They Met in Bombay (1941)

Professional jewel thief Clark Gable (as Gerald Meldrick) has a perfect replica of the fabulously valuable necklace called "Star of Asia" made. He goes to Bombay, India posing as a Lloyd's of London detective. Keeping his British accent under wraps, Mr. Gable plans to steal the jeweled necklace, and leave the fake in its place. He meets phony baroness and socialite Rosalind Russell (as Anya Von Duren), another thief who wants the necklace. Learning "Duchess of Beltravers" Jessie Ralph has a fondness for alcohol, Ms. Russell maneuvers herself a seat at Ms. Ralph's table and gets the old woman drunk...After Ralph passes out, Gable and Russell vie for the necklace. They become mutually attracted. All goes well when director Clarence Brown guides it around the Bombay hotel, where we follow the real and fake necklaces. Next, the co-stars escape authorities on a boat. Peter Lorre appears, briefly, as a Chinese captain with a yen for money. Uneasily, the heist story becomes a war movie. The playful first half is forgotten. They should have showed more of the delightful Jessie Ralph, looking for her necklace, and finally accepting Gable and Russell as imaginary heirs and occasional drinking buddies.***** They Met in Bombay (6/27/41) Clarence Brown ~ Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell, Jessie Ralph, Peter Lorre

Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell had worked twice together before. Russell was a supporting player in two of Gable's previous films, China Seas and Forsaking All Others. But in They Met in Bombay they make a bright pair of competing and then cooperating thieves.Bombay is in fact where they do meet, both of them working individually on a caper to steal a really big diamond belonging to inebriated Dutchess, Jessie Ralph. When they discover who each really is, there's some antagonism, but the police chasing them forces some cooperation which becomes more and more willing as the film progresses.The pair eventually arrive in Hong Kong and I dare not say more, but some of Gable's con games involve him something far bigger than he can handle as the plot takes some unbelievable turns.Gable and Russell worked well together, it's a pity that this was their only teaming on the big screen. Look also for good performances by Peter Lorre as the sly Chinese freighter captain and Reginald Owen as the British General and Matthew Boulton as the frustrated British police inspector. Also if you look fast you'll see Alan Ladd in a minute part as a British soldier in a scene with Gable while the leads are in Hong Kong. They Met in Bombay is fast paced and very funny and still holds up remarkably well today.

Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell team up in "They Met in Bombay," a 1941 film also starring Peter Lorre. The two are both thieves, both with their eye on a valuable necklace, when they meet - she posing as aristocracy, he posing as a detective. They end up on the lam and in love.The fun part of this film takes place later on when Gable, trying to come up with an escape plan for the two of them, gets a uniform and poses as a soldier. Unfortunately, a situation arises and a superior officer grabs him off the street for special duty. He's then in a very difficult position indeed.It's fun to watch the two stars together. MGM didn't always know what to do with Russell's strong beauty - in "Trouble for Two" she is extremely Garboesque - here, her hairstyle and makeup are pure Hedy Lamar. Either way, she looks great and gives a nice performance as a woman in love in spite of herself. Gable is charming and plays it dead serious, which makes his war duties even more bizarre, as he's totally believable. Peter Lorre is on hand for a touch of the sinister.The script could have been stronger to support these two stars and a good story. Nevertheless, it's good, breezy entertainment.

This picture is likely to make the viewer yearn to know what went on behind the scenes during its making. The impression one gets is that about halfway through the filming (or writing of the scenario, or both) someone decided that what they had so far wasn't working, but that there was already too much invested to discard it. So from a conventional international jewel thieves romance/suspense/comedy (better than some of its type, not as good as others), the film shifts gears abruptly and becomes a wartime adventure, with our hero and heroine trapped by the battles raging around them. Having once put in some time in the military (before being asked to leave), the Gable character needs do nothing more than don a tailor-made uniform to pass as an authentic member of the corps, his presence unquestioned by any of his colleagues, his authority unchallenged by anyone to whom he issues orders. Needless to say, he becomes a war hero, awarded the highest honors despite there presumably being no record of his existence.Wait a minute.....weren't we talking about jewel thieves? Yes, and so was the picture, no more than fifteen minutes earlier.Don't despair - before the final credits, the two stories are reconciled about as clumsily as the rest of the picture is put together.Could it be that this 1941 product was deemed too lightweight and frivolous for an audience whose nation was being drawn into a world war, and that the studio bosses decided to make it more contemporary? If so, they should have taken their losses on what was already written and/or filmed, because the incongruous story they released is an embarrassment.