La clé sous la porte (1950) was the final film role of Frank Morgan, who died at age 59 of a heart attack on 18 Sep 1949, shortly after completing his work on this film, and Clara Blandick (both of whom were best known for their roles in The Wizard of Oz [1939]). Clark Gable, who had made five films with Morgan, was a pallbearer at his funeral. Morgan was an unforgettable character actor who earned an Academy® Award nomination for Best Actor in 1934.
Dore Schary, the head of MGM, personally asked Loretta Young to be Clark Gable's co-star, even though he knew about the affair and love child (Judy Lewis) between the two 15 years earlier. She accepted because refusing would lead to more rumors than during their affair.
The scenes taking place in Chinatown, San Francisco, were filmed in Chinatown, Los Angeles, California. Production also included interiors of the "Rice Bowl" restaurant, as well as the bar areas. They were not sets on a Hollywood stage, but the real locations.
La clé sous la porte (1950) was the second and last film which co-starred Clark Gable and Loretta Young. Their first film together was the Twentieth Century picture L'appel de la forêt (1935).
When they made this, their first film together, Young had been a 22-year-old contract player at Fox, on loan to MGM and Gable, fresh from the success of New York - Miami (1934), was fast becoming one of MGM's top stars. It took place in Alaska, and the company went on location to the state of Washington. Snowed in for weeks, it's generally believed that Young and the married Gable embarked on an intense affair. When the film (and the affair) ended, Young pleaded a mysterious illness and disappeared for months. Two years later, the unmarried Young adopted a two-year-old girl she named Judy. Rumors had abounded for years that the child was, in fact, Young's own daughter, and the father was Gable.
When they made this, their first film together, Young had been a 22-year-old contract player at Fox, on loan to MGM and Gable, fresh from the success of New York - Miami (1934), was fast becoming one of MGM's top stars. It took place in Alaska, and the company went on location to the state of Washington. Snowed in for weeks, it's generally believed that Young and the married Gable embarked on an intense affair. When the film (and the affair) ended, Young pleaded a mysterious illness and disappeared for months. Two years later, the unmarried Young adopted a two-year-old girl she named Judy. Rumors had abounded for years that the child was, in fact, Young's own daughter, and the father was Gable.