Commentary
In 1936, Clark Gable made a very successful film called “San Francisco.” Starring alongside Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy, he played a tough nightclub owner on the Barbary Coast around the turn of the century. His character runs for public office to clean things up in the low rent district. Fourteen years later, he played a similar character in a modern-set film, “Key to the City” (1950).
This MGM film also starred Loretta Young, Marilyn Maxwell, and Frank Morgan. This was the second time Gable was paired with Loretta Young, since they had made “Scandal” in 1939. During the making of this earlier film, the two actors had an affair, from which Loretta’s daughter, Judy Lewis, was the result. The whole thing was kept secret, but MGM executive producer Dore Schary was aware of it when he suggested the new film to Miss Young, who later privately said that Gable took advantage of her. However, she agreed to make the film to avoid scandal, according to IMDb trivia….