Adventure (1945)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

Frederick Hazlitt Brennan (writer)
Clyde Brion Davis (novel)

Release Date:

28 December 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Comedy

Tagline:

Gable's Back ! And Garson's Got Him ! What A Battling Sizzling Love Team !

Plot:

Sea-going roustabout falls for meek librarian. |

Plot Keywords:

Librarian | Sailor | Sailing | Marriage | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Clark Gable	...	Harry Patterson
Greer Garson	...	Emily Sears
Joan Blondell	...	Helen Melohn
Thomas Mitchell	...	Mudgin
Tom Tully	...	Gus
John Qualen	...	Model T
Richard Haydn	...	Limo
Lina Romay	...	Maria
Philip Merivale	...	Old Ramon Estado
Harry Davenport	...	Dr. Ashlon
Tito Renaldo	...	Young Ramon Estado
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stanley Andrews	...	Bit part (unconfirmed)
Florence Auer	...	Landlady (unconfirmed)
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Felipe (unconfirmed)
Joseph Crehan	...	Ed (unconfirmed)
Rex Ingram	...	Preacher (unconfirmed)
Garry Owen	...	Jabbo (unconfirmed)
Harry Wilson	...	Big mug (unconfirmed)

Also Known As:

The Big Shore Leave (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #11243)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The film was a critical and commercial disaster upon release, effectively ending its star Clark Gable's reign as "The King of Hollywood" and his viability as a box office champion. He was so disappointed by the finished film that he did not agree to act again until more than a year had passed.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Clark Gable: Tall, Dark and Handsome (1996)

Dashed hopes

Despite the bad reviews from others I watched this film with much anticipation. After all how bad could any movie be when it featured Garson, Gable, Blondell and Mitchell, and was directed by Victor Fleming. And at first it went along just fine although I must agree with the reviewer who remarked that the chemistry between Blondell and Gable was superior. They just sparkled, they were sexy, they oozed animal magnetism. That's not to say that Greer Garson didn't hold her own. In fact she was the glue that held the whole, confused thing together. Without her there was nothing to maintain the viewer's interest because quite frankly, after a while Gable's barking became just annoying. Perhaps the way he took charge was meant to convey care and affection but came across as arrogance and thoughtlessness. His tendency to overact was probably because this was his first movie after his wartime service but why didn't someone ask him to tone it down a few notches. So there you have it: a good story (that tends toward the melodramatic toward the end) and a great cast should have yielded a much better product.