In this historical melodrama, Gable is Charles Parnell, an 1880's Irish politician dubbed "The Uncrowned King of Ireland" for fighting for Irish freedom from British rule. The British trump up false charges against him to try and keep his efforts down but are unsuccessful. But then Parnell falls in love with Katie O'Shea (Loy), the estranged wife of a British Parliament member. When her husband finds out, he files for divorce and names Parnell as co-respondent, resulting in political and social ruin for Parnell.  Just as he begins to fight back for his position, he is taken ill with a sick heart.

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Quote-able Gable

"Friends, many of you brought with you a handful of Irish sod to keep green your memories of home. But you needn't have. You didn't leave Ireland behind you--it's in your hearts, wherever you go. That's what these two months in America have taught me--that wherever you find an Irishman, you also find the generosity and the loyalty and the passion for freedom which is the soul of Ireland herself." first lines

"Haven't you ever felt that there might be someone somewhere who, if you could only find them, is the person that you were always meant to meet?"

"To be accused is not to be convicted."

"Katie, you know that I'm in love with you, you know that, don't you?"

"Why is it that the minute two Irishmen meet, they start fighting?"

"My private life is my own. I've given Ireland my whole life--everything up until now. They can't deny me the right of every man--to have the woman he loves beside him. That's what this means. There'll be no defense."

"I'd have come across the world to be with you tonight."

"I want to thank you for coming here. I had to see you once again to urge you to forget your personal differences and think only of Ireland. Now that I am overthrown, there will rise such a tide of fear and treachery as Ireland has never known before."

"What am I? What is any single man when there is a great wrong to be righted? Find a new leader if you must. Only, when you do, deal with your leader as a man--expect of him a man's behavior, not that of a god."

"Carry on my fight for Ireland, I charge you. See that Ireland is never defeated--never defeated."

"Katie, Katie, I--" last line

Behind the Scenes

Gable's least favorite of all his films and the biggest flop of his and Myrna Loy's careers. It lost a total of $637,000 at the box office.

Gable accepted the role of Charles Parnell because he saw an opportunity to prove himself as a versatile dramatic actor.  When the film flopped so horribly, he shunned all historical dramas. The flop of this picture is the main reason he was reluctant to do Gone with the Wind; he feared another historical flop. Because of the criticism of his Irish accent in this film, he refused to do a Southern accent for GWTW.

Joan Crawford was originally given the part of Katie O'Shea but she hated the script and disagreed with the director. MGM switched her out with Myrna Loy, who had been assigned to The Last of Mrs. Cheyney.

Gable refused to grow a beard for the role, even though the real Charles Parnell had a beard. Instead he agreed to grow "mutton chops", or long heavy sideburns, which he hated.

While Gable worked on this film, his then-girlfriend Carole Lombard worked on Swing High, Swing Low.

The director insisted on playing somber funeral music on the record player while they filmed Parnell's death scene, to keep Gable and Loy in a sad mood. After many takes, Gable grumbled to Lombard that he was sick and tired of the music. The next day Lombard visited the set and bribed a prop boy to replace the funeral music. When they turned the record player on, the jazzy tune, "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You" blared instead.

One of the longest film shoots of Gable's career, at 108 days.

During the filming of Parnell, Gable put his hand and footprints in cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre.