"Pay attention to her singing" is what another reviewer wrote. Well, it would be kinda' hard NOT to pay attention since 90% of this movie is nothing but Jeanette McDonald's caterwauling. I can appreciate music of just about any kind, but I did not think I would literally be watching a musical, starring a goody two-shoes, who has about as much stage presence as a turnip. I also did not know I would be captive to so many meddlesome people in one movie.
Spencer Tracey played the local priest, and I wanted to slap him until my arms got tired. He was always into everybody's business. Jeanette McDonald's character was so wishy-washy, you never knew from one minute to the next which man had become her flavor of the month. Clark Gable was, well, Clark Gable. This is certainly not one of his best, and it was nice to know it took some MAJOR persuasion to convince him to do the role. He and McDonald had absolutely ZERO chemistry.
The ending, which was the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, was pretty spectacular for a movie made in 1936, but was ruined by a Joan-of- Arc McDonald again wailing "Nearer my God to Thee." The director (and all others involved) managed to choke people on the "better quit your sinning" message, which finally tolled the death knell for me.
Spencer Tracey played the local priest, and I wanted to slap him until my arms got tired. He was always into everybody's business. Jeanette McDonald's character was so wishy-washy, you never knew from one minute to the next which man had become her flavor of the month. Clark Gable was, well, Clark Gable. This is certainly not one of his best, and it was nice to know it took some MAJOR persuasion to convince him to do the role. He and McDonald had absolutely ZERO chemistry.
The ending, which was the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, was pretty spectacular for a movie made in 1936, but was ruined by a Joan-of- Arc McDonald again wailing "Nearer my God to Thee." The director (and all others involved) managed to choke people on the "better quit your sinning" message, which finally tolled the death knell for me.