Wife Versus Secretary (1936)
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- Synopsis:
Magazine publisher Van Stanhope (Clark Gable) is a hard-working, dynamic executive, very happily married to his beautiful wife Linda (Myrna Loy). Although their relationship is built on unconditional trust, friends caution her about the dangers of allowing Whitey (Jean Harlow), her husband's extremely sexy secretary, to continue to have access to him. Even Van's mother warns Linda that Van's father philandered during their marriage, and Van, like all men, will eventually succumb to opportunity and temptation. Although Whitey has a faithful boyfriend, she secretly harbors unrequited feelings for her boss. When they take a business trip to Havana, circumstantial evidence convinces Linda that the rumors she's heard might have a basis in fact. - Actors:
- Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, May Robson, George Barbier, James Stewart, Hobart Cavanaugh, Tom Dugan, Gilbert Emery, Marjorie Gateson, Gloria Holden, Hooper Atchley, Eugene Borden, Sidney Bracey, Frederick Burton, Leonard Carey, Maurice Cass, André Cheron, Clay Clement, Nick Copeland
- Directors:
- Clarence Brown
- Producers:
- Hunt Stromberg, Clarence Brown
- Writers:
- Norman Krasna, John Lee Mahin, Faith Baldwin, Alice Duer Miller
- Aka:
- Wife vs. Secretary
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Drama, Romance
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Reviews (1) of Wife Versus Secretary
Thirties Screwball - Wife Versus Secretary review by Steve
Or maybe trophy wife vs. career girl. Clark Gable is a filthy rich New York publisher with servants and a vast Manhattan apartment who is happily married to Myrna Loy's chic homemaker. But everyone warns her that all men will stray given the chance. So watch out for the sexy girl-Friday (Jean Harlow) who runs his office.
MGM wasn't a prime studio for screwball. This is more of a social comedy drawn from a familiar contemporary scenario. Today, the most striking feature is how astonishingly sexist this world is. Not just because the boss calls his secretary 'toots' but how diminished she is. She doesn't have any status, but significantly helps run the business.
This was a makeover role for Harlow. The platinum blonde look has gone as she aims to broaden her range beyond the shrill floozy. Loy is well cast as the elegant, playful wife who is slow to be jealous but goes all the way when she is. Gable is least convincing. He's fine as the alpha male, but doesn't feel right on Madison Avenue.
Clarence Brown directs with his customary fluency, but doesn't raise any sparks: the class differences imply a friction which never happens; and the script finds little fault with the entitled male. Yet, it's possible to care about both women, because of how invidious was either role in '30s America, which trivialises both wife, and secretary.