Product Details

• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: June 20, 2006
• Run Time: 616 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000F7CMRC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,776 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Clark Gable - The Signature Collection (Dancing Lady / China Seas / San Francisco / Wife vs. Secretary / Boom Town / Mogambo)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Clark Gable was "The King" of Hollywood in his heyday, and why not? He carried himself in his movies as though entitled by royal birthright, erect and cocky, not especially curious about the rest of the world because he already owned it. Sure, Gable's characters frequently had to be humbled, but that's not what you remember about him; what you remember is the utter self-confidence, the brash American energy, and--sure--the jug ears. Clark Gable: The Signature Collection is not just a topnotch collection of the King in his court, it's also a look at just how good the Hollywood studio system (in this case, MGM) was in its glory years.

Except for late entry Mogambo from 1953, these titles are from Gable's peak run--1933 to 1940. First up chronologically is Dancing Lady, which pairs Gable with Joan Crawford; he's a gruff Broadway director, she's a plucky young dancer who moves up from burlesque to the legit theater thanks to wealthy suitor Franchot Tone. It's not a great movie, but the formula is pleasing, and there's a young fellow named Fred Astaire (his film debut) in a couple of scenes. Some surreal comedy is provided by Ted Healy and His Stooges (whose names happen to be Moe, Larry and Curly).

Tay Garnett's China Seas, from 1935, was a reunion with Jean Harlow, with whom Gable had struck gold in Red Dust. The script by James Kevin McGuinness and the gifted Jules Furthman might have a preposterous plot--cribbed from Red Dust--but the dialogue is deliciously vulgar and the actors perfectly cast. Gable is the captain of a boat on the Hong Kong-Singapore run, carrying secret gold and fending off pirates and a typhoon. His real problem, however is that the classy woman (Rosalind Russell) he has long pined for has come aboard at the exact moment his bawdy mistress (Harlow) has also tagged along. Clarence Brown's Wife vs. Secretary (1936) brings Harlow back, this time as the executive assistant to Gable's wealthy tycoon. Their relationship is strictly professional, although wife Myrna Loy eventually has suspicions. Gable and Loy are cute together, and the film is a reminder of how playful he could be outside the manly-man world of many of his films.

The blockbuster San Francisco, also 1936, gives a pretty good blueprint of what audiences craved at the time. Gable is the rakish owner of a wild Barbary Coast club, Jeannette MacDonald the opera-ready songbird who performs for him, Spencer Tracy the no-nonsense priest and childhood friend who would love to reform Gable. Director W.S. Van Dyke keeps it all cracking along (well, except when MacDonald sings and Cultcha comes in) and the special effects for the San Francisco earthquake are really rather awesome. Boom Town (1940) was another box-office smash, with Gable and Tracy as Texas oil wildcatters who team up, split, team up, split, etc. Claudette Colbert is the woman loved by both, although the male bonding is the most engaging thing about this entertaining spectacle.

Mogambo is an official remake of Red Dust, with Gable returning, this time as an African safari leader. Even with gray hair, his masculinity is enough to entice good-time girl Ava Gardner and ladylike Grace Kelly. John Ford directed, which means the location exteriors and studio interiors alike are alive with Ford's expressive compositional eye. Included on the San Francisco disc is a TNT documentary profile of Gable. But these titles give a pretty good profile all by themselves. --Robert Horton

Product Description

Named as the seventh greatest actor on AFI's List of "50 Greatest Screen Legends," Clark Gable reigned supreme as a screen icon during the 1930's and 40's. Six of Gables 75 feature films are remastered and now available on DVD in the new Clark Gable: The Signature Collection.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Golden Age actor gets the DVD set he deserves July 27, 2006

By Stephen H. Wood

Format:DVD

Clark Gable is my favorite actor of all time, so the DVD boxed set, CLARK GABLE: THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION, from Warner Home Video is destined to be an often-played favorite. Gable made his first movie in 1931 and his last in 1961; this boxed set goes from 1933-1953. Included are six movie treasures: DANCING LADY (1933), CHINA SEAS (1935), WIFE VS. SECRETARY and SAN FRANCISCO (both 1936), BOOM TOWN (1940), and MOGAMBO (1953).

DANCING LADY is a Joan Crawford vehicle, with a young Clark Gable and Franchot Tone as the men she chooses between. We are in the Depression era Manhattan show business world, with Gable as a play director and Tone a millionaire playboy financing the show. Fred Astaire makes his film debut as himself, and Nelson Eddy and The Three Stooges have cameo roles. Bonuses are two Three Stooges shorts and a theatrical trailer.

CHINA SEAS is a "guilty pleasure" for director Tay Garnett. Gable plays a ship captain who does not know that his Hong Kong-to-Singapore voyage includes a gold shipment and Chinese coolies. The dream supporting cast includes Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery (re-united from DINNER AT EIGHT), a young Rosalind Russell, C. Aubrey Smith, and Lewis Stone. Bonuses are a color travelogue, a musical short, and a theatrical trailer.

Clarence Brown's WIFE VS. SECRETARY has Clark Gable married to Myrna Loy and boss to Jean Harlow. In a lovely movie, each woman respects the other. This is at least the fourth movie that Gable and Harlow made together; they were very popular. A young James Stewart plays Harlow's boyfriend and fifty years later still fondly remembered a passionate kiss they shared. Big bonuses here are a musical short, a theatrical trailer, and an Oscar-winning "Crime Does Not Pay" short.

An all-time favorite of mine, SAN FRANCISCO has been remastered to make its incomparable 1906 earthquake climax really something. But even without the bravura climax, we still have Barbary Coast joint owner Gable competing with wealthy uptown Jack Holt for Jeanette MacDonald as a singer. As a generic priest, Spencer Tracy got the Oscar nomination that should have gone to Gable's memorable Blackie Norton. The finale gives me goosebumps; curiously, one of the bonuses is an even more effective alternate ending. Other bonuses on this masterpiece are two Techicolor travelogues of the 1939 Treasure Island World's Fair, and a 45 minute TNT documentary on Gable's career and life. The first night you do this boxed set, start with this documentary as an overview.

Another "guilty pleasure", BOOM TOWN has a cast to die for--Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy again, this time as oil wildcatters, and Claudette Colbert and Hedy Lamarr as their women. The supporting cast of this Jack Conway-directed gem includes Frank Morgan, Lionel Atwill, and Chill Wills. Bonuses are a color cartoon, a B&W documentary short, and a theatrical trailer.

John Lee Mahin was one of Clark Gable's favorite screenwriters. Mahin wrote BOOM TOWN, eight years earlier wrote RED DUST (1932), and in 1953 did MOGAMBO, the Technicolor remake of RED DUST. I like RED DUST more because of Jean Harlow, but Gable is wonderfully cast as a big game hunter in Africa in John Ford's MOGAMBO. Filmed on location with gorgeous color, this is a love triangle between Broadway showgirl Ava Gardner (in the Harlow role) and married Grace Kelly (in the Mary Astor role). Romance and adventure blend superbly in a superbly cast movie. The distinguished cinematographers are Robert Surtees and David Lean's Freddie Young. The sole bonus here is a theatrical trailer.

I know, where are GONE WITH THE WIND and MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY? GWTW is literally its own boxed set now, and I added BOUNTY from old videocassette. It is the greatest sea adventure of all time, impeccable cast, and superbly edited by Margaret Booth; I recommend it highly. As for IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT one year earlier, wrong studio. I don't believe Warner Home Video has access to Columbia releases. But picky, picky! You get six wonderful Clark Gable movie gems with a lot of bonuses, and you still watch more. Then go rent or buy BOUNTY and NIGHT! And THE MISFITS (1961), for that matter. And also buy the new 4-disk GWTW. Warners' CLARK GABLE: THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION is impeccable and gets my highest DVD boxed set rating.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The King November 6, 2007

By Claude L. James

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

These movies of Clark Gable are a great reminder of how great an actor
this gentleman was. He was an inspiration to every young boy growing
up in the 30's, 40's snd 50's I was fortunate enough to have met him
and can honestly say that he was an extremely kind and sincere person.
There aren't any actors today that can ever match up to his acting or
charisma on the screen.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Gable was called the King July 19, 2010

By Douglas M VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Clark Gable is maybe the best example of that hard-to-define star quality being the premier requirement for stardom on the screen. He had screen magnetism in spades. This collection of films is a very good sample of his work at MGM, the studio who groomed him to stardom and helped him sustain it for more than 20 years. Gable was also a star who was always paired with a female of equal status and the set also showcases these woman. Here is what you get -

- the earliest film in the set is the 1933 Joan Crawford musical "Dancing Lady", MGM's answer to Warner Bothers smash "42nd Street". Gable costars as the stage director. This was not a part he wanted to do and he is sullen but the chemistry with Crawford is palpable. As a musical, the film is better than average but not as good as the Warner's equivalents, if only because Crawford makes a dubious musical comedy actress.
- In 1935, with MGM at the height of its star power, "Wife Versus Secretary" gives Gable 2 leading ladies, Myrna Loy, the screen's perfect wife, and sexy Jean Harlow, miscast as an indispensible secretary. This is the weakest film in the set, a typical Mills and Boons glamorous and completely artificial story with Gable overacting with a vengeance.
- also in 1935, MGM released the blockbuster "China Seas", a high adventure melodrama set in the Orient. This one has the lot. It is funny (Jean Harlow at her raunchy best), corny (Rosalind Russell overdoing her English Milady)and exciting (a storm at sea). Gable is perfectly cast as the macho hero, trading insults with Harlow while tangling with crook Wallace Beery.
- In 1936, Gable, against his will, supported musical Jeanette MacDonald in another large scale blockbuster, the superb "San Francisco". Gable's chemistry with MacDonald, whom he reportedly did not like, is shaky but the special effects and sheer entertainment on view make this a memorable film.
- By 1940, Gable had been paired with Spencer Tracy a number of times in "buddy" movies. Tracy was a better actor but he brought the best out in Gable and they are both superb as oilmen, sparring and making up as they develop their business. This one has charming Claudette Colbert as Gable's wife and the unusual and modern Hedy Lamarr as his temporary mistress. The film is overlong but great entertainment.
- The last film in the set, the technicolour adventure "Mogambo", was released in 1953. Gable has obviously aged as an African hunter on safari but he is paired well with Ava Gardner, though Grace Kelly is hopeless as the third side of the triangle.

The prints of all the films are good with the exception of "Wife Versus Secretary" which is very poor. All the theatrical trailers are included and there are some variable extras including a couple of 3 Stooges shorts. By far, the best extra is the documentary "Tall Dark and Handsome", a TCM doco on Gable's life with some important participants, including his daughter Judy, born out of wedlock to Loretta Young.

The DVD is good value.