Ein toller Bursche

You cannot go wrong watching a 1940's western that stars the charming and macho Clark Gable who plays a huckster named Candy Johnson with two ladies chasing after him. The first lady is the street smart, poker playing barmaid named 'Gold Dust' Nelson (Claire Trevor) and the second lady who still lives at home with her daddy judge Cotton (Frank Morgan) the one and only Grand Wizard from the 1939 classic Wizard of Oz is the Boston born debutante Elizabeth Cotton (Lana Turner).

There is no one in the modern day age of the 1940's cinema that garners more attention, confidence and natural swagger than the smooth talking Clark Gable who could even charm the skin off of a rattlesnake and he certainly lives up to his reputation in Honky Tonk. No doubt, this is a western with gamblers, gunslingers, bar room brawls and high noon shootouts, but it is also a romantic film so there is a little bit of country charm in it as well.

I would recommend Honky Tonk is worth watching at least twice in a lifetime. I give it a solid 7 out of 10 rating.

This romantic western is often overlooked. This is the first Clark Gable and Lana Turner tandem. Turner is a Boston maiden who finds herself out west and falling in love with a gambling ne're do well(Gable). Gable half heartedly wants to start living respectable; but after buying a saloon with gambling winnings, he gets the hankering to run the whole town. It is not easy to walk the straight and narrow especially with an old flame(Claire Trevor)in the mix. In spite of good intentions, this drama grows stale. Very good support from Marjorie Main, Frank Morgan, Chill Wills, Lew Harvey and Albert Dekker. Gable is Gable and Turner is drop dead beautiful...the sizzle caused by the two may be just cause to watch.

I can't add much to what has already been written about this film, except a couple of observations. One is that I am surprised by how sexy the dialogue is, and some of the situations. Parts of it play almost like a Pre-Code film. For example, when Lana wakes up the morning after "clinching" her marriage to Gable, she is in a double bed. She looks over at his side of the bed, and sees just his pillow there, as he has already gotten up. He soon comes into the room, and the story continues. What is amazing, for the post-Code year of 1941, is that they obviously slept in the same bed. As everyone knows, from 1934 until the 1960s, married couples were always limited to twin beds. Or I thought they were. I wonder how many other films got away with this? Perhaps because it is an "historical" story, the censors excused it. There are some other scenes in the film that also push the 1941 envelope- some subtle, some pretty obvious.

I agree with the others posters who point out the great chemistry between Gable and Turner. They played well in all their films together. Gable is at his height here as "Gable." The amusing, macho character everyone always remembers. Mostly by way of Rhett Butler. This was pretty much his film persona at the time. It's interesting when you watch his early '30s films, when he had a perhaps wider range of parts. He often played sensitive, educated men in those films (after his initial period playing gangsters). Doctors, a minister, flyers, an Italian soldier, Fletcher Christian, etc. I kind of wish he had played more of those types later in his career. But the public seemed to prefer him as endearing rascals.

Among a group of great character actors, Marjorie Main is the standout, for me. I love all her snide comments and zingers, which are always on the mark. She was one of those supporting actors who could steal a scene from just about anyone. And she often acted as kind of a Greek chorus, summing up the goings on. You can't help but think of Ma Kettle, as they are similar types.

Anyway, this is a pretty enjoyable film. Gable at his peak, Turner on her way up, and MGM at its zenith. And some racy dialogue, to boot.

This is a slick MGM western that pulls out all the stops. It combines the finest actors and supporting actors, excellent production values and excellent writing to make a very enjoyable picture. I'm sure that some might be put off by the style of film, as it's pretty predictable and breaks no particular new ground. However, to audiences who were paying to see a "Clark Gable Picture", they were getting exactly what they paid for--the King of Hollywood in all his macho-ness combined with the radiant Ms. Turner in an involving western about professional gambler Gable and his desire to make a fortune any way he can to initially please his new wife, but forgetting WHY over the course of the film. It's all you'd expect from a top-notch studio with top-notch stars.

Clark Gable is a rogue trying to go straight, and Lana Turner is his wife in "Honky Tonk," a western from MGM that also stars Claire Trevor, Frank Morgan, and Marjorie Main.

Gable is Candy Johnson, who blows into town, and after he wins $5,000, opens his own gambling establishment. He meets Elizabeth (Turner), whose father (Morgan) is an old crook with a respectable front as a judge. After he and Elizabeth get married, Candy gets a taste of power and starts trying to take over the town. All his efforts initially were for his bride, but his intentions get away from him.

The two stars really make this film. Turner and Gable have great chemistry, as they proved in other films together (this was their first). Gable is in his Rhett Butler phase and is at his handsomest and most charming in this pre-war era - clever, tough, sexy, and soft-hearted.

The very young Turner is a good match for him - she seems overwhelmed by Candy at first, but she's got her own toughness, too, and knows what she wants. Claire Trevor is Candy's ex-girlfriend, and she's excellent as a woman who knows all there is to know about Candy and has been around the block a few times herself.

"Honky Tonk" is a big MGM picture with wonderful stars and first-class production values. The script isn't the greatest, but you'll hardly notice.