In this wonderful comedy/drama, all three major stars go against their stereotyped roles. Clark Gable, for example, plays devoted husband and businessman instead of a tough guy like he usually does. Jean Harlow plays a hard working, good natured secretary, who doesn't seem to know just how damn sexy and gorgeous she is, and no wise cracks! Then there is the lovely Myrna Loy, who plays an extremely sexy wife (in contrast to her other wife roles). This could have been another formulaic, predictable film but the stars Loy, Harlow and Gable shine in their roles and make this a truly funny, magical film.
The conflict starts when Linda Stanhope's (a gorgeous Myrna Loy) mother in law makes a careless comment about how nice her son's (a dashing Clark Gable) Linda's Husband - secretary (played by Jean Harlow) is. From there, a usually non-jealous Linda becomes increasingly suspicious to her husbands actions. Many things seem to point to the conclusion that Van is having an affair. Hm!
It's rather tragic that this brilliant piece of comedy is not that well known, as it should be. All three stars are exquisite and really entertaining to watch and raises above the boring, run of the mill comedy/dramas. Wife Vs. Secretary is a great movie - I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Wife vs. Secretary
1936
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Wife vs. Secretary
1936
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Plot summary
Linda, the wife of a publishing executive, suspects that her husband Van’s relationship with his attractive secretary Whitey is more than professional.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
January 22, 2023 at 10:04 AM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Loy, Gable and Harlow shine in this great comedy
Make sure you watch the penultimate scene
A lot of this is typical 1930s melodrama. The story continues because various of the characters fail to have the obvious conversations, which would have cleared things up in a jiffy.
The scene I found particularly interesting and innovative was the penultimate one. In the third from the end scene, Harlow shows up in Loy's stateroom aboard the French Liner ship she is planning to take to Europe to forget about her husband (Gable), whom she imagines, incorrectly, to have had a fling with his secretary Harlow during a business trip to Havana. Harlow tells Loy that if she leaves Gable now, he will turn to Harlow out of loneliness and Loy will never get him back. (Yes, that sounds like the mother's speech to Norma Shearer in The Women.) Loy believes, incorrectly, that she has already lost Gable, so she says she won't go back to him. Harlow tells her that that would make her (Harlow) happy.
The next scene takes place in Gable's office. He is talking with Harlow. We hear footsteps coming down the hall outside. Footsteps that take a long time. It turns out that they belong to the cleaning lady. Then, when she leaves, we hear footsteps again, very assertive footsteps, for a long time. Harlow gets up - she suspects it is Loy, come to return to her husband. And this time it is. Harlow then walks through the next, large office - more long footsteps - and leaves. The use of the footsteps is really very impressive.