The King Of Hollywood And I: A Birthday Celebration (2023) with… It Started In Naples (1960)

It’s February 1, so that means that we’ve got yet another special post on a film featuring birthday boy Clark Gable! This time, it’s his 1960 film It Started In Naples, also starring Sophia Loren and Vittorio De Sica!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Pay As You Exit (1936)

(available on Blu-ray as part of The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 6 (1936-1938) from ClassicFlix)

(Length: 10 minutes, 41 seconds)

The Gang put on their own production of “Romeo and Juliet” (if you can call it that), but to convince the local kids to see it, Alfalfa (Carl Switzer) comes up with the brilliant idea for them to pay as they exit. Also, trouble arises when Darla (Darla Hood) abandons the show partway through. This one was fairly entertaining, in between Spanky’s (George McFarland) reaction to Alfalfa’s “pay as you exit” idea, and their whole show. In some respects, the short has its issues with Buckwheat’s initial role in their show, but it more than makes up for it when he is recast as Juliet (with the approval of the audience). I had fun with this one, and certainly think that it’s worth seeing!

And Now For The Main Feature…

American lawyer Michael Hamilton (Clark Gable) has come to Naples, Italy, to settle his late brother’s affairs. He meets up with Italian lawyer Mario Vitale (Vittorio De Sica), who reveals that Michael’s brother had died in a boating accident with his mistress. The two had left behind their eight-year-old son, who now lives with his aunt. Mario takes Michael to meet the aunt, Lucia Curcio (Sophia Loren), who wants nothing to do with Michael and leaves for her home in Capri. Michael is determined to find out if he does indeed have a nephew, and follows her to Capri. There, he meets his nephew, Nando Hamilton (Carlo Angeleti “Marietto”), and is willing to let things be. When he finds himself stuck overnight in Capri (because the boat schedule was wrong), Michael finds Nando distributing flyers for the adult nightclub that his aunt works at. Unhappy at his nephew being up so late (and not getting much of an education at school), Michael threatens to have Nando taken away from Lucia and sent to the American school in Rome. Angry with Michael, Lucia convinces Nando to go to school, and enlists the help of her neighbors to stop Michael from taking Nando away. While he prepares to bring suit against Lucia, Michael spends some time with Nando in an attempt to help persuade him to go along with his plans instead of Lucia’s. Hoping to avoid going to court (and play matchmaker at the same time), Mario secretly talks to Michael and Lucia, telling both of them that the other has some affection for them, which could help solve the problem. It works for a while, as the two fall for each other. However, when Nando tries to ask Michael if he will marry his aunt Lucia, Michael tries to avoid it, which results in the two adults being back at each other’s throats. Will they be able to solve their fight in court amicably, or will Nando be torn between them?

It Started In Naples (1960) was shot on location, with the interiors done at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, while the exteriors were done in Rome, Naples itself and the island of Capri. Sophia Loren had grown up in Naples, but her return was marked by controversy due to her recent “marriage” to Carlo Ponti (who was in the process of divorcing his first wife). Clark Gable was very professional i his work ethic, but maintained in his contract that he would only work from nine to five (and wore a wristwatch that buzzed at five to let him know that he was done for the day). Filmmaker and actor Vittorio De Sica was brought into the production to help give it more of a Neopolitan flavor with the script, and did so by suggesting they work with writer Suso Cecchi d’Amico. As a result, Vittorio was also given the role of lawyer Mario Vitale. For Clark Gable (who had recently suffered a mild heart attack but continued to drink and smoke heavily), this film would turn out to be the last one he made that was released during his lifetime, as he died of a heart attack nearly three months after the film’s release (after having completed The Misfits).

This was my first time seeing It Started In Naples (1960), and I will admit that I enjoyed it! I have no problem admitting that Clark Gable was the main reason that I wanted to see it (particularly for this series of posts), and he certainly didn’t let me down. I thought that he and Sophia Loren had pretty good chemistry, which helped offset some of the lesser material here (which was plentiful, as the film stayed well within romantic comedy territory, and the film’s ending seemed to wrap up a little too quickly, in my opinion). I’ve seen it said by numerous others that the film has three stars, with the third (after Clark and Sophia) being Italy itself, and I can’t deny that this is indeed true. A good part of the fun here is seeing a lot of the beautiful Italian scenery (circa 1960). I would also say that Vittorio De Sica as the lawyer Mario Vitale adds some fun, in between his attempted matchmaking, plus his court monologue (spoken mostly in Italian), which almost seems to favor his opponent (instead of his own client!), even if he does have his sexist moment obviously ogling Lucia’s (Sophia Loren) legs. Again, the story isn’t really the film’s strongest point (and quite frankly, I’m not too thrilled with Carlo Angeleti’s performance as the kid Nando, either), but the whole thing was certainly enough fun that I would be glad to see it again. Clark Gable was definitely getting older and wasn’t at his best, but he’s still good enough to make it worth recommending (and his co-star Sophia Loren, along with the scenery, adds to the appeal)!

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2022) with…It Started In Naples (1960)

This movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Paramount Pictures. As I said, I hadn’t seen the film before (at least, not before the new Blu-ray), so I don’t know how it looked before. Reading comments on what others have said, there was a new transfer made between the film’s DVD release and the recent Blu-ray. The transfer on the new Blu-ray looks absolutely gorgeous! There really isn’t any dust, dirt or other debris marring the picture, and the detail is fantastic! It really show off the Italian scenery (not to mention the cast), which to my mind makes this Blu-ray worthwhile for those interested in the movie!

Film Length: 1 hour, 40 minutes

My Rating: 7/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) – Clark Gable

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The King Of Hollywood And I: A Birthday Celebration (2022) with… Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)

Well, since I revealed my shared birthday with Clark Gable last year, I have decided to rechristen today’s special once-a-year post as being part of my new series The King Of Hollywood And I: A Birthday Celebration (with the previous reviews of Clark Gable films on this day to be included)! Under this new series, we shall start off with the classic 1935 Clark Gable movie Mutiny On The Bounty, also starring Charles Laughton!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Pitcairn Island Today (1935)

(available as an extra on the Mutiny On The Bounty Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection)

(Length: 9 minutes, 39 seconds)

As narrated by Carey Wilson, we get a quick history of the journey of the mutineers from the Bounty. After that, we see what things were like (at the time this short was made) on the island of Pitcairn. Numerous descendants of the mutineers still remained on the island, living a simple life. There was some footage borrowed from the 1933 film In The Wake Of The Bounty. It’s an interesting short (and one that was made to help promote the 1935 movie Mutiny On The Bounty), but it’s not one that I feel the need to revisit at any point soon.

And Now For The Main Feature…

It’s December of 1787, and the ship H. M. S. Bounty of the British navy is anchored in Portsmouth Harbour, England. Preparations are underway for a two-year trip to the Tahitian islands to collect some breadfruit trees (needed in the West Indies as a relatively cheap source of food for slaves). Press gangs led by Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) help fill out the crew, and Roger Byam (Franchot Tone) is sent along as a midshipman by Sir Joseph Banks (Henry Stephenson), who hopes that Roger will be able to help compile a Tahitian dictionary for him. When Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton) comes on board the ship before they sail, he orders the whole crew to observe a “flogging through the fleet” of a man who struck his captain. The man is dead by the time he gets to their ship, but the captain gives the order to have him flogged, just the same. Once the ship is under way, Captain Bligh strongly maintains discipline on the ship. He underfeeds the men and is quick to have punishment administered even to those who call him out for his own greed and fraud. This angers Christian, and the two are almost at each other’s throats when they arrive at Tahiti. There, they are met by the island’s chief, Hitihiti (William Bambridge), who had met the captain when he was on Captain Cook’s ship that arrived there nearly a decade earlier. The captain orders all the men to harvest the breadfruit trees or work on the ship, with Christian in particular not being granted shore leave. Due to Roger’s commission on the Tahitian dictionary, he is allowed to go ashore and live with the chief while he works. He falls in love with the chief’s daughter, Tehani (Movita Castaneda), and the chief is able to wrangle a day’s shore leave for Christian (who falls in love with Maimiti, played by Mamo Clark). Once they have harvested all the breadfruit they need and gotten the ship ready, everybody prepares to leave. Bligh immediately orders the discipline of some men who tried to desert, and requires everyone see it. The problem is that the ship’s drunken surgeon, Bacchus (Dudley Digges), has taken ill, and falls over dead when the captain insists that he be present instead of resting in bed. This incident and further punishment of the deserters is the breaking point for Christian, who leads many of the men in mutiny. Instead of killing the captain, Christian forces him and some of his supporters into a ship’s launch with provisions, and leaves them for dead. Roger and some others didn’t support the mutiny, but were stuck on the ship because there wasn’t enough room for them on the launch. Christian orders the Bounty to return to Tahiti, where the men enjoy their new homes and families. Meanwhile, the determined Captain Bligh helps steer the boat to a hospitable land over a period of nearly fifty days. On Tahiti, Christian and Roger manage to repair their friendship, but things change for everyone when a ship is sighted offshore. Christian and most of the other mutineers and their families get on the ship and leave, while Roger and some others who hadn’t mutinied stay behind. The ship, the Pandora, is captained by Bligh, who has Roger and the other men arrested for mutiny (regardless of whether they were guilty or not). He tries to hunt Christian and the others down, but only manages to run the ship aground. The survivors are taken back to England, where Roger and the mutineers are court-martialed. Will Roger be able to convince the court of his innocence, or will the vengeful Captain Bligh be successful in having him executed?

In real life, there was indeed a ship called the Bounty back in the late 1700s captained by a man named Bligh where the crew mutinied after a visit to Tahiti. That event inspired many tales, and the movies were not immune to telling the story, with an Australian silent film among the earliest in 1916. In the early 1930s, authors Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall borrowed from the legends to write a trilogy of books (Mutiny On The Bounty, Men Against The Sea and Pitcairn’s Island) on the subject. Frank Lloyd bought the film rights to the novels, hoping to direct himself as Bligh, and film it on a replica of the ship during an ocean trip to Tahiti. He sold the rights to MGM, where producer Irving Thalberg was able to convince him to direct it while abandoning his thoughts of starring in it and filming on an ocean trip. They wanted Clark Gable for the role of Fletcher Christian, but he didn’t want to do it, in between hating the period costume and being forced to shave off his mustache. Thalberg was finally able to convince him to take the role with a promise that Gable wouldn’t have to take another part he didn’t want if the movie didn’t become his biggest hit. For the role of Captain Bligh, they wanted somebody who didn’t get along with Gable off-screen to help bring out the hostilities between the characters onscreen. They first asked Wallace Beery, but his hatred for Gable was so much that he didn’t like the idea of being stuck with him for the long location shoot. Instead, they were able to get Charles Laughton, whose lifestyle and acting style caused tension between the two. It worked out well for everybody, with the film being one of the highest grossing movies of the year, and all three leads were nominated for Best Actor that year at the Oscars (but the film’s only win was for Best Picture). Plans were made (at one point or another) for two potential sequels (one following Captain Bligh, and another following Fletcher Christian), but nothing came of that. MGM remade the film in 1962 with Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard, which was nowhere near as well-received, and the story was told again in 1984 with The Bounty starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins (although that version was based on a different source than the Nordhoff and Hall novels) which was more historically accurate but still not as well-liked by audiences.

I first saw this movie about fifteen years ago (give or take a few years) when my family was renting DVDs from Netflix. At that time, I didn’t really take to the film (a combination of my taste in film at the time, not having developed an interest in Clark Gable much beyond Gone With The Wind and a DVD with a bad spot that froze up). I didn’t completely hate it, though, so there was a part of me that wanted to try it again at some point. I finally got around to seeing it again within the last year, and I now find it to be a much more enjoyable film than before! I like Clark Gable’s performance as the more sympathetic-to-his-men Fletcher Christian, especially as we see the cruelty of Captain Bligh slowly but surely get under his skin until he decides to take over the ship. And as Captain Bligh, Charles Laughton gives an equally great performance as the film’s villain, making it very easy to side with Gable’s Christian in the mutiny, even as he gains our sympathy a little when he actually takes care of his men when they are set adrift in the small boat. I’ll admit, it’s hard not to also think of The Caine Mutiny when watching this movie, given their similar concepts. Of course (and this is certainly a bit of a SPOILER for Caine and, to a lesser degree, Bounty), Caine leaves room to question whether the mutiny should have taken place, especially when Bogart’s Captain Queeg seems to be mentally unbalanced. Bounty leaves no room for question, as we see from the start that Laughton’s Captain Bligh is a cruel man without the slightest qualms about his actions, and therefore, his crew should have mutinied. Now, I will grant you, Mutiny On The Bounty is not historically accurate, most of which comes from the novels (which, as I said, drew from the legend and made Captain Bligh much more of a villain than was apparently the case in real life). Still, it’s a very entertaining movie, and one that I’ve come to appreciate more with time! Certainly a great film that I would definitely recommend!

This movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Archive Collection.

Film Length: 2 hours, 13 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

The Sign Of The Cross (1932) – Charles Laughton – The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1939)

It Happened One Night (1934) – Clark Gable – San Francisco (1936)

Dancing Lady (1933) – Franchot Tone – Nice Girl? (1941)

The King Of Hollywood And I: A Birthday Celebration (2019) with… It Happened One Night (1934)

Well, it’s February 1, so let’s celebrate Clark Gable’s birthday with one of his well-regarded classics (and his only Oscar win for Best Actor), the 1934 film It Happened One Night, also starring Claudette Colbert.

Coming Up Shorts! with… Hearts Are Thumps (1937)

(available on Blu-ray as part of The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 6 (1936-1938) from ClassicFlix)

(Length: 10 minutes, 38 seconds)

It’s Valentine’s Day, and Spanky (George McFarland), Alfalfa (Carl Switzer) and Buckwheat (Billie Thomas) have decided to swear off women by forming the “He-Man Woman Haters Club.” However, they no sooner get through taking their oath before Darla (Darla Hood) catches Alfalfa’s eye, and Spanky decides to get even with him. This one was a riot from start to finish! Most of the fun is in watching how Spanky tries to get back at Alfalfa by putting soap in the food Darla prepared for him (all without either Alfalfa or Darla knowing about it), plus the inevitable bubbles that come later! I had a lot of fun with this one, and I feel that it’s worth seeing again and again!

And Now For The Main Feature…

Wealthy heiress Ellen “Ellie” Andrews (Claudette Colbert) has just married famous aviator King Westley (Jameson Thomas), although her father, Wall Street banker Alexander Andrews (Walter Connolly), believes him to be a gold digger. As a result, Ellie is kidnapped by some of her father’s men right after the ceremony and taken to Miami (away from King). When her father threatens to have the marriage annulled, Ellie runs away from him. In an attempt to evade her father’s private detectives, she gets on a bus bound for New York (where King is). Getting on that same bus is recently-fired newspaperman Peter Warne (Clark Gable). Once he realizes who she is, he “offers” to help her get to New York in exchange for the story (or else he will turn her in to her father). While her father grows more frantic (even offering a truce with King), Ellie and Peter make their way to New York via bus and, when other passengers start to figure out her identity, on foot. As they travel, they find themselves starting to fall in love with each other. Will Ellie finish her journey to New York (and King Westley), or will she end up staying with Peter Warne?

In the early 1930s, Columbia Pictures was one of the “Poverty Row” studios, making generally cheap B-movies while having almost no stars under contract (generally borrowing them from the bigger studios). In their favor, they had director Frank Capra (who had just received the studio’s first nomination for Best Picture with 1933’s Lady For A Day). With the help of writer Robert Riskin, Capra adapted the Samuel Hopkins Adams short story “Night Bus” (originally published in Cosmopolitan in August 1933) for the big screen. The script was offered to many big stars, most of whom turned it down, for one reason or another. The legend is that MGM star Clark Gable was sent to do this film as “punishment,” either because of an affair or the result of him starting to get too big for his britches. The reality is closer to being that MGM had nothing for him at the moment (but still had to pay him a regular salary), and loaning him out essentially allowed MGM to make a profit. Regardless, Gable was not happy about the assignment, going so far as to show up drunk to his first meeting with the director. Leading lady Claudette Colbert wasn’t thrilled either (back in 1927, Capra had directed her in her first film, For The Love Of Mike, which bombed), but with four weeks free and the offer of her usual Paramount salary being doubled, she consented to making the film. Even so, she caused a lot of trouble for the director and, upon finishing the film, believed that the movie itself was awful. At first, the movie didn’t do big business (even with positive reviews), but, when it moved on to secondary theaters, the movie became a big hit. The film ended up being nominated for five Oscars (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Writing), winning all five (with actress Claudette Colbert, who didn’t think she would win, famously being brought to the ceremony from the train station, since she had been planning to take a trip).

It Happened One Night is a movie that I have had the pleasure of seeing (and enjoying!) multiple times over the years. Being labeled as a screwball comedy was certainly part of the film’s initial appeal to me. Admittedly, that label might throw others as far as what it is like. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely has memorable comedic moments, including Peter (Clark Gable) and Ellie (Claudette Colbert) deceiving the detectives at the auto camp, bus passenger Oscar Shapely (Roscoe Karns) attempting to blackmail Peter into splitting the reward money (only for Peter to turn the tables and scare him off by acting like a gangster) and the famous hitchhiking scene (one of the film’s rarer moments when Peter is humbled instead of Ellie). But the film does achieve a balance of sorts with more dramatic moments as we see the characters genuinely fall for each other. This movie is the full package, with both stars putting in fine performances (in spite of their offscreen issues), with Gable’s performance cited by some as being partial inspiration for Warner Brothers’ famous Looney Tunes character Bugs Bunny. Everything about this film makes it fun to see whenever I get the chance, and, as I consider this to be one of my favorite Clark Gable movies, I certainly would recommend this great film with ease!

The movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Criterion Collection.

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2022) with… It Happened One Night (1934)

On October 25, 2022, Sony Pictures Entertainment released It Happened One Night (1934) on 4K UHD as part of their Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 3 (which is the only way that it is available on UHD in the U.S., unless you buy an individual copy via eBay). According to the booklet included as part of the set, the film was given a 4K restoration in 2012 (which was the source of the transfer for the nearly ten-year-old Criterion Collection Blu-ray/DVD). The transfer on the 4K UHD builds on that restoration, taking care of additional flicker and dirt (which was better hidden on the Blu-ray), while adding an HDR color grade. The film’s popularity throughout its ninety years has resulted in sections of the original camera negative being damaged and replaced with duplicate footage (even as early as 1939). As a result, there was only just so much that could be done on those dupe sections even with today’s restoration technology. Some of those sections look a bit rougher (but still pretty good). The vast majority of the film, though, is a thing of beauty, that to me makes this UHD easily worth it. It’s now my preferred method of seeing this great film, and is a very highly recommended release (so get it while it’s still in print, either as part of the set or through eBay, as it may not ever get a solo release via retailers)!

Film Length: 1 hour, 45 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

Dancing Lady (1933) – Clark Gable – Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)

The Sign Of The Cross (1932) – Claudette Colbert – Cleopatra (1934)

The Bitter Tea Of General Yen (1932) – Walter Connolly – Libeled Lady (1936)