Never Let Me Go (1953)

Very best movie i ever watch

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

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

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Usually it doesn't even occur to me when I am watching a movie, but for some reason it really did occur to me that Gene Tierney and (especially) Clark Gable were tooooooooo old for their parts in this movie. Note especially Clark Gable in the bathing suit! That's not to say, however, that the acting isn't good in this film. Gable was darned good here. And, while it may have been a little difficult to see Tierney as a ballerina, it wasn't at all difficult to see her as a Russian. I particularly enjoyed watching Richard Haydn as Gable's friend. Haydn was often relegated to rather silly supporting comedy roles (such as in "Sitting Pretty" or "Money From Home", although you may remember him best as the agent in "The Sound Of Music"). Here he's straight dramatic, and quite good.The drinking scene is quite entertaining (though clichéd), if for no other reason than enjoying watching Gable pretend he can't hold his liquor.The plot is very cold war-ish. Gable -- a reporter -- falls in love with a Russian ballerina shortly after the end of WWII. Gable is forced out of Russia after marrying her, but is determined to rescue her by hook or by crook...or in this case by boat. The most illogical part of the film is him swimming to shore in only his shorts and t-shirt, expecting -- with no clothes -- to get into the auditorium where she is performing, and to somehow sneak her out. Which he does!!! Ah, Hollywood. There are some good moments here, and while it is not Gable at his best overall, he has some very good moments where he seems to have matured as an actor.Very worth watching, though not necessarily one you'll want for your DVD shelf.

To me, the films Clark Gable made in the 1950s are a notch below his prior films. That's because too often Clark played "Clark Gable" (sort of like many of John Wayne's later films) and he didn't veer far from the expected. However, NEVER LET ME GO, dares to be different. While not a great plot, it is interesting and worth seeing. Gable falls for dancer, Gene Tierney, and marries her. However, she is Russian and the government basically holds her hostage and ships Gable out of the country and refuses to renew his VISA. So, Gable organizes a mission where he sneaks into the country to smuggle his wife out from under the commies' noses. While difficult to believe, it is a great curio of the era and illustrates life in the Stalinist era (which ended the same year the film debuted).

This movie is bad but not in an interesting or entertaining way. Its politics are kind of peculiar. Its plot is minimal. And Clark Gable looks rather heavy and unengaged. (Did men during this period actually swim in old fashioned two-piece bathing costumes? If not, why were swimming scenes included?) Gene Tierney was a beautiful woman and a good actress under the right circumstances. She's touching in "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" and amusingly over-the top in "Leave Her To Heaven." However, casting her as a Russian ballerina? She doesn't sound or look Russian. She looks ravishing but the whole movie is exceptionally bad.

An odd film but one that is surprisingly watchable and provides an interesting insight into the early stages of the Cold War. The film conveys the menace of the era and the grim, cold and hate filled place that the Soviet Union always was. Indeed from what we now know, one may even regard the film as being soft on the Communists, as the two Russian women in the film who take western husbands would quite likely have been taken off to labour camps (and 90% likely to have been killed therefore) by Stalin's secret police rather than just denied the chance to leave the country.Some of the acting leaves a little to be desired and Clark Gable particularly seems like he is being forced into a part and a budget that was several sizes too small for him, but nevertheless a worthy and reasonably intelligent effort.The Anglo-American angle in the film is one I always enjoy, it is always good to see the Brits and the Americans getting together!