I think that a blog on alcohol consumption in the movies and automobile love would be interesting too.

Although thousands die each year of cancer and heart attacks who never smoked doesn’t make it right to light up.
I will look forward with hope to the next great American smoke out. Wish me luck.

The post-war Gable movies I like are: Any Number Can Play, The Tall Men, Betrayed, Soldier of Fortune, The Hucksters and The Misfits. The ones I hate are: Key to the City, Lone Star, Never Let Me Go, Teacher’s Pet and Across the Wide Missouri; In general, MGM wasn’t trying very hard although Wellman’s “Missouri” was an honorable failure. Key to the City was not only a bad movie but an odd pairing for two stars who previously had a child out of wedlock, although that wasn’t known at the time. I guess it was made because Loretta Young was hot at that moment after winning the Oscar. I never quite got Mogambo. This time John Ford wasn’t trying very hard. Red Dust, which was remade as Mogambo, was much better. I’m indifferent about the other post-war titles.

As I mentioned in the article, there are many factors that may have contributed to the demise of those on such lists, including the lack of antibiotics to fight serious disease when these individuals were young, overwork, nutritional deficiencies, and stress, as well as other ancillary illnesses. I’m very sorry that your brother suffered from AIDS, but sadly, I understand that opportunistic cancers may affect those whose immune systems are already compromised.

Good point, JLewis,
I agree that to our eyes today, Walt Disney and Clark Gable looked much older than their ages. Tobacco use may certainly have affected their appearance and their health, though both men were also noted for their commitment to a remarkable work ethic, a lifestyle that included alcohol as well, and were engaged in a business notorious for its level of stress. In addition, they grew up in a time when vaccination was rare, as was medical treatment for common childhood diseases and food may not have been as plentiful or nutritious as it is today (despite our problems). Also, Mr. Gable endured the sudden loss of his wife, Carole Lombard, and went through years of rigorous experiences in WWII. There are some who feel that he was never truly the same after this period.

I think that your father had a good point, Al.
Still, while I like The Hucksters okay, I find some of Gable’s later movies, in particular the critically lambasted Adventure, Any Number Can Play, Teacher’s Pet, But Not For Me and most of all, The Misfits to be among his most interesting & enjoyable post-war films. Sure, the man was aging, but in many ways, his skill as an actor, if not as a movie star, still shone through, though it would have been wonderful to see him in more varied films after leaving MGM. I think Gable is very unfairly under-rated as an actor today, especially his ability to handle dialogue with skill and to use his worn face most expressively.

I’ve added one of the Ronald Reagan cigarette advertisements to the above post. While he once smoked 3 packs of Chesterfields a day, the famous jar of jelly beans kept in the White House while he was president was there in part to help Mr. Reagan to avoid indulging the habit.

Hi Jenni,
I loved Christopher Buckley’s book and the appallingly funny and accurately satirical film, Thank You For Not Smoking.

Re: Product Placement.
One of the aspects of this relationship between the studios and the movie star endorsements that I found when researching this article was that in the early ’30s, the forerunner of the MPAA specifically rejected product placement in movies, though, since the cigarette manufacturers supplied studios and their employees with free cigarettes, the habit was portrayed quite often on screen, even if specific brands weren’t mentioned. As shown in numerous films of the period, there was a glamour to the black and white photography of smoke on film that made it a visually alluring element of movies too. Of course, all bets seem to be off nowadays when it comes to product placement!

Hey Jacqueline,
Your mention of those other “300 pound gorillas” such as racism and sexism reminded me that we could also explore the liquor endorsement ads of that time. During this same period I suspect that the booze boosting ads might easily outstrip the sheer number of tobacco related ads. As ephemera, they are fascinating to see, whether a high end brandy ad is trying to appeal to the yearning of readers’ for worldly sophistication associated with a particular actor or a beer ad is touting their product as a way to be “one of the boys”, which might be promoted by an earthier sort of actor.

Oh John August Smith,
I could not, of course, deal with everything associated with the tobacco industry endorsements of this period in one brief article, but I too was always bemused by the “intellectual” air of pipe smokers in movies of the time. As to those old ladies driving around while smoking, having been closely related to several such ladies, I think it helped them to concentrate while maneuvering through traffic and, if you’ve ever been around anyone attempting to quit smoking, I sometimes wonder if perhaps it’s best to leave well enough alone. It is one of the toughest habits to change, and driving while going through nicotine withdrawal ain’t pretty or easy.

Hey CoolBev,
It’s interesting about those well-designed Ronson lighters, and I’ve read that collecting tobacciana may be a good way to start an inexpensive collection. I have one of my father’s for sentimental reasons. Just hearing the click of the lid being raised or lowered brings him back to me vividly for a moment. And yes, he died of congestive heart failure at too young an age after 45 years of smoking.

Hi Medusa,
While I wish that several of the people I love in my life didn’t smoke, I tend to think that once we adopt a habit, it really becomes a part of us, like it or not. I have no real wish to become one of those people who scolds others for their flaws–especially since I’ve so many myself. As I mentioned in the article, I’m pretty sure we humans will always find some way to complicate our lives and develop habits that we know rationally aren’t good for us, but that we indulge anyway. I try to see such frailties as a lovable part of our humanity and hope that I can avoid judging others too harshly. Life’s too short already and I’m too fond of too many smokers as it is. I really am glad you found this interesting.

Thanks so much for all your observations.

Also, one of my all-time favorite old time radio shows was Jack Benny’s Program, sponsored by Lucy Strikes after 1944. He did make it past 39… actually eighty, I’m guessing because he was a bit more “moderate” in his smoking? Then again, he COULD have lived as long as either Gracie Allen’s hubby George Burns or Bob Hope…

I never smoked either.

When I was looking at some old magazines several years ago, I was surprised to see cigarette ads featuring Ronald Reagan.

As for The Hucksters, I like it, mainly because it was one of the few good movies, crowded with stars, that Gable made in the post-war era. My late uncle used to say that Gable never came back. Well, of course, he did come back, only to star in films much worse than the classics he made in the Thirties.