morgan Orchestra and Dean Martin making the song a standard in 1961. Since then many many artists have covered it the most popular being the Mills Brothers and Sinatra. But Barb was the first to us it in a movie, (I think). Thanks
February 13th, 2018 at 12:36 am
One more thought the movie is also known as “Red Hot Wheels” but I could not find the story behind the dual title. Thanks again.
July 5th, 2023 at 11:52 pm
I really enjoyed this film and found it had some exciting and memorable sequences. It was certainly an authentic look at the car racing world at that time with some exciting footage. Imagine driving at high speeds on those dirt tracks.
Gable and Stanwyck both bring good chemistry to the romance and are certainly well matched. Some nice moments like when they meet up at night at the racetrack as Gable is taking in the course. Wonderful moment when he picks her up and says the track isn’t the only thing with soft spots.
It’s not Casablanca, but certainly an entertaining romance that takes you through the world of car racing at that time. Just to see the world at that time was worth my time.