''Cain and Mabel'' is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by

Lloyd Bacon Lloyd Francis Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was an American screen, stage, and vaudeville actor and film director. As a director, he made films in numerous genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, and c ...

and designed as a vehicle for Marion Davies in which she co-stars with

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

. The story had been filmed before, in 1924, by William Randolph Hearst's production company, Cosmopolitan, as a silent called '' The Great White Way'', starring Anita Stewart and Oscar Shaw. In this version, Robert Paige introduced the song "I'll Sing You a Thousand Love Songs", with music by

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

and words by

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that immigrated to the United States from Sw ...

, who also wrote "Coney Island", "Here Comes Chiquita", and other songs.

Plot

Waitress-turned-Broadway star Mabel O'Dare ( Marion Davies) and garage-mechanic-turned-prize fighter Larry Cain (

) dislike each other intensely, but press agent Aloysius K. Reilly (

Roscoe Karns Roscoe Karns (September 7, 1891 – February 6, 1970) was an American actor who appeared in nearly 150 films between 1915 and 1964. He specialized in cynical, wise-cracking (and often tipsy) characters, and his rapid-fire delivery enlivened many ...

) cooks up a phony romance between them for publicity. Inevitably, the two fall in love for real, and plan on getting married, with Mabel quitting show business to be a housewife and Cain quitting the fight racket to run garages in New Jersey. When their entourages get wind of their plan, they plant the story in the newspapers, and each thinks the other one betrayed their secret - until Mabel's aunt ( Ruth Donnelly) tells Mabel the truth. Mabel abandons her show and rushes to Philadelphia where Cain is fighting. Having been told by his manager that Mabel is going to marry crooner Ronny Caudwell ( Robert Paige), an enraged Cain is waging an all-out fight against his opponent, until he hears Mabel's voice and is knocked down. Reilly confesses to Cain that he was the one who leaked the story, and Cain's second, DoDo (

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to some audiences as the voice of Officer Charl ...

) accidentally throws a towel into the ring, making Cain the loser by a

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. But since Mabel has bet on the other boxer, the newly reunited couple will have a tidy nest egg to start their new life together.

Cast

Production and reception

Marion Davies, whose acting career was supported by her lover

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

, left

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

after she failed to receive parts in '' The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' and ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

''. She gained a contract with

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...

which started with '' Page Miss Glory'' and '' Hearts Divided''. Shooting on ''Cain and Mabel'' was delayed because the part of the leading man, which eventually went to Clark Gable, had not yet been cast. Hearst persuaded Warner Bros. studio head

Jack L. Warner Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-born American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's ca ...

, an old friend, to get Gable from MGM as Davies' co-star. Hearst wielded considerable influence on the production: he also rejected

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility and successfully transform ...

for the part which went to Robert Paige – billed here as "David Carlyle" – apparently because he was jealous. He perceived that Davies found Powell attractive.McGee, Scott
"Cain and Mabel" (article)
on

TCM.com Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

The film was shot on Stage 16 at the Warner lot, which was the standard 45 feet tall, but Davies wanted the set to be larger, so she called Warner and requested that they raise the roof of the sound stage. Warner refused until Davies called Hearst and convinced Warner to sign onto the idea, but only if Hearst paid for the renovation. Due to the shooting schedule, they could not do it the standard way and rip the roof off and build up. Instead, they got several hundred workers and hand jacks and surrounded the building with four large bass drums on each corner. Then the drum would be hit, and the workers would crank in unison. Once the building was a foot off the ground railroad ties were placed. Then they raised it another foot and crisscrossed the railroad ties. They continued with this until the sound stage was standing at its current height of 98 feet. Then the foundation and walls were quickly built, and the sound stage was available again. Stage 16 is now one of the tallest sound stages in North America.

Reception

The film was a box-office flop, with critics finding that Gable was miscast as a fighter. Paige stated that he "was absolutely crushed" by the poor reception to the film and stopped using Carlyle for credits. Davies appeared in only one more film, '' Ever Since Eve''.

Awards and honors

''Cain and Mabel'' was nominated for a 1937

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for "Best Dance Direction" by Bobby Connolly."Awards"
on AllRovi

References

Works cited

External links

* * * {{Lloyd Bacon 1936 films 1936 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films American boxing films Films directed by Lloyd Bacon Warner Bros. films Remakes of American films American romantic comedy films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language romantic comedy films