Parnell (1937)

Set in the Ireland of the 1880s, a popular Irish nationalist (Clark Gable) has his political career endangered by his relationship with the wife (Myrna Loy) of a political rival (Alan Marshal). Based on the play by Elsie T. Schauffler and directed by John M. Stahl (LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN). With the exception of one brief sequence (a trial dealing with forgery), this is one turgid movie! Often considered one (if not the) of the worst performances given by Gable, the film soured him on doing period costume dramas which is one of the reasons he was reluctant to do GONE WITH THE WIND. It's a heavy handed fictionalized and sanitized movie biography of a real person and everything about the movie cries out phony! Even the normally reliable Myrna Loy falters here. If you're a fan of both leads as I am, it's an all around sad affair. With Edna May Oliver (the film's one bright spot), Donald Crisp, Billie Burke and Montagu Love.