Carole Lombard

[Amy Jeanne]

Carole Lombard.

Tell me what you think of her. What do you know about her?

After years of disliking her (long story!), I've finally come to my senses and now I'm a bit obsessed

Any thoughts, photos, or information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[The Reno Kid]

I love her! Anyone who was married to William Powell (even if only briefly) can't be all bad.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

... and Clark Gable.

I read some years ago that a man who had filmed all the famous stars of the past was once asked who were the most beautiful actresses to film. He mentioned Garbo, and Bergman, and Audrey Hepburn, but he said that the woman who was easiest to film was Carole Lombard, that she could be photographed from any angle and in any light and always looked beautiful.

I was suprized by that, thought that there would be several actresses who would look better in front of the camera, but that is what he said.

karol

 

[Tomasso]

After years of disliking her (long story!)

We've got time.

 

[cookie]

Wasn't she Old Man Kennedy's (the Ambassador's) girlfriend that he was gonna leave Rose for and got her pregnant and all?????

 

[HadleyH]

What can one say about her that it hasn't been said before... she was fun, beautiful,great comedianne,a sensitive giving person... her conversation was brilliant and she had the vocabulary of a "sailor parrot"...D [huh] ) she always embarrassed everybody when she talked...

Says Margaret Wyler:

"Even people who were amused by Carole's language found it bewildering.She was an absolutely eye-opening person to me because she was this curious mixture. She was beautiful, obviously - exceedingly beautiful - and very femenine and very glamorous, and used language like I have never heard.I have neve heard anyone, male or female, talk like that"


Carole Lombard, can I be your friend?

 

[Kim_B]

http://www.carolelombardhouse.com/

One of these days I'd like to stay here...even though I only live an hour away and work a few blocks from it....

 

[HadleyH]

One last bit of info;
When Clark and Carole got married -

"He wore a navy suit, white shirt and silk tie. She was dressed simply - the way he liked her best and the way she looked most beautiful - in a man-tailored, grey flannel suit. Except for the flaring white hankerchief in Clark's pocket and the slim gold chain on Carole's left ankle, their style would be as elegantly fashionable today as it was in 1939."

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Cookie: I thought that was Gloria Swanson.

karol

 

[Amy Jeanne]

We've got time.

lol lol lol
Well, I really don't like her much in My Man Godfrey (1936). I think she's a bit annoying. The other films I manged to see with her in them - The Gay Bride (1934) and Fools For Scandal (1938) - were so bad I just gave up on trying to like her. Also, I read somwhere that when she married Clark Gable she turned her back on good friend William Haines. True or not (not), I always had that stick out in my mind whenever I thought about her.

BUT!!

I really wanted to like her because of her sailor-mouth (I have one!) and her great glamour and lack of pretentiousness.

After hearing more about her from "experts" and watching some of her better movies, I am now currently obesessed with her.

In a way, I think it's good that it took me so long to get into her. After almost 10 years of being obsessed with old movies and stars, I was beginning to think I had seen and learned it all. Not so. Carole was in my "reserves." lol

 

[Amy Jeanne]

A Few Of My Fave Photos...

LOVE the hair!

 

[Nathan Dodge]

I posted on the Golden Age girl thread (which promptly died afterwards) about how Lombard was my new favorite Golden Age actress. I enjoyed her in Hands Across the Table (1935), To Be or Not To be (1942), Nothing Sacred (1937; a must!). I hope TCM features Lombard again this year in their "Summer of Stars".

After hearing more about her from "experts" and watching some of her better movies, I am now currently obesessed with her.

Me, too!


And once again, some favorite pics of Lombard:

 

[Liz]

Also, I read somwhere that when she married Clark Gable she turned her back on good friend William Haines. True or not (not), I always had that stick out in my mind whenever I thought about her.

I remember reading something similar, and it always bothered me as well. That said, I would have rather been friends with William Haines than married to Clark Gable! lol

Other than that, I think Carole was a great actress and one of the most beautiful stars of the '30s. And I love the photo of Carole and the cat that you posted!

 

[cookie]

Cookie: I thought that was Gloria Swanson.

karol

Correctamundo. Thanks!

 

[Nathan Dodge]

One Lombard film I'm really wanting to see is No Man of Her Own. There's also a 2001 documentary Carole Lombard: Hollywood's Profane Angel that would be interesting. Actually, there are several of her films I haven't seen yet! There's also precious little on Lombard bookwise, which is shocking. I actually have trouble finding books with 1930s overviews. Many of the ones that were published were written in the 1970s, but there's nothing recent.

 

[Midnight Palace]

What a beautiful photo!!!

 

[imoldfashioned]

Carole Lombard is one of my favorites, not just for the freshness she brought to the screen but for her wonderful qualities as a person as well. If you haven't read Screwball by Larry Swindell do pick it up, it's a great read and the only real biography of Lombard.

One of my favorite scenes ever is in My Man Godfrey when William Powell sits her down and asks something like "can you listen to me for just one second?" and she says "I'll try" in most adorable way, so spontaneous. Twentieth Century is hysterical, Nothing Sacred, To Be or Not To Be, and my guilty pleasure In Name Only--an unbashed "women's film" with Cary Grant and the great Kay Francis. I love it that she can seem so down to earth, real, even slapstickish and then turn around and be so glamourous the next minute.

She also seems to have been a kind, generous person with so many stories of her helping the movie crews and her friends behind the scenes. Her patriotism volunteering to sell war bonds so soon after Pearl Harbor is inspirational and her tragically early death so sad.

Some of my favorite photos:

Carole doing her bit to raise the image of Librarians

Sweet photo with then husband William Powell

Wearing the diamond and ruby clips Clark Gable gave her--I've been looking for costume versions of these for years

 

[Amy Jeanne]

There's also precious little on Lombard bookwise, which is shocking.

I KNOW!! I only came across one bio on amazon.com and it had such bad reviews I didn't even consider it. I've been relying on bits from other books and other fans for my Carole info!

 

[Midnight Palace]

I would keep looking Amy, you never know! Initially, I could only find the one Stanwyck biography, which also got horrible reviews. I pretty much accepted the fact that a good bio on her didn't exist. Since that time, I've found 2 bios on her, both got great reviews but are older (one book is from the 70s, one from the 80s). So keep looking, you might find a somewhat obscure, yet thoroughly written book on Ms. Lombard

 

[HadleyH]

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And that's one of my favorite photos of her! :eusa_clap