Historical Meet-Ups

William Faulkner
Logorrheic Mississippi modernist

meets

Clark Gable
Moustachioed matinee idol

After experiencing his first blush of literary fame in the late 1930s, Faulkner spent part of the next decade working in Hollywood, writing scripts for such classic films as The Big Sleep and To Have and Have Not (as well as clunkers like Submarine Patrol and God Is My Co-Pilot. One day he took a break from the backlot and went dove hunting with Gable and director Howard Hawks. They made for an odd threesome, Hawks later observed, since “I don’t think Gable ever read a book, and I don’t think Faulkner ever went to see a movie.” That premise was borne out by the subsequent conversation. As they were driving through Palm Springs on their way to the Imperial Valley, the lantern-jawed star kept silent while Faulkner and Hawks chitchatted about world literature. At long last, Gable asked Faulkner who he thought were the greatest living authors. “Thomas Mann, Willa Cather, John Dos Passos, Ernest Hemingway, and myself,’’ Faulkner replied, with characteristic modesty. Gable was taken aback.  “Oh, do you write, Mr. Faulkner?’’ he asked. ‘‘Yeah,’’ said Faulkner. ‘‘What do you do, Mr. Gable?”