#2: A Free Soul (1931)
Gable’s breakout in A Free Soul came with a jolt. As a rough gangster opposite Norma Shearer, he radiated a new kind of danger: blunt, physical, insolent, and not especially interested in polite drawing-room rules. The notorious scene where he manhandles Shearer shocked audiences and made MGM pay attention. He was not the delicate romantic ideal. He was a thrown match near expensive curtains.
