Harry Van

This was MGM’s adaptation of Robert E. Sherwood’s anti-war comedy that had been a hit on Broadway in 1936 with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Clark Gable co-starred with Norma Shearer for the third and final time. The film was a huge success at the box-office in 1939. On the eve of war in Europe, Harry Van travels the continent with his troupe of six dancing girls called Les Blondes. The troupe is detained at a swanky hotel on the Swiss border when war breaks out. Meanwhile Harry meets Russian Countess Irene who is also staying at the hotel, but Harry suspects that she is a girl he knew back home in Omaha during World War I. At the end of the film Harry discovers that Irene is indeed the girl he knew back home. They both decide to stay in the hotel when the bombings begin, but they survive the attack only to face a new and challenging world. However on a fun note, Clark Gable dances for the first time in the movies with his girl troupe Les Blondes and Gable proves himself to be an excellent hoofer to film audiences.

MGM
Director: Clarence Brown
Cast: Clark Gable, Norma Shearer, Edward Arnold, Charles Coburn, Joseph Schildkraut, Burgess Meredith, Laura Hope Crews, Skeets Gallagher, Virginia Grey

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