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

Color:

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:

Red River Valley

Gable and Turner in the old west

Clark Gable is a rogue trying to go straight, and Lana Turner is his wife in "Honky Tonk," a western from MGM that also stars Claire Trevor, Frank Morgan, and Marjorie Main. Gable is Candy Johnson, who blows into town, and after he wins $5,000, opens his own gambling establishment. He meets Elizabeth (Turner), whose father (Morgan) is an old crook with a respectable front as a judge. After he and Elizabeth get married, Candy gets a taste of power and starts trying to take over the town. All his efforts initially were for his bride, but his intentions get away from him.

The two stars really make this film. Turner and Gable have great chemistry, as they proved in other films together (this was their first). Gable is in his Rhett Butler phase and is at his handsomest and most charming in this pre-war era - clever, tough, sexy, and soft-hearted. The very young Turner is a good match for him - she seems overwhelmed by Candy at first, but she's got her own toughness, too, and knows what she wants. Claire Trevor is Candy's ex-girlfriend, and she's excellent as a woman who knows all there is to know about Candy and has been around the block a few times herself.

"Honky Tonk" is a big MGM picture with wonderful stars and first-class production values. The script isn't the greatest, but you'll hardly notice.