Clark Gable & Spencer Tracy

Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy in San Francisco

Because the two were such good friends and because their individual, let alone combined, screen presence rarely failed to pack the theaters, it is difficult to understand why Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable were not brought together in more than just three feature-length films: San Francisco (1936), Test Pilot (1938), and Boom Town (1940).

Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy in Test Pilot

In any event, the three movies in which these two did appear together shared more than just powerful box-office appeal; these movies shared a portrayal of a sometimes friendly, a sometimes hostile rivalry that invariably existed between the characters Mr. Gable and Mr. Spencer played. Whether it be between the priest and hoodlum/nightclub owner of San Francisco or the pilot and co-pilot of Test Pilot or the Big John and Square John wildcatters in Boom Town, in each instance, there’s a conflict between the two (always about a woman, a way of living, and a way of making a living). There’s also resolution and reconciliation, also always with the woman, the way of living, and the way of making a living.

Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable in Boom Town