Best-known for his portrayal of Rhett Butler in “Gone With the Wind,” 1930s Hollywood star Clark Gable appeared in more than 70 films. But there were roles he missed that made other actors famous.
Dr. Wayne Talbot in “Dinner at Eight”
The MGM studio considered Gable for the role of Dr. Wayne Talbot in this all-star comedy-drama, “however the only role Gable was right for was a supporting one,” author Eila Mell writes in her
book, “Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory.” Instead, Edmund Lowe got the part.
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Preysing in “Grand Hotel”
This 1932 movie was “considered the granddaddy of the formula films in which a cross-section of characters is temporarily thrown together by special circumstances,”
the Orlando Sentinel once said in its movie section. And Gable was initially cast as Preysing, but that didn’t happen. “The real surprise is Wallace Beery as Herr Preysing, the ruthless Prussian industrialist,” the Sentinel said. “Beery, who primarily was known for his portrayals of a lovable lug, initially balked at the out-of-character role. But (Producer Irving) Thalberg insisted that he accept the part.”
Ned Trent in “The Harvey Girls”
The 1946 musical “The Harvey Girls,” starring Judy Garland, was almost a straight-up Western that would have starred Lana Turner and Clark Gable. But the studio changed direction on the project,
Classic Movies Digest noted. The Ned role went to John Hodiak.
The Man Who Would Be King
Thirty years before director John Huston finally made this 1975 film starring Sean Connery, Huston wanted to do it starring Gable and Humphrey Bogart,
Turner Movie Classic noted in the film’s movie listing. By then, Connery already had his rise to fame as secret agent James Bond, but “The Man Who Would Be King” helped establish him as Hollywood royalty.
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