Honky Tonk │ Warner Archive Collection
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment
by CHAD KENNERK
The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray release of Honky Tonk continues the label’s strong track record for polished, collector-worthy restorations. The rollicking MGM Western sees con man ‘Candy’ Johnson (Clark Gable) and his partner landing in the boomtown of Yellow Creek, Nevada, during the gold rush. Candy soon crosses paths with Elizabeth Cotton (Lana Turner), the upright daughter of a judge who – unknown to her – shares Candy’s shady history. Gable is in peak form as the charming rogue Candy, while a 20-year-old Lana Turner, fresh off Ziegfeld Girl and a newly signed MGM contract, matches him with surprising assurance. A host of great character actors surround them, including Chill Wills, Frank Morgan, Marjorie Main, and Claire Trevor. Later marketed as ‘The Team that Generates Steam’, the initial screen pairing of Gable and Turner generated combustible appeal at the box office, becoming MGM’s highest-grossing film of the year and landing the stars on the cover of Life magazine. For all its strengths, Honky Tonk hasn’t maintained the kind of visibility it deserves, but Warner’s Blu-ray release may finally give it renewed attention.
In the late 50s, earlier films of the 30s and 40s began to appear on television, where they yielded massive ratings. When asked about what she thought of seeing her old pictures on TV, Turner said of Honky Tonk, “I always knew Clark was good, but I didn’t realise how good until I saw him again. Seeing myself on screen is like going through an album looking at pages of old photographs. It brings back memories and results in mixed emotions. It’s also great fun to watch these movies with Cheryl, who was too young to see them before.”
Gable was inadvertently responsible for Turner’s signature blonde locks. Several years earlier, the naturally auburn-haired Turner was positioned as one of four blondes flanking Gable in a musical number for Idiot’s Delight. “I hated the thought of bleaching my hair,” she admitted, “but when the studio commanded, you obeyed.” The moment never made it to the screen. Instead, Turner found herself in the hospital, facing a surgery due to a botched appendectomy from when she was fourteen. Gable and Turner were also screen tested together using a scene from Gable’s 1932 hit Red Dust. The test didn’t go very well, but when the pair finally united years later for Honky Tonk, Gable reportedly told her, “Baby, you sure have learned a thing or two.”
Turner recalled being completely terrified at starring opposite ‘The King of Hollywood’, despite their on-screen chemistry. “I was still in my teens, and this was my first starring role. And to find myself playing opposite the King was most devastating. So I was nervous. But I wasn’t afraid of him. I think I was more in shock – an ‘Is this really me?’ and ‘Somebody pinch me’ kind of thing,” she once reflected. “It was only after we had finished the picture that I realised how very much this man had helped me. Knowing how frightened I was, and in awe of him, really. He would kind of tease me out of it and joke with me, trying to put me at ease.” Turner went on to say that, “Whenever I fluffed a line, he’d say, ‘That’s all right, Baby. Now don’t you worry about it.’ And you know what he’d do? He’d blow a couple lines just so I wouldn’t feel so bad.”
In her autobiography, Lana: The Lady, the Legend, the Truth, Turner also recalled an on-set experience with Gable’s wife, the great Carole Lombard. “I doubt that Carole believed the rampant press speculations about ‘fireworks’ on the set between the two ‘powerful sex symbols’ Gable and I were supposed to be. But one day I was playing a scene with Clark, and when I turned to look toward Jack Conway, the director, what I saw instead was the beautiful face of Mrs Gable. Why, I'm not sure, but my knees went watery and I became so flustered that I excused myself and fled to my dressing trailer. I stayed there, trying to collect myself, until a knock came on the door. ‘They're ready to shoot Miss Turner,’ a voice said. When I peeked out, there was no sign of Carole Lombard. l assume that Gable must have asked her to leave, saying that the kid was nervous. When l apologised to him, pretending that I'd forgotten something and had to run to the trailer for it, that famous smile lit up his face. He said simply, ‘I understand.’"
Sourced from a 4K scan of the original nitrate negative, Honky Tonk’s debut in high definition does the film justice, with Harold ‘Hal’ Rosson’s cinematography finding renewed depth. The craftsmanship of Turner and Trevor’s gowns by designer Robert Kalloch are also a highlight in HD. The disc’s special features offer a 1941 time capsule that includes The Midnight Snack – the second appearance of Tom and Jerry and the first cartoon under their familiar names. It’s introduced with a content warning, as this version retains the work of Lillian Randolph, who voices the derogatory character ‘Mama Two Shoes’ (TV versions of the toon redubbed her). Randolph is perhaps best known for her role as Annie in It's a Wonderful Life. The Our Gang short Fightin' Fools sees the fellas employing military strategy against their archrivals and a 1946 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of Honky Tonk returns Turner to her role opposite John Hodiak.
Honky Tonk is available on Blu-ray 31 March from Warner Archive Collection.
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