To Please a Lady

A decent film of its era, with a very formulaic story arc between the two main characters. I had only watched this because Barbara Stanwyck was starring in it. I had no idea that it was a racing movie. But as a racing fan, it was a lot of fun to see the vintage racing footage. Even though Clark Gable was mostly acting in front of a projection screen for the racing closeups, they spliced it all together very well. And even though auto racing is dangerous now, wow, they raced open top cars with no seat belts at all, no roll bar, no fire suit, pretty much nothing at all to protect a driver except a partial helmet and goggles. Also fun to see the pit stops with a lever for a jack, and hammers to remove and replace the main tire nuts. Apparently, a lot of footage from the 1950 Indianapolis 500 was used and it was something to see.

I've gotta be honest. I never cared for racing films till I saw Cornel Wilde's "Devil's Hairpin" at a Saturday matinée a long time ago. It seemed like the start of 'modern' racing to me, where cars looked like cars and not bathtubs on wheels, and guys like Newman and Garner and McQueen were behind the wheel. Stuff made before that seemed too old and dated and creaky. So it was with some trepidation that I stayed up to watch this Gable/Stanwyck vehicle race around my TV screen for the first time. God knows it had to be creaky. They were making it while I was being conceived, and showing it in theaters while I was learning about baby formula! Yeah, there's a similar theme of drivers killing drivers like in "Devil's Hairpin", but there's Stanwyck going from being too hard-nose to sappy in love just a little too fast, Gable knocks her over way too quickly with no reason shown why he's even attracted to her, and the stars of the film look like they should have made this movie ten years earlier. But then, these stars were at the top of their game. When Stanwyck's assistant swoons over Clark Gable, she should. He's still the king! There were still plenty of women in the audience who would. And let's face it, Gable just had to dig Stanwyck because she was the best tough cookie with a soft center to come out of Hollywood ever. Gable slapping her, and some lines of dialogue stand out, especially Stanwyck saying, "You're nobody till somebody loves you," which had to predate Dean Martin's first recording of that by five years! There are lots of scenes of auto racing history for fans who appreciate that sort of thing to enjoy, but there's also the stars themselves to enjoy. Unlike today, there was a time when faces and personalities meant more to a film than the story itself, and it's watching these two stars go through the motions that really make this film worth watching even after all these years have passed.

Car racing may not be my thing or my first choice of what to watch on a regular basis, but classic film of all genres most definitely is. Both Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck were cinematic screen legends and while both of them had hit and miss film choices they were always worth watching (with a slight preference for Stanwyck). Clarence Brown is not a favourite director of mine but he did make a lot of above average to great films with few misfires.

Once one gets past the lousy and rather misleading title, 'To Please a Lady' is not one of those misfires and is above average in execution. It may be wanting in the story and script departments and both Gable and Stanwyck did better films before and since, especially before (no iconic stuff here). But neither bring the side down and neither does Brown in the director's chair. Even non-car racing fans should find some worth in 'To Please a Lady' as will those that are fans.

'To Please a Lady' does have a good deal done well. Gable's tough charisma and Stanwyck's steel really shine through, as do their wit and crackling chemistry. Have always gotten a lot of enjoyment out of Adolphe Menjou, he was often seen in one particularly recognisable role but he played that so well that it doesn't matter and this is no exception. All the cast do well. The racing does thrill and excite and one does get very nostalgic over seeing and recognising all the different cars. Brown's direction is lively and distinguished enough.

Although the production values are not perfect, the photography is nicely framed and slick throughout. Bronislau Kaper was a gifted composer with a number of fine scores, his one for 'To Please a Lady' is not one of his best but it fits and doesn't overbear at least. The script has some wit and the film isn't dull at least.

Having said that the story is very thin and often rather contrived, while the racing thrills some of the non-racing aspects of the story could have done with more juice. Some wit aside, the script flows rather awkwardly, can be rather trite and some lines did make me cringe.

Would have liked more development to the romance, which was convincing in chemistry but development-wise it felt unrealistically rushed. Character motivations also could have been elaborated upon more and while the photography is fine the back projection and splicing can be obvious at times.

Concluding, above average but not great. 6/10

Dreary day in Auckland New Zealand, October 2005 and TCM has "To Please a Lady " on twice in the one day. Between mowing the lawns, I watch it twice. Sludge overkill? If it had been about a football star I wouldn't have watched it. The story line is as thin as Gable's moustache. But the automotive background, 55 years old, is priceless. Some of the "action" scenes are stagey, but you can tell that Gable does some of the close up, high speed driving - you don't get wind buffet on cheeks and arms from driving at 30mph! To see an Offy' motor being stripped, to see inside what looked like a genuine 1950 racing shop and to see Mauri Rose in the legendary Novi was incredible. Not for everyone, but for classic motor racing enthusiasts this movie is a hidden treasure. You get the feeling that Gable must have been a motor racing fan.

Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck star in "To Please a Lady," a 1950 film directed by Clarence Brown. Adolphe Menjou also stars.

It took Gable's career a while to get back on track - excuse the pun - after World War II. He was older than the other matinée idols, he was a grieving widower when he returned from the war, and the indelible image he had created as Rhett Butler would haunt him. It wasn't until the mid-fifties that he really found his groove with some very good films.

This is one of the ordinary type films Gable made during this period, and here he's joined by Barbara Stanwyck as a sharp columnist. She is critical of midget car racer Gable when, during a race, another driver is killed, and he was part of the collision. She basically destroys his career in midget car racing. After some stunt driving, he earns enough to buy a car to enter the big car races. Feeling at first guilty about hurting his career, Stanwyck seeks him out while he's stunt driving; they fall for one another, but she can't get past his ruthlessness in competition.

Both stars are very good. Stanwyck did these cold businesswomen well. She's moving here into older women roles, her wonderful figure intact.

There is a lot of speedway racing in this film.

This movie is pleasant enough, but it would have been nice if stars of this stature could have been given a really top-notch script and production values.