Watch Cain and Mabel For Free

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

So much average

Pretty Good

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This is one of the very few Clark Gable movies that I score below six stars. But I must do so with "Cain and Mabel" because it barely makes it as entertainment. Even then, my five stars are for a few specific points. First, this is an early look at Gable sans mustache, and he is good in a lousy role. Second, the extravagant staged musical production – seemingly inserted from another film, is quit good by itself, and I do find most things about musicals very entertaining. Third, it has a very fine supporting cast who do very well with what they have in their roles. Allen Jenkins is Dodo, Walter Catlett is Jake Sherman, Ruth Donnelly is Aunt Mimi, William Collier Sr. is Pop Walters, and Roscoe Karns is Reilly.I like Marion Davies as an actress. She definitely had the looks and a special appeal in her big broad-eyed face. Had Davies not been in a 30-year affair with the married William Randolph Hearst, or had he not pushed so hard on Hollywood to give her fame, she may well have had a much better career. She may have had some better films than she made. Other reviewers have made this point. I like her in some, but in most of her films she is mediocre at best. And, I agree that while she can act, she is not a great actress and was often cast over her head.Among many different people there likely will be many different tastes. For that reason, I don't like to take exception to other reviewers directly. But I find it hard to fathom an average rating of 8.0 for "Cain and Mabel" as of the end of April 2016. Especially with more than 1,200 votes cast. Could it be that the ghost of William Randolph Hearst is haunting viewers and pushing the numbers? Here are some specific points on the downside of this film. The idea of the plot is hokey, but OK if it works. But it doesn't. The story squirms all over the place and the screenplay is terrible. It does have a few funny lines interspersed here and there. But it is not at all a witty script. There is absolutely no chemistry between Davies and Gable, and when they come together toward the end, it just seems phony. Gable's character, Larry Cain, hardly seems to be a heavyweight contender because he doesn't have energy. Only toward the end with some ring shots do we ever get an idea that he really might be a boxer.Marion Davies wasn't a singer, although I thought I heard her utter a couple of short lines as though she were singing here. They were off key. Her dancing looked amateurish in the beginning, and we saw very little of it. Surely, the producers don't want us to believe that the short routine she was constantly having to practice passes as dancing in this movie. Her brief moments in the big production number are barely passable. So, where is the singer/dancer leading lady that she was supposed to be playing – Mabel O'Dare? In that long musical section we simply see Marion in three or four different gowns standing and smiling, while different male tenors sing songs, and choruses chime in and ensembles of dancers perform below and around her. So where is the Marion Davies/Mabel O'Dare star? Is that the limit of her talent? Is that what the movie would have us believe people on Broadway would pay to go see? A big name star who doesn't sing or dance (well, once) but stands around as eye candy while the whole rest of the troop perform? This was a hard movie to sit through, even with my refrigerator breaks at home. The script just seemed so forced, the occasional snappy lines just seemed like snapping at people. And nary a spark between the two leads, let alone a fire. I can't recommend this film as one people are likely to enjoy.Here are the best samples of funny dialog in this film. Jake, "I'll tell you frankly, the ushers are quitting because they're afraid to be alone in the dark." Pop Walters, "Now listen, Larry. This guy Reed's got a good night's sleep in both hands."There were many very good comedy-romance musicals made during this period and into the 1940s. The lead actresses sang, danced or did both. I can recommend any films with Jeanette MacDonald (singing), Eleanor Powell (dancing), Judy Garland (singing and dancing), Doris Day (singing and dancing), Deanna Durbin (singing), Jane Powell (singing and dancing). While their films all are well rated, none of them have averages as high as 8.0.

The story has been done before and since, many times. Two headliners need their careers rehabilitated and decide to join forces for mutual help. They hate each other at first, but then, of course....Of course. Nothing new here. But what separates this picture from other comedies is the staggering amount of one-liners found throughout the story. Virtually every other line of dialogue is a one-line joke. Some are funny, some not so, some corny, some dated. You get on a 'roll', laughter-wise, and it doesn't let up for 90 minutes. This really isn't a screwball comedy but it is funnier than most of them, or any other kind of 30's comedy for that matter.Gable and Davies were very photogenic and very glamorous and I guess that helped to put the picture over at the time. Truth be told, he was better than she was. Marion Davies was a very unnatural actress with an unmodulated voice and a reviewer above hit the nail on the head by saying she was no Carole Lombard. Walter Catlett, Roscoe Karns and, especially, Ruth Donnelly, helped out immensely, as did the excellent musical score. Lots of good songs in the big production number toward the end of the picture."Cain And Mabel" is a forgotten gem nowadays, and I can't figure out why. If you haven't seen it and you've read this far, you should. Otherwise you would miss the best 30's comedy that hardly anyone knows about.

Marion Davies and Clark Gable star together in a second film (they had co-starred in POLLY OF THE CIRCUS) as a Broadway star and a prize fighter who get tricked into a phony publicity romance to increase their box office draw. Lots of snappy lines here as the two stars go through their paces, accompanied by a solid supporting cast. Davies gets doused with a bucket of water. She gets even, dousing Gable with water in a hallway. They trade insults Davies gets to star is two lavish production numbers. The "Coney Island" romp is fun with Davies singing and dancing with Sammy White. The "Thousand Love Songs" number is built on a huge stage (biggest ever, the roof was raised 35 ft to accommodate the massive sets) and includes a human pipe organ, a Venetian canal, and even a white wedding, with Davies as the centerpiece in all of them. Davies cracked a rib during a dance number. Too bad the dance double is badly done. Still a lot of fun all round.Ruth Donnelly, William Collier, Allen Jenkins, Pert Kelton, Robert Paige (billed as David Carlyle), Hobart Cavanaugh, Marie Prevost, E.E. Clive, Walter Catlett, and Roscoe Karns co-star. Sammy White is terrific in the "Coney Island" number, following up a great turn in SHOW BOAT with Irene Dunne. Jane Wyman is one of the chorus girls.Davies would make only one more film after CAIN AND MABEL.

Marion Davies and Clark Gable work very well together. Along with an all-star cast, CAIN AND MABEL is fast moving wise-cracking fun! The musical numbers are outrageous in presentation, especially the "I'll Sing You A Thousand Love Songs" number, which required building the largest soundstage in Hollywood (Burbank actually), Stage #7 on the Warner lot. It's not GONE WITH THE WIND, but it doesn't try to be; it's just fun.