Parnell (film)
Encyclopedia
Parnell is a 1937 MGM film starring Clark Gable
as Charles Stewart Parnell
, the famous Irish politician. It is considered Gable's worst film, and is classified in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time
.
. Myrna Loy
, meanwhile, was to star in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
(1937). MGM literally flipped the assignments as Crawford did not get along with director John Stahl. Another issue came with the beard that the real Charles Parnell wore. Fans balked at the idea of Gable wearing a beard, and Gable, whose limit in facial hair was his mustache, agreed. It was settled upon that Gable would only have a set of sideburns. As filming began, Gable felt very uneasy with his role, either unable or unwilling to portray the sensitive nature required to capture the character. Loy later recalled, "I learned about another side of him at that time. He was a man who loved poetry and fine literature, read it, and knew it. He would read poetry to me sometimes during breaks, but he didn't want anyone to know it ." One of the many concerns that Gable had about this production, added to literally everything about it, was the acting that would be required of him to play out a believable death scene. During the filming of the death scene, Stahl put on mood music to help the actors get into character. Gable loathed the music and complained to Carole Lombard
. The next day, when Stahl called for the music to be turned on, a jazzy version of "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You", went floating throughout the studio.
Parnell lost around $637,000 in profits and has been labeled the worst film in Gable and Loy's long and successful film careers. Loy said of the film later, "Disgruntled fans wrote to the studio by the thousands--they did that in those days. Some of the critics complained that we played against type. We were actors, for God's sake. We couldn't be Blackie Norton and Nora Charles all the time." Following the flop that Parnell was, Gable vowed never to do a costume drama or biopic again. It was the failure of Parnell that also provided another reason for Gable to be fearful of doing Gone with the Wind
. Fortunately, he was persuaded otherwise, and his fans, willing to forget the mishap that was Parnell, quickly embraced him as he moved forward in his career.
as Charles Stewart Parnell
Myrna Loy
as Katie O'Shea
Edna May Oliver
as Aunt Ben
Edmund Gwenn
as Campbell
Alan Marshall
as Captain William O'Shea
Donald Crisp
as Davitt
Billie Burke
as Clara Wood
Berton Churchill
as The O'Gorman Mahon
Donald Meek
as Murphy
Montagu Love
as Gladstone
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
as Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
, the famous Irish politician. It is considered Gable's worst film, and is classified in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time
The Fifty Worst Films of All Time
The Fifty Worst Films of All Time is a 1978 book by Harry Medved, with Randy Dreyfuss and Michael Medved. This book represents choices for the 50 worst sound films ever made, in alphabetical order...
.
Production
Parnell had originally been cast to star Gable and his frequent co-star Joan CrawfordJoan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
. Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
, meanwhile, was to star in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937 film)
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney is a 1937 drama/comedy motion picture starring Joan Crawford, William Powell, Robert Montgomery and Frank Morgan. The film tells the story of a chic jewel thief in England, who falls in love with one of her marks....
(1937). MGM literally flipped the assignments as Crawford did not get along with director John Stahl. Another issue came with the beard that the real Charles Parnell wore. Fans balked at the idea of Gable wearing a beard, and Gable, whose limit in facial hair was his mustache, agreed. It was settled upon that Gable would only have a set of sideburns. As filming began, Gable felt very uneasy with his role, either unable or unwilling to portray the sensitive nature required to capture the character. Loy later recalled, "I learned about another side of him at that time. He was a man who loved poetry and fine literature, read it, and knew it. He would read poetry to me sometimes during breaks, but he didn't want anyone to know it ." One of the many concerns that Gable had about this production, added to literally everything about it, was the acting that would be required of him to play out a believable death scene. During the filming of the death scene, Stahl put on mood music to help the actors get into character. Gable loathed the music and complained to Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
. The next day, when Stahl called for the music to be turned on, a jazzy version of "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You", went floating throughout the studio.
Parnell lost around $637,000 in profits and has been labeled the worst film in Gable and Loy's long and successful film careers. Loy said of the film later, "Disgruntled fans wrote to the studio by the thousands--they did that in those days. Some of the critics complained that we played against type. We were actors, for God's sake. We couldn't be Blackie Norton and Nora Charles all the time." Following the flop that Parnell was, Gable vowed never to do a costume drama or biopic again. It was the failure of Parnell that also provided another reason for Gable to be fearful of doing Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
. Fortunately, he was persuaded otherwise, and his fans, willing to forget the mishap that was Parnell, quickly embraced him as he moved forward in his career.
Cast
Clark GableClark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
as Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
as Katie O'Shea
Edna May Oliver
Edna May Oliver
Edna May Oliver was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the best-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters.-Early life:...
as Aunt Ben
Edmund Gwenn
Edmund Gwenn
Edmund Gwenn was an English theatre and film actor.-Background:Born Edmund John Kellaway in Wandsworth, London , and educated at St. Olave's School and later at King's College London, Gwenn began his acting career in the theatre in 1895...
as Campbell
Alan Marshall
Alan Marshall
Alan Marshall was an Australian writer, story teller and social documenter.His best known book, I Can Jump Puddles is the first of a three-part autobiography...
as Captain William O'Shea
Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
as Davitt
Billie Burke
Billie Burke
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...
as Clara Wood
Berton Churchill
Berton Churchill
Berton Churchill was a Canadian actor.Born in Toronto, Ontario. As a young man interested in the theater, he appeared in stock companies as early as 1903 and later headed to New York City where he began an acting career that soon put him on the Broadway stage...
as The O'Gorman Mahon
Donald Meek
Donald Meek
Donald Meek was a Scottish-born American character actor. He first worked as a stage actor and later became a film actor, starring in several movies including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Miss Broadway, and State Fair. Before becoming an actor, he fought in the Spanish-American War and...
as Murphy
Montagu Love
Montagu Love
Montagu Love , also known as Montague Love, was an English screen, stage and vaudeville actor.Born Harry Montague Love in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and educated in Great Britain, Love began his career as an artist and military correspondent. His first important job was as a London newspaper...
as Gladstone