Parnell - O Rei Sem Coroa

I'm inclined to agree with the other reviewers who have commented on the fact that Gable was the wrong man for this particular job.It might bear some discussion as to why this might have been so.

Gable's screen persona was that of a "man's man."Hearty,frank,forthright,generous,and good natured.You'd find yourself enjoying his company,if only for an evening.(Let's not get into the fact that his camping trips were manufactured for screen publicity,or the rumors of his having been a hustler at the bus depot.We've all done things that we've been ashamed of.)But Gable was a broad actor;truly subtle work was beyond him.And nobility and sensitivity weren't with his range,either.He did what he could do very well.But not with this.

I keep thinking that Ronald Colman,Walter Pigeon,and Errol Flynn all would have been better choices.

Parnell is not a well known old movie, but even at the time, it didn't go over well with audiences. It was such a box office bomb, Clark Gable vowed he'd never make another period piece again. We can all have a chuckle at his promise, since he was shortly afterwards cast as Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind, but it certainly explains why he didn't want to take that part.

Clark starred as Charles Parnell, an Irish politician at the end of the 1800s. As usual, he didn't put on any accent for the role. Neither did Myrna Loy, his leading lady. But why wasn't it Robert Montgomery or Franchot Tone, actors who did put on Irish accents for their movies? Clark and Myrna played love interests in seven movies, so they certainly had their chemistry practiced. In this one, she's an unhappily married woman, and despite the huge political risks to getting involved with her, Clark can't resist her. This was a true story, so if you're cringing and wondering why Clark couldn't put the good of the country ahead of a pretty face, just remember that the real Parnell couldn't either. Personally, I found the romance a little irritating, since so much was at stake. But that's what true love means!

In the supporting cast, you'll see lots of familiar faces, like Edna May Oliver, Edmund Gwenn, Donald Crisp, Alan Marshal, Billie Burke, and Donald Meek. But the biggest treat of all is to sit through a Clark Gable movie and not hear him shout. Perhaps Gable really did his research and wanted to give a good impression of Parnell, if he was soft spoken, or perhaps he just wanted to try a departure from his usual loud, shouting delivery. Whatever the case, he seemed like a totally different actor, and it was very nice to see him try a different acting style.

The character of Parnell has interested me ever since I read James Joyce's Ulysses. I caught this movie by accident when channel surfing and landed on TCM, the source of many old movie nuggets. "Parnell" brings us some first rate actors, from Clark Gable to Myrna Loy, Edmund Gwyn and Donald Crisp. The viewer sees the main outline of the controversy involving Charles Parnell and Kitty O'Shea and its impact on the Irish Free State bill. The movie is dressed up in melodrama with violin music to the strains of Irish ballads. This cloying treatment, not unusual in Hollywood, does not detract from the story of a great man and the overlooked merits of this film. Parnell brought the Irish factions together to achieve a significant breakthrough in his time and might have saved many troubles. Parnell was the stuff of greatness and his story has been enshrined in history and literature. We know that the struggle for Ireland continued beyond his life; still, his story reverberates. This movie gives a sense of the tragedy but the poor sound and grainy film are a bit of an irritation. Also, the choice of Clark Gable, Hollywood's rugged icon of the 1930's, for the role of Parnell, falls flat. This is unfortunate because the movie is far from a disaster. Nevertheless, I would like to see a film with a more complete story, with more character development and background. It would tell the epic tale of Parnell's achievements and the forces that shaped Ireland in the late nineteenth century. The British movie industry does those period movies very well. This movie gives us a taste of that history.

Legend has it that Clark Gable was badly miscast in this movie, an example of an actor who wanted to show that he could do more than the roles in which he had been type-cast but in fact showed that he could not.

Well, legend is in part right. Gable could do many things, quite well. But he is very bad in this movie, for several reasons.

First is that he seems to have no command of the oratorical style that is supposedly the gift of every Irishman and certainly of every Irish politician. This is strange, because he certainly commanded an oratorical style in movies like *San Francisco*. But it's true. When he addresses Parliament, or his fellow Irish politicians, he sounds weak, and in no way raises his audience with the power of his oratory. That is all the more clear because several of the other actors in this movie demonstrate a fine oratorical style. The contrast is striking, and not in Gable's favor.

Second, the script often stinks. It is wooden, unrealistic, and sometimes almost laughable.

Third, there is no drama in these scenes. The movie drags badly.

I have the feeling that Gable, or the director, did much of this intentionally, making an effort to create a character that did not have Gable's usual flair, like Blacky in *San Francisco*, for example. Perhaps I'm wrong. But seeing Gable play someone so often so weak is not an appealing sight.

John Stahl is famous for his tear-jerkers -often excellent- which make ladies (and gentlemen)cry rivers of tears.Remember "only yesterday" "back street" or his precedent movie "the magnificent obsession"."Parnell " is another matter because it deals with the life and times of an Irish hero who fights for his people right ,a real human being ,not,say, a Fanny Hurst's character.The problem is that Gable's and Loy's characters resemble Fanny Hurst's characters.The movie runs almost two hours and the screenplay is often muddled and confuse.Arguably,Stahl hesitates between a straight political biography -and he's not really good at that- and a full bore melodrama -Gable's and Loy's impossible love)and it satisfies neither the fans of the first genre nor the soap operas' buffs.The ending ,which is guaranteed to send the sensitive people tearing through a ton a kleenex,is pure Stahl Stuff. Best part comes from Edna May Oliver ,playing Loy's auntie.Otherwise,a disappointment and .. a bore.