Clark Gable outside an 8th Air Force Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in England, 1943. Image via Wikipedia

Hitler’s Strange Obsession With Kidnapping Hollywood Legend Clark Gable

The evil leader of Germany took extraordinary lengths to bring one of the most famous actors in the world to Germany against his will

Andrew Martin
4 min readJan 4, 2022

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Actor Clark Gable remains one of the biggest movie stars to ever live, even now more than 50 years after his death. The suave and impossibly good looking thespian captured the admiration of many, including Germany’s despotic chancellor, Adolph Hitler. So enraptured was the evil leader by the Hollywood legend that he actively sought to have him kidnapped and delivered to him in Germany during World War II.

During his illustrious career, Gable became an iconic cinematic figure, appearing in such notable films as It Happened One Night, The Misfits and Gone With the Wind. His piercing eyes and roguish mustache made him instantly recognizable and popular with many, especially the ladies. Interestingly, one of his biggest fans was Hitler, who enjoyed watching privately screened films at home, especially those starring Gable.

Hoping to have an even more realistic cinematic experience, Hitler offered a $5,000 reward at the start of World War II for the capture of Gable and bringing him to Germany unharmed. However, this dynamic changed once the actor left his…

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Andrew Martin
Andrew Martin

Written by Andrew Martin

Dabbler in soccer, history, investing & writing. Master’s degree in baseball history. Passionate about history, diversity, culture, sports, film and investing .

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