Aventura no Oriente

One of those Hollywood booboos - one of many - that passed their scrutinization with their typical blind eye. Both eyes, in fact., wide open but unseeing. What started off as mildly amusing, turned, post haste, into a mish-mash of morass. To begin with, Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell are jewel thieves, independent of one another in their thievery, outwitting one another in the heist of a priceless necklace owned by the grande dame, Jessie Ralph, who plays drunk well. No surprise here, they hook up by hook and crook, and continue thieving, often taking from regular old small business owners, which was not funny at all. Peter Lorre, somehow or other, shows up as another character of bad character, his specialty. No big surprise, duplicitous character, in this case, a cargo ship captain who is anxious to betray his new passengers and attain the stolen goods for a handsome reward. Eventually, and for the final too many minutes, Gable is suddenly in the military, receiving honors as a hero. Russell underplaying for a change, proves she did not have to indulge in ham when she wanted to. Gable, all smirk and grin and raised eyebrow and innuendo, is Gable. Better to get on a slow boat to China then join this crew of miscreants.

Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell team up in "They Met in Bombay," a 1941 film also starring Peter Lorre. The two are both thieves, both with their eye on a valuable necklace, when they meet - she posing as aristocracy, he posing as a detective. They end up on the lam and in love.

The fun part of this film takes place later on when Gable, trying to come up with an escape plan for the two of them, gets a uniform and poses as a soldier. Unfortunately, a situation arises and a superior officer grabs him off the street for special duty. He's then in a very difficult position indeed.

It's fun to watch the two stars together. MGM didn't always know what to do with Russell's strong beauty - in "Trouble for Two" she is extremely Garboesque - here, her hairstyle and makeup are pure Hedy Lamar. Either way, she looks great and gives a nice performance as a woman in love in spite of herself. Gable is charming and plays it dead serious, which makes his war duties even more bizarre, as he's totally believable. Peter Lorre is on hand for a touch of the sinister.

The script could have been stronger to support these two stars and a good story. Nevertheless, it's good, breezy entertainment.

Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell had worked twice together before. Russell was a supporting player in two of Gable's previous films, China Seas and Forsaking All Others. But in They Met in Bombay they make a bright pair of competing and then cooperating thieves.

Bombay is in fact where they do meet, both of them working individually on a caper to steal a really big diamond belonging to inebriated Dutchess, Jessie Ralph. When they discover who each really is, there's some antagonism, but the police chasing them forces some cooperation which becomes more and more willing as the film progresses.

The pair eventually arrive in Hong Kong and I dare not say more, but some of Gable's con games involve him something far bigger than he can handle as the plot takes some unbelievable turns.

Gable and Russell worked well together, it's a pity that this was their only teaming on the big screen. Look also for good performances by Peter Lorre as the sly Chinese freighter captain and Reginald Owen as the British General and Matthew Boulton as the frustrated British police inspector. Also if you look fast you'll see Alan Ladd in a minute part as a British soldier in a scene with Gable while the leads are in Hong Kong.

They Met in Bombay is fast paced and very funny and still holds up remarkably well today.

This film is rather formulaic. Clark plays an international con man thief who falls in love with a female version of himself (Ms. Russell). While this certainly doesn't break any new ground and is a very predictable by-the-numbers MGM production, you are still left with a movie that is great fun but won't change your life. I, for one, love films like this. That's because I like the formula--as did the rest of America at the time. That's because despite its short-comings the film was dripping with quality. Both actors are at the top of their game, the writing and dialog is snappy fun and the direction is on target. All-in-all, a lot of fun and sure to please fans of this genre.

I don't think I have ever seen Clark Gable in a bad movie, or with a sub par performance and this 1941 black and white film is no exception. Gable maintains his swagger throughout as Gerald Meldrick, a con man with a quick wit and an endless supply of phony names and costumes, but he is eventually positively influenced by his new romantic partner in crime Anya Von Duren (Rosalind Russell) and he finds himself outmatched when it comes down to the crunch to continue living a life of crime always on the move at a moments notice to avoid the authorities, or to do the right thing and fight for his country.

The film has a bit of romance, a bit of comedy, a bit of a con job and a lot of charm.

I give it a highly respectable 8 out of 10 IMDB rating. It is the type of film that is over before you want it to be finished. It is quite entertaining even some eight (80) years later. I must be an old soul because I just love these TCM movies.