A FREE SOUL (1931)

One of an astounding twelve movies that Clark Gable made in 1931, though this is remembered more for Lionel Barrymore's Oscar winning performance. Barrymore is a lawyer who has just gotten gangster Gable off on a charge of murder--it wasn't clear to me if we're supposed to think that Barrymore cheated or was just sharp as a tack. At any rate, Barrymore's "free soul" daughter (Norma Shearer) meets the dashing Gable and the two hit it off; their first date is marked by an assassination attempt against Gable! The family snubs Gable and isn't all that happy with Barrymore, mostly because of his drinking. When Barrymore finds out about his daughter's affair, he tries to force her to break it off. She agrees to leave Gable if her father will stop drinking, so they go off together on a long trip to the wilderness, accompanied only by Barrymore's faithful assistant, James Gleason. The trip brings father and daughter closer, but as soon as they return to civilization, Barrymore gets drunk, so Shearer goes back to Gable, who threatens her with violence if she tries to leave him again. Leslie Howard, an admirer of Shearer's, winds up killing Gable, and the last scene takes place in the courtroom as Barrymore makes one last heroic stand to save Howard. This scene is considered a tour de force for Barrymore, but I find it fairly typical for him--a mix of hamminess and solid acting. Shearer overdoes the facial expressions, as though she's still emoting for the silent screen, but she and Gable definitely have chemistry. [TCM]