Review of A Free Soul (1931) by Veronique K — 11 May 2008

"a free soul" is the very flick which gets clark gable some female attention with the notorious scene of him pushing norma shearer roughly to the couch for three times! blatant violence on woman, but endearing gable is always excusable since he's doing it for the sake of love.

Norma shearer plays a spoilt rich gal jan ashe who defies her family by dating mobster ace wilfong(gable), emancipated by her alcoholic father(lionel barrymore) who encourages her to be free. so she sneaks to the mobster's residence shamelessly as if she's his mistress for months. infatuated by jan's tumultuous lovemaking, wilfong falls head over heels in love with jan, then he consults her father's approval for the marriage proposal...due to the gap of social status, the father finally sombers up and condemns jan for hanging around with wilfong. so jan makes a bargain with dad that if he quits booze, she would quits gable. then the father and daughter disappear for three months in wilderness for eradication of liquor which fails eventually. and norma shearer returns to the dangerously charismatic clark gable while he's infuriated by her abscence, then he threatens her to marry him or he would announce their affair to ruin her social reputation. in the end, shearer's another love interest leslie howard comes to the scene to shoot gable to death, gallantly rescuing her from gable's villainy.

Clark gable is still in his mustacheless period and credited as the third in the cast, but his overwhelming caveman-alike machismo thrills millions of women then while he growls "you're mine and you belong to me! don't you ever run away!!!" and his disdemeanors to push norma shear in fur is highly appreciated by the audience in depression period due to the animosity to idle rich, and gable's contempt to norma's social superiority was approved by proles who disdain the condescending loftiness of upper class. besides, gable's character has been devoted to shearer who is just ficklely having a good time slumming, and she's contrary to whoever posts disapproving opinions on her. when her family refuses to accept gable, she throws herself to him, as gable declares his determination to marry her, she ducks away. and he's traumatized by her frivolosity but too proud to admit it. so his rage is perfectly justified, and he wants her so he's gonna rob her away to be his! this tough kind of savage manhood is considered utterly sexy by women then.