Real Men Do Cry
Nowadays, if an actor is able to portray a heartfelt emotional scene, he can win praise and awards. Unfortunately, back in the 1930s, Hollywood didn’t represent the ‘sensitive man’ in a lead role. During that time, actors were supposed to signify the “ideal man.” This meant that they were normally masculine, and there was definitely no room for tears.
Source: moviestillsDB, Copyright by Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
In Gone with the Wind, Clark Gable was supposed to show sorrow and distress when Scarlett suffered a miscarriage after falling down the stairs while running from him. Initially, Gable wasn’t up for it. He was convinced that audiences weren’t ready to see an emotional male character on their screens. Although he was scared to damage his acting credibility, Gable finally agreed and shed tears for the scene.