More than 20 years later, Clark Gable basically played a retooled version of his “Red Dust” character in the 1953 film “Mogambo.” This time around, the story is set in Africa, and Gable played a hunter named Victor Marswell who leads a group on a safari, according to Britannica’s synopsis. Ava Gardner (with Gable, above) played Eloise, a former dancer, in a tamer revision of Harlow’s role as Vantine. Grace Kelly played Linda Nordley, wife of an anthropologist (Donald Sinden). And as in the original, Gable’s character, Victor, comes between Linda and her husband, and then decides he can’t ruin their marriage. She handles his eventual rejection with a gun.
While “Red Dust” had a tepid reception from critics, “Mogambo” received a lot of praise for its female stars’ performances, especially Ava Gardner (via The New York Times). Both Gardner and Kelly picked up Academy Award nominations — Best Actress in a Leading Role for Gardner and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Kelly, according to IMDb. Kelly won a Golden Globe for her work on the film.
