The late, great Carole Lombard died in a plane crash coming home from a war bonds rally. A month later, Lombard's last film, "To Be or Not to Be" was released. This satire about a group of Polish theatrical actors fighting the Nazis is both smart and hilarious. Carole Lombard and Jack Benny make a great team, directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Here's my look at Lombard's fine finale:

They identified her by her hair. There was nothing else left of her that was recognizable

Would she have been better as Scarlett O'Hara?

No, Scarlett wasn’t blonde.

Apparently, one of those stars beloved by all who knew her. Men esepcially adored her witty obsecne banter.

She's my favorite actress of all time. She had such a lightness about her, even back in her Mack Sennett days (I wish I could find a clip, it has been too long since I've seen any of the early film).

My Man Godfrey is still genius today, in fact, the Forgotten Men sequence could be today, except no president of a bank would end up homeless so his customers did not suffer, as they did in the fantasy of the 1930s.

Godfrey is in the public domain, but treat yourself, and find a good print, which this is not- Watch it. So many great performances.

Nothing's Sacred could be remade today with Hazel being a social media star:

The wreckage of the plane was never removed.

It was considered too dangerous to even attempt it.

It's a treacherous trek, but there are those who have hiked up to the wreckage and photographed pieces of the fuselage.

Carole was rushing home to LA after she heard that hubby Clark Gable was having an affair with Lana Turner. That's why she took a risky flight in bad weather.

She was a close friend of Lucille Ball, who encouraged her protege Carole Cook to change her name after her.

Carole should have won The Oscar for My Man Godfrey instead of Luise Reiner.

Clark Gable was buried with her when he died 19 years later, instead of his current wife. I started a thread on this when I read about it, linked below.

Love her. Terrific actress.

I read that she flipped a coin - heads , take train , tails, plane ✈️.

I don't understand how any of her hair coukd be left after being on fire for hours

R14, Gable is interred next to Carole, and next to her is her mother, Elizabeth Peters, who also perished in the crash.

So for people interred in a wall instead of in the earth, are the bodies/caskets still pretty much as they were?

No, r19. They explode and their is a draining system to deal with it. Death of the flesh is disgusting. The soul is eternal

When we die, our souls don’t age past 30. We are young again!

Carole's first husband was William Powell, who was engaged to that other tragic blonde of the '30s, Jean Harlow, whose last film was "Saratoga" with Clark Gable.

Gable and Lombard's first public outing as a couple was at Harlow's funeral and pissed off their respective studios since Clark was still legally married to Rhea Langham.

Orson Welles was convinced that the plane was shot down by nazis in the desert . Remember, Pearl Harbor had happened only months ago.

Robert Stack was fuckalicious back then

I feel ready to let my grief go.

[quote]When we die, our souls don’t age past 30. We are young again!

That explains Palm Springs.

Here's some color footage of Lombard's last appearance, where Carole had just helped raise 2 million dollars in war bonds...

R16, Yes, her mother and Gable's publicist, Otto Winkler, were afraid of flying and insisted on the original plan to travel by train. But Lombard was anxious to get back home so they flipped a coin.

R13, Carole was frequently on the set of "Honky Tonk" (1941) to make sure there was no funny business going on between her husband and Lana Turner. She was well aware of Lana's party girl reputation and Clark's eye for the young ladies. When she learned that Clark and Lana were to be paired again for "Somewhere I'll Find You" (1942) she hit the roof. They supposedly fought about Lana before Carole left for Indiana on the war bond drive. Whether Clark and Lana actually had an affair we will never know. Lana, of course, denied it.

Lana was actually fired from "Somewhere I'll Find You" for marrying Artie Shaw without Louis B. Mayer's permission, and was replaced with Esther Williams. However, by the time the film went into production, Lana had divorced Artie and was back in Mayer's good graces.

After Lombard's death, Gable requested that the title "Somewhere I'll Find You" be changed. The new title was to be "Red Light," but MGM did the old switcheroo and changed it back upon its release.

It's always a point of interest to see how different cinematographers lit her to mitigate her facial scars. The best was Ted Tetzlaff.

R33, There was only one facial scar.

[quote] Gable is interred next to Carole

Next to her hair (that's all that was left)?

burned naugahyde and chiffon.

White chiffon. Terracotta pots.

[quote]But Lombard was anxious to get back home so they flipped a coin.

Can't win for losin'.

There's this guy on a site I frequent who has visited the crash site many times over the years and has found bits of Lombard's ruby jewelry she was wearing that night among other souvenirs.

R35, it was more than just her hair:

[quote]A Vegas store owner and some soldiers had succeeded in shifting a hunk of the TWA-3’s wing that had settled near the cliff. Beneath it were three bodies. They were badly broken and burned but mostly intact. One was a man and the other two, women.

[quote]Third degree burns from the fuel fire had made the bodies unrecognizable apart from their general figures. One of the women, the one with the most delicate figure, rested face down in the snow. This body had no left arm and its head had nearly been sheared off in the crash. A volunteer put out one gloved hand and gently turned the body over. The woman’s face was as unrecognizable as the rest of her body, but there was a half-burnt envelope beneath the body. It was a personal schedule of Lombard’s War Bonds appearances.

[quote]Eddie Mannix tromped over and saw the envelope. He looked down at the mangled corpse. His eyes traveled from foot to face and then rested on the blackened skull. The hair had burnt away, but a single patch had somehow been protected from the fire. One curled lock of familiar blond hair.

[quote]Eddie Mannix nodded. It was Carole.

I've never seen a body in that condition!

I wish I could find the whistleblower interview where it was revealed that a UFO shot down her plane in response to the US 's secret policy (at the time) to shoot down any UFO in US air space. The government pages on this "accident" are still blacked out even to this day. The whistleblower said that FDR warned many closest to him (she was one of his biggest supporters) about flying during this time as planes even "mysteriously caught fire" on the runways around the globe. This was the most dangerous time of flying up to that point The "Battle Of Los Angeles" (which many eyewitnesses reported as 1 large UFO overhead) happened shortly after her famous crash on 2-24-42.

This report down below has some of the UFO details but it lacks the whistleblower's account of events =

R45, that post is so whack that I won't even click the link. What kind of crazy exists beyond one click? I'll never know...

Earthfiles has 15 search results for "Carol Lombard" =

For a good chuckle, see Lana Turner on Phil Donahue promoting her mea culpa memoirs! Right off the bat, Phil asks her about rumors that Carole chose to fly home to be back with Gable, rather than take the train. Lana insists that she and "Mr. Gable" were just friends... Or that Tyrone was the love of her life... And keep watching for Lana's insistence she wasn't truly an alcoholic... ...Or that there was no feud between Lana and Jane "Bangs" Wyman... Turner plays the MGM great lady here, but the good-natured broad peeps out...

Human remains have nothing to do with the soul

Here's a Criterion promo for "To Be or Not To Be," well worth watching...

Awful to hear the grisly details

At least she still had hair.

On a happier note, here's some home movies of Carole Lombard, who was quite the live wire, as well as great beauty, too...

Wasn't there stories that Carole did t really agree with hunting but did it as a way to please "Pa"?

Please read the book Fireball by Robert Matzen. It’s harrowing yet fascinating (“I couldn’t put it down!”) and is a blend of her life and what happened around the time of the crash. I keep checking back to see if he’s written any new books because I enjoyed this one so much. Lombard was really adorable in My Man Godfrey - such a tragedy to lose her so young.

Was she aware that they were crashing? I have a feeling they were awake because they were only an hour from LA

I don't believe they were aware - the official version is the pilot miscalculated the height of the mountain and crashed right into it without trying to pull the nose up.

How awful to die in active terror, with an understanding what's likely to happen and no ability to control it.

R62 no the impact would have killed everyone immediately. Still a very horrible and violent way to die.

R24 Rhea was my grandmother’s cousin.

The plane was only 80 feet away from clearing the mountain. Just a mere 80 feet higher and they all would've been fine.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo, any cock'll do!"

R63, did they feel impact?

R67 I hope not, from what I can understand the split second of impact and explosion would be too quick for the brain to process

She was one of the few who could do both comedy and drama equally well. She's wonderful in the "race against time to save sick baby" melodrama MADE FOR EACH OTHER (39).

Here's my take on "Made For Each Other," which came out in '39, Jimmy Stewart's big breakout year in Hollywood

Interesting that Carole and Jimmy were born the same year, she long a big star, him just starting. 3 years later, Lombard was dead, and Stewart in the service for WWII.

Made for Each Other really shows off Carole and Jimmy's naturalistic acting as newlyweds in their first year of marriage. There's several good and free copies on YouTube.

R64, Rhea or Ria was a Texas socialite whom the ambitious Gable latched on to during his climb to the top of screen stardom. She put up with his dalliances with Joan Crawford and Loretta Young and countless other starlets as long as he returned home and made her look good as the wife of America's #1 Movie Star. Movie fans had her back and admonished Clark if they suspected he was cheating on her.

But with Carole it was different. When it became known that Clark and Carole were an item, the fans turned on Rhea and admonished [italic]her[/italic] for keeping the pair from marital bliss. Rhea saw the writing on the wall and filed for divorce, but demanded $300,000 for the trouble. Clark took a loan from Louis B. Mayer and had to finally agree to do "Gone With The Wind" in exchange. (He had already been signed to play Rhett Butler, but he kept threatening to drop out of the picture.)

It's amazing, because of film, we're still talking about an actress who died 80 years ago. I doubt that in 1942 they was much discussion about the actresses of 1862.

Yes r73! Film brings history to life

Probably because the first commercial film was released in 1903, and even if your every day person cared about stage actresses, Broadway didn’t really become a thing until the late 1870’s.

Sounds like it was the same kind of crash as what Patsy Cline was in.

R76, Patsy's plane crashed into the swampy woods of Camden, but the way "Sweet Dreams" portrayed it, they crashed into the face of a mountain in an explosive fireball.

Patsy's manager Randy Woods was a non-instrument rated pilot and attempted to navigate through adverse weather conditions by visuals only, became disoriented, and crashed... much like JFK, Jr.

^^ Randy Hughes, I meant.

Why would anyone care what happened 80 years ago.

R76 Patsy's plane never exploded, it smashed into the ground and crumpled. As R77 points out, it was changed for the movie as I guess it made a more dramatic scene where clearly there could be no survivors

I ain't ever heard of her, she must not have been much of a star.

Lol R82 Biggest star in her time

R81, were the passengers aware it was going down?

On The Twentieth Century is an incredible comedy. Everyone is on the top of their game, and it never stops. I watch it every year.

Carole Lombard was a major movie star in that era, she was as big as Hepburn, Davis and Crawford.

r85 I also love that film. It's fantastic.

R87 Oh shit, I mean Twentieth Century, 'On The...' was the Musical. Carole in her panties....woof.

I liked "Nothing Sacred" from 1937 with Lombard and Fredric March, directed by William Wellman.

Carole Lombard was a great star in her era, a great beauty, and considered to be one of the great comic actresses. For those not familiar, check Carole's films out, Lombard's surprisingly modern in her acting style. And made some comedy classics, too.

What roles would Carole have excelled in, had she lived?

R91 Any she wanted. Really good question.

What was on her Victrola?

Was she ever considered for Scarlett?

When I think of Carole, I think of Helen Gallagher...

What was Carole like off screen?

These are the kind of threads I love on DL.

[quote] What was Carole like off screen?

Bawdy, funny, sexy, unpretentious, down to earth, fun. She was well liked by everyone, like that other tragic Hollywood blonde Jean Harlow.

She and Gable were perfect for each other. They called each other "Ma" and "Pa." She was Gable's true love and he never got over her death. He remarried twice, but both wives were substitutes for her. He was reported as saying after her death "Why did Ma have to go? Did you ever see anyone more beautiful? There was never a person in this world who was so generous, so full of fun. Goddamn it, why Ma?"

R94, if I recall, in "The Scarlett O'Hara War," Carole Lombard (Sharon Gless) screen tested for the part of Scarlett, but eventually joined Tallulah Bankhead (Carrie Nye) in dumping their bowls of soup on David O. Selzick's head.

^^ That never happened in real life.

Carole may have loved Gable but she was openly critical of his abilities in bed.

"I love Pa dearly, but if he were one inch shorter he would be the Queen of Hollywood, not the King."

I love this picture, Carole presenting Clark with ham at the wrap party for "No Man of Her Own."

I don't think that quote at R103 is accurate. I always heard she said "You know I love Pa, but I can't say he's a helluva good lay." Or “God knows I love Clark, but he's the worst lay in town.” Or "I adore Clark but he's a lousy lay." Something along those lines. Anyway, Gable didn't have to put a lot of effort into his lovemaking because he didn't HAVE to. Women went after him like flies to a honey pot. Joan Blondell said "he affected all females, unless they were dead."

So, a bad fuck with terrible breath AND a cheater. Not so sure Gable/Lombard would have lasted. She could've done better.

[quote]R14: Carole should have won The Oscar for My Man Godfrey instead of Luise Reiner.

Oh, dear.

Calling your lover ma or pa is creepy and a sexual turn off

Why this movie wasn't a blockbuster...well...

I adore Mr and Mrs Smith, one of the few Hitchcock comedies. She is just so fuckable.

[quote] So, a bad fuck with terrible breath AND a cheater. Not so sure Gable/Lombard would have lasted. She could've done better.

How could she have done better than "The King of Hollywood?" By the way, Gable, who had faults like everybody does, was also as universally liked as Lombard was. Women loved him; men liked him. Offscreen he was very different from his cocky, wise cracking, sexually aggressive screen image. In real life he was a self deprecating, unassuming regular guy who liked to go fishing and hunting. He was as unpretentious as Lombard was. I think Lombard liked all these qualities about him. Although he was the biggest of "stars" he didn't act like one. That was probably one of the things about him all women found attractive.

Lombard and first husband William Powell.

Gable couldn't have been that bad in bed. Crawford went back again and again.

Joan knew what she wanted and certainly knew what she was doing.

One of my childhood memories was watching a Gable movie with my Dad, and he points out how Gable must have really bad breath, because you can see the actress recoiling a little bit when Gable pulls her close and utters a line in her face.

Marlene Dietrich and Carole. Dietrich was gorgeous in the 30s.

I think Carole Lombard would have made a great Margo Channing. And I love Bette in that part...

Who knows how bad Gable's breath was. But he was a great kisser, as evidenced from his movies.

When King Tinymeat took out his teeth, he was wonderful at cunnilingus.

80 years ago? 8 decades? 4 to 5 generations? Has it been that long? My gosh! How time flies. Mother would have been 4 years old. Where does the time go!?

It was hard to be beautiful and funny onscreen, but she was able to pull it off. Her and Kay Kendall, maybe.

I love this shot by Hurrell.

What becomes a legend most?

Another Hurrell shot of Carole…

R116, I wonder if they ever hooked up

Carole was strictly dickly. Claudette Colbert, however, liked the lady ham so maybe Marlene got a piece of that.

R126, how do you know? So many women were occasionally bisexual in that era of Hollywood

There has never been anything about Carole Lombard being bi. Colbert and Dietrich, of course, have had plenty of confirmation.

[quote] It was hard to be beautiful and funny onscreen

Don't forget me, bitches!

Carole once commented that she found Gary Cooper feminine.

Her true love, pre-Gable, was crooner Russ Columbo, who was as popular as Bing Crosby.

Columbo was accidentally killed while inspecting a gun with a friend.

Russ and Carole. Russ died in 1934 at the age of 26. Carole died in 1942 at the age of 33.

Lombard by John Englestead

^^ I meant [italic]Engstead[/italic]

I was wondering why she stopped sending me Christmas cards.

"Carole once commented that she found Gary Cooper feminine. "

Who moi?

Why did they not let her play Scarlett?

Carole Lombard, like Joan Crawford, couldn't do period work. They were too modern.

[quote] Why did they not let her play Scarlett?

Because Vivien Leigh was perfect for the role. The absolute perfect choice to play Scarlett O'Hara.

VL wasn't even American, she was British. What the hell would she have known about the American South?

[quote] L wasn't even American, she was British. What the hell would she have known about the American South?

She was an ACTRESS. She could PRETEND to be something she was not. Get it?

It was said back than, that in the South, they'd rather have a Brit playing Scarlet than a Yankee (Davis, Hepburn etc.)

Carole did come off very smart, strong, and modern. Can totally see her playing the kind of career women Roz and Joan played in the '40s. I think Carole Lombard could have made a helluva Margo Channing, too.

In the 1950s, Carole would have gone into television and either hosted her own anthology show like Loretta Young did or starred in a sitcom like Lucy did.

She was more modern than all of us put together.

Carole was great in everything she did. She was so lucky that her final film was such a classic. And, it can be said she actually gave her life for her country's war effort.

Gable seemed like a good guy. He was actually friends with Hattie McDaniel. He didn't want to attend the GWTW premiere in Atlanta once he discovered she wasn't invited. It is said he refused until Selznick got her to give him permission. He also was known for attending her legendary parties which only a few white celebrities did.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3TmqOorZ6csm%2BvzqZmraCimq6le5JpZ3JoZ2mEbq%2FAq6alnV2hvK6uwKubZpyZmrFutc1mmGaonJa7pnnCq5isoF1tfW7FxJqprGWRnLxufY1qbWdsYg%3D%3D