Waste of time

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Charmer finds Gable at near the end of his career still fully in command of his star power as a somewhat roguish producer who is juggling both personal and professional issues. Lilli Palmer is an excellent match for him, her continental charm playing off his brusk exasperation with surprising ease. She's so good it's a shame her role is rather small but she makes every moment she's on screen memorable and you miss her when she's out of the picture.Lee J. Cobb likewise makes his modest role seem more than it is by filling it with his magnetic presence.Carroll is sexy in a refined way, this was before she cast her lot in the sex symbol derby with junk like Harlow and The Carpetbaggers and wrecked her reputation as a serious actress for several years until she came back as a respected character actress.The kind of breezy star vehicle that is rarely if ever made today, spotlighting the star but loaded with talent in almost every role. Competently directed and as an added bonus Ella Fitzgerald sings the title tune over the credits. For Gable fans this is a must!

A theatrical producer, Russ Ward, is facing a crisis. His last plays have not fared well with the public, and a new project by a well known playwright, who is facing a writing crisis, makes life impossible for Ward. When he thinks everything is lost, he gets an unexpected help by his own secretary, Elly, who on top of that, has loved him silently. Elly has an idea that might help the play, and is an inspiration because she, too, can act.To complicate matters, Kathryn, Russ's former wife, figures the romance from the younger woman toward her ex-husband, and although they have remained in friendly terms, she does not appear to be happy with their possible union. As the play opens, it becomes a hit, and Gordon, the leading man, who has loved Elly, all along, finds a way to her heart even though she is still thinking about Russ. Everything is resolved at the end when Elly realizes that Gordon really cares for her.The source of this comedy was a play by Samson Raphaelson, and adapted for the screen by John Mitchell Hayes. The direction is by Walter Lang, a veteran of Hollywood, who had a long career in the industry. The basic flaw with the film was the casting of Carroll Baker, who had made a sensation in Elia Kazan's "Baby Doll". She was terribly miscast as Elly, resulting in a dull reading of her character. On the other hand, Lilli Palmer makes a delicious appearance and almost steal the film, had her role been bigger. Clark Gable is not too convincing as Russ Ward, or Lee J. Cobb, one of the best actors of the American cinema, is also wasted. Charles Lane, and Thomas Gomez have some good moments.

Along with "Teacher's Pet," "But Not For Me" is a topnotch showcase for Gable's talent for deft self-deprecation. Following heroic service in World War II (for which he was decorated), and the tragedy of wife Carole Lombard's death while entertaining with a USO troupe, he has matured as both a person and an actor. The personality remains appealing, unique even, but he is now a former superstar charmingly twitting his image as mega-heartthrob in decades of earlier film roles. Lilli Palmer plays his ironic and amused ex-wife in this sophisticated, intelligent romance. It's light comedy but (as with Powell & Loy's "The Thin Man") good writing and masterly acting elevate froth to satisfying entertainment.

(Possible spoiler) A disappointing movie. The romantic relationship between Ward/ Gable and Brown/Baker is never really believable, due as much to the script as to the performances. Also, watching Gable closely in this flick it is hard for me to understand his near-legendary status as an actor ; although he projects a certain insouciant charm, his style is very mannered and artificial, the very antithesis of Method. Having someone like Claudette Colbert to play against, as in "It Happened One Night", helps him, but the presence of the truly awful Carrol Baker as his inamorata only brings out the worst in both of them. The best performances in the movie are unquestionably those of the second-billers - Lee J. Cobb as the has-been playwright and Lilli Palmer as Ward's ex. The running theme of Gable/Ward dealing with his advancing years - the alarm clock for his pills, the way his age keeps changing each time he announces it - is entertainingly done. And let's face it, you just knew from the start he was going to get back with Kathyryn/Lilli, didn't you??? (An interesting insight into the change in social mores in forty years is provided by Gable/Ward's observation that it was illegal for an unmarried couple to book a single cabin on a liner)