Spoilers. Observations. Opinions.American slave trade ended 1807 by Congress. Why was Gable in Civil War era talking about his work in that field? That was an era ending fifty years before, and even Gable didn't look that old.This looked to be historically incorrect, but will be overlooked for the sake of the story. Louisiana became American (from the French; Napoleon) in 1803, so this makes even less sense.Back to the story. A funeral has people singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, meaning heaven coming to take Yvonne de Carlo's father away. I looked over Jordan, and what did I see? A band of angels comin' after me. These are lyrics of this old song. The River Jordan is another euphemism for heaven.Bands of angels didn't rescue Manty, de Carlo's character. She was found belatedly to have had an African American mother, and in antebellum times that was a definite no-no.She's sent to a slave auction. She's such a hot tomata that bidders end in none other than Clark Gable, a swell-dressed local Colonel Sanders.Gable purchases her for a large sum of money. On the way to the auction, though, she is assaulted by a bad guy, but is rescued and is to live in a lovely antebellum mansion with Gable. Gable is filthy rich, and Manty has been raised to be a cultured and elegant young woman. Gable dresses her in fine clothes. They make a nice-looking pair.Gable's house slaves are mainly female, but in walks a striking dark man portrayed by Sidney Poitier. Poitier is opinionated and mouthy. He was rescued in childhood by Gable. Gable educated him as his own son, but Poitier's character always resents the way Africans are treated in general.A maid says Poitier will be king of the mansion, some day, and that Gable has willed the abode to him. Later, Union army occupiers want Gable's castle, and, naturally, Poitier has joined their army. The mansion has been ransacked by those darned Yankee invaders, and Poitier is now king of nothing. Gable is still alive, and Poitier sneakily helps him escape the bloodthirsty bluecoats after accusing Gable of giving him such a terrible upbringing.Denouement: Gable and Manty ride off in a boat to further adventures, with Gable's old sea dog friend rescuing them. Meanwhile, Poitier is on the shore, seeing them off.Poitier. Strong characters. Lilies of the Field, 1963. Don't mess with me. They Call Me Mr. Tibbs, 1970. In the Heat of the Night, 1967. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, 1967. Civil rights movement era, in the decade or two after Band of Angels, and African Americans demanding humane treatment. Poitier did a great job in explaining reality. Sidney, you are the greatest.I am a degreed historian, actress, film critic and movie reviewer.

I believe this to be a seriously underrated film. And, it's main problem is that it's Clark Gable's picture, and here he's Hamish Bond, not Rhett Butler. Since it's a Civil War pic, there are the inevitable comparisons to "Gone With The Wind", and no film compares to that.For those who think the film is too tame in the way in deals with slavery, miscegenation, and related topics. This film was made in 1957, long before things in cinema opened up; keep in mind that the dramatic way "Roots" dealt with the same topics was in a different era 20 years later. But, stop and think about the first 30 minutes of this film (during which Clark Gable doesn't even appear): a young White girl finds out she's not really White...she's a Negress (the term used in the film). Her father dies and she is stripped of her family estate and heirlooms. At a slave market in New Orleans she is sold into slavery after she learns first hand of the sexual abuse many slaves underwent and she attempts suicide. Pretty powerful stuff for 1957. And then there's Gable's character who we think is a fairly kind slave owner...but later in the film he admits that he was a slave trader who partook in atrocities in Africa. Again, pretty powerful stuff in 1957 to have a leading man take such a position.Clark Gable is excellent here, particularly when he admits his past. I didn't always like Gable's films, but when the part was right he could be very powerful on screen...and he is here. Yvonne DeCarlo, as the "Negress" is excellent here. This is probably her best role, and it is a shame she eventually succumbed to making "The Munsters".In supporting roles, Sidney Poitier is key as Gable's slave that he has raised as a son. Poitier was just building his acting career here, but he was an impressive actor even then. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is good as a Union soldier, although I would like to have seen more of him; I feel he is an underrated actor. Rex Reason is just right an the evangelical lover who plays a continuing (but ever-changing) role in DeCarlo's life. Patric Knowles plays a cowardly plantation owner very well. A gem of a performance is put in by Ray Teal as a slave dealer...can't say you'll like the character, but it's great acting.I don't find a lot to criticize here. There are some plot twists, particularly toward the end of the film, but I found them enhancing the story line. Too many of our IMDb reviewers here are trying to review a 1950s film about race from a 21st century perspective. Sorry, that's not fair and it doesn't work.Watch for yourself, keep an open mind, and learn about an era before Dr. Martin Luther King.

Well, we have quite a range of reactions to this film from the greatest film ever to the worst film ever seen. I prefer it to the more polished "Gone with the Wind". I believe it was one of Gable's most significant roles after 1939, along with "The Tall Men". Yes, Clark Gable was no longer the swaggering rogue, man of action and lady killer of the '30s. Here, we have a more mature weathered-looking Gable, who has settled down to the genteel life of a southern plantation owner, after a financially successful life as a rough and tumble Yankee slave trader. Yet, he is still something of a rebel. He has a guilty conscience about his former life as a ruthless slave trader and wants to make partial amends by treating his large group of slaves decently. In fact, he plans to leave his estate to one of them. He tends to see the born southern aristocracy as largely decadently effete, as exemplified by a neighbor who takes a liking to his recent light-skinned mulatto acquisition((Yvonne De Carlo, as Amantha). Clearly, Gable, as Hamish Bond, has no interest in supporting the recent unsettling changes in the political scene and the impending Civil War. He recognizes that these events will probably shatter his idyllic life and that the lives of many of his slaves will likely be changed for the worse if they are liberated by the Yankee troops. Perhaps, he recognized that secession failed to solve the looming problem of a lack of new territories for the expansion of plantation slavery, thus depressing the monetary value of young surplus slaves. Perhaps, he also recognized that a separate South impeded the legal demands slave owners could make in recapturing escaped slaves who made it out of the Confederacy. On the other hand, Hamish refuses to support the cause of the Yankee troops who want to sell his soon-to-be harvested cotton. He risks execution in burning his cotton crop and most of his equipment.Hamish rescues, in dramatic fashion, a beautiful cultivated mulatto(Yvonne De Carlo, as Amantha) from a fate she could not bear, although she initially shows little gratitude. He does not require that she become his mistress and in fact gives her a chance to escape his world, but she has a last minute change of heart and decides to remain with him. Amantha has experienced two benevolent slave owners: her father and Hamish. This is in marked contrast to her treatment as a slave on the auction block. The dialog makes it clear that her father and Hamish are rather exceptional in this regard. Thus, I don't buy the criticism that this film provides an unrealistically rosy picture of the typical lives of slaves. The film makes the viewer feel deeply the horror of a sudden change in status from a southern belle to a life-long slave. If you want a much more extreme example, read the book "Skeletons in the Zahara", in which shipwrecked Yankee sailors are transformed into barely living slaves of fearsome tribes or Arabs near the coast of northwest Africa.The relationship between Hamish and his slave and appointed successor Rau-Ru(Sidney Poitier)is another key element of this story. Rau-Ru hates the institution of slavery and hates Hamish even more for his rather successful attempt to make slavery agreeable to his slaves. The fact that he is the heir apparent for this plantation does nor change his attitude. The last portion of the film deals mainly with the critical relationships between Hamish and Rau-Ru, now a Union soldier, and between Hamish, Amantha and a certain Union Caucasian soldier, against a background of Union troops overrunning Hamish's plantation. See the film to find out how this cliffhanger complex of relationships turns out.

Gone with the Wind is fantastic, but Band of Angels stands alone as the great work of Clark Gable. With Stunning support from other cast members, this civil war drama plays with an unbridled sense of pure adventure. The first time I saw this film I was awe struck, the second clinched the deal. Its a great story with even better performances by Gable and Poitier and Yvonne De Carlo, together they really bring this film into the heart. Its too bad that film has been overlooked through history, I truly feel that if you watch this film, you too will have a new appreciation for Civil War drama. Not saying that one would not already, but Mr. Hammish Bond (Gable), is truly a southern rouge with a unique past who brings the genre into a new light.