Clark vs. George

Hey Y'all!

A few days ago, I had a very interesting conversation with my friend Lulu. If you read my blogs, you know she's my friend in France with whom I proudly co-president The Marlon Jackson Fan Club.
Anyway, we were chatting and shooting the breeze and somehow I got around to telling her about this new story I'm researching and working on. And I was going through, showing her pictures of people who I had based my character's appearances off of.

One of my characters was based, physically, on one of my favorite actors, Mr. George Brent.
(I wrote a blog a while back, detailing how much I love this man! )

And as Lulu looked at, she said something I did not expect,

"Tiffeny, he looks like that guy from Gone with the Wind".

I instantly said,

"Don't say that!"

She meant actor--and King of the Movies, so they say--Mr. Clark Gable.

It bothered me a bit, because I actually prefer George Brent over Clark Gable. But more than that, by the early 1930s, when George was first starting to tip-toe into Hollywood, he was actually marketed as "The NEXT Clark Gable", as a tall, swarthy, dark haired, blue eyed lover.

Here's Proof: From Photoplay magazine, June 1932



It is begging people not to compare the two actors. But both were quite similar in a way.
Clark Gable was from England and crossed the pond to America in the twenties. George Brent was from Ireland and also came to America in the 1920s.
Believe it or not, George and Clark actually knew each other before Hollywood. Both had played together in a Broadway show.
After the show closed, Clark came to Hollywood and people seemed to salivate over his tea cup-eared self. Some years later when George came along, he was put into all sorts of pictures with big names, like Ruth Chatterton (whom he married), Bette Davis (whom he had an affair with and starred in THIRTEEN  pictures with.), Kay Francis and Ginger Rogers, just to name a few.
But Clark was highly regarded and while after the success of Gone with the Wind, he remained prominent, George drifted into B-movies, and eventually from the public completely.
He married five times and died of emphysema in 1979.

Now I have watched films by both men. I have a copy of Gone with the Wind, with Clark, and Dark Victory with George. Both films came out in 1939. Now in 1938, George acted in a similar film with Bette Davis called Jezebel.

Call it blasphemy, but I would have preferred him over Clark Gable.
George as Buck Cantrell. (Jezebel was shot in Black and White)

Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind.

I recently read a blog in which a lady basically said aside from a pretty face and decent body, George was emotionless as an actor. I must disagree. I don't see it. But I suppose the cards were stacked against him. He never really was "George". He was a poor man's "Clark". And that's quite unfortunate. Because I think he was much more handsome than Clark.


George with Ruth in Female.


George with Kay in Living on Velvet.

George, Ginger, and Kay, around his throat. I swooned over this! He wasn't muscly but just big and broad and I dig that!

Judge for yourself:



Hot Damn! I see the resemblance. But Clark (right) with those ears kill me every time. I always imagined if a strong breeze hit him, he'd go airborne. I think that's why I like George. Clark's ears actually distracted me as he performed because they jutted out so.
George's laid naturally against his head.

That being said, I have watched a great deal of Clark's film's beyond GWTW. My particular favorite is Red Dust with Jean Harlow and Mary Astor. (20 years later, in the 50s, Clark played the same character in the remake, entitled Mogambo and starring Grace Kelly before she married Prince Rainier and became Princess Grace. )
NO ONE ASK ME HOW I KNOW ALL THIS, I JUST DO!

Clark and Jean--would you believe she was only 21 there?

Clark and Kelly--20 years later.

Okay I said all that to say this. I respect both of the men as actors. But while I like Clark simply as an actor, I was attracted to George. Anytime now on TCM when I hear mention of a George in a film, I literally will NOT move and have to see him!

And I just wanted to speak on the topic since I am a novice classic film buff.

(With the exception of Living in Velvet, I've watched every film I've mentioned in this post.)