Joan Crawford recalled:

Joan Crawford recalled:

“When [Clark Gable] married Carole Lombard, it wasn't possible to find a more faithful husband. He was not only faithful in his actions, but in his thoughts. I don't think he ever even had an unfaithful thought, and you can't say that for many men.
"He was in love with her, and he loved her. Those aren't the same things, you know, and it's heaven if you can get the two things, passion and lasting love.
"I liked Carole, and I told myself I was happy for Clark, and for her, too. I never considered myself an envious person, because I wasn't one. But if I tell the truth, I did have a few times when Clark told me about how wonderful she was, I didn't exactly enjoy hearing those words, so many of them, pouring out of Clark, who never had had that many words to spare during the years I knew him. Carole must have been divinely happy.
"But then, tragedy happened. The plane crash. And she'd been working for our country on a bond drive. It was terrible. She was supposed to take a train, but she took a plane to get back faster to Clark.
"There were some vicious people who spread gossip that she was rushing back in order not to leave her handsome husband alone too long. That was ridiculous. A terrible thing to say, anyway, and especially in light of the brave sacrifice she made. I know why she wanted to rush back. Not because she didn't trust her husband. But because she loved him so much.
"Clark was inconsolable for a long time. He had such terrible regrets about letting her go at all. They were both very partiotic. He hadn't been able to go with her because of a film, but still he blamed himself for not stopping her. He never really stopped blaming himself. But she was a very spirited girl, and that was what he loved....Clark could never get over her loss. A part of him died when she died. The vibrant, exciting life force that was Clark had gone. He was still a lot of man, but the spark, the electricity went with her."
Clark often went to Joan's house at night in those terrible weeks following Carole's death. "I offered him a shoulder to cry on, and he accepted it. It was also important that he got a good warm meal provided with comfortable company."
Joan offered to take Carole's place in what would have been her next film, the comedy THEY ALL KISSED THE BRIDE. Joan donated her entire salary from the film, $125,000, to the Red Cross in Carole's name. When her agent insisted on taking his usual 10% cut, she fired him

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