Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Movie review – “Wife vs Secretary” (1936) **

A highly commercial title, plenty of MGM gloss and three of the biggest stars at the time – Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Myrna Loy – plus then-emerging James Stewart at Harlow’s boyfriend. The result is a very light drama (it’s not funny enough to be a comedy) about wife Loy being jealous over secretary Harlow’s devotion to boss/husband Gable.
 
In the old pre-Code Red Headed Woman days Harlow would have set out to seduce Gable and destroyed his life but here she just has a crush and doesn’t take advantage of him and she’s no real threat. Act three has Loy call Gable’s room at two in the morning and Harlow is there, but it’s mostly a misunderstanding. (Actually, Gable’s drunk and Harlow seems up for it – it’s the one decent scene in the movie, because it actually has heat). 
 
The stars all do their thing well enough; Harlow is forced by the censor to be decent and loving – maybe closer to the real Harlow but the trashy pre-Code version was more fun. Loy plays the perfect wife in her normally accomplished style - although her character doesn't do much except sleep in her separate bedroom, look chic and go shopping - she doesn't even have kids. James Stewart does the best he can in a thankless part, arguing why women shouldn't have jobs.
 
Norman Krasna worked on the script but there's no impersonation really - or even that many laughs. There is a charming ice skating sequence.

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