Honky Tonk (1941)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Jack Conway

Writers:

Marguerite Roberts (writer)
John Sanford (writer)

Release Date:

1 October 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Another "Boom Town" but better !

Plot:

When gambler Candy Johnson comes to the small-town Yellow Creek he has set his mind on the narrow path to live an honest life...

Plot Keywords:

Candy | Saloon | Gunfight | Nevada | Con Artist

Cast

Clark Gable	...	'Candy' Johnson
Lana Turner	...	Elizabeth Cotton
Frank Morgan	...	Judge Cotton
Claire Trevor	...	'Gold Dust' Nelson
Marjorie Main	...	Mrs. Varner
Albert Dekker	...	Brazos Hearn
Henry O'Neill	...	Daniel Wells
Chill Wills	...	The Sniper
Veda Ann Borg	...	Pearl
Douglas Wood	...	Governor Wilson
Betty Blythe	...	Mrs. Wilson
Harry Worth	...	Harry Gates
Lew Harvey	...	Blackie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arthur Belasco	...	Pallbearer (scenes deleted)
Eddie Gribbon	...	Pallbearer (scenes deleted)
Russell Hicks	...	Dr. Otis (scenes deleted)
Ralph Peters	...	Pallbearer (scenes deleted)
Syd Saylor	...	Pallbearer (scenes deleted)
Harry Semels	...	Pallbearer (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7634)

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Gable's wife at the time of production, Carole Lombard, was often on the set, keeping aware of Turner's party girl reputation and her husband's affinity for blondes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Stratton Story (1949)

Soundtrack:

Oh, Dem Golden Slippers

Totally unrepentent

MY absolute all time favorite Clark Gable movie is Honky Tonk. Gable's Candy Johnson is more perfect characterization for him than Rhett Butler was. This movie is in the pinacle of Gable's career between Gone With The Wind and Carole Lombard's death.

Gable and Chill Wills are a pair old West con men who we first see ac- tually conning their way out of a tar and feathering. They sneak aboard a train and Gable meets Lana Turner who he falls head over heels for. He soon finds out she's the daughter of a fellow grifter, Frank Morgan, who's the justice of the peace of the town they've arrived at. And the fun starts.

Lana Turner in the beginning of her career had a certain winsomeness

that was very effective on the screen. You can see the same thing in another of her films with Gable, Homecoming. Supposedly Gable and she had a fling during this film and this was when Gable had that storybook marriage to Carole Lombard.

Gable and Turner get great support her with a cast that includes Frank Morgan, Chill Wills, Marjorie Main, Henry O'Neill, Claire Trevor, and Albert Dekker. The film begins with a con and actually ends with one as Gable cons the bad guys into giving up, I won't reveal how.

Finally I like this film because even though he gets the girl and even might be settling down, Gable is totally unrepentent about his past. Very unusual for 1941 Hollywood.