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Wife vs. Secretary (1936)

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19 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
Lite Fluff from MGM, 17 March 2005

Author: nycritic

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Considered ultra-modern in its day, WIFE VS. SECRETARY is the story of a misunderstanding that leads the wife of a businessman to believe he is having an affair with his secretary. Nothing else really happens in this light comedy, but there is a slight suggestion that the secretary, played by Jean Harlow, may have had something a little closer than just a work relationship with her employer, here played by Clark Gable. That this notion is reinforced once Myrna Loy's character ponders leaving Gable makes Harlow's character only a little more willing to let loose, but the story never quite takes the risk of leaping into that direction and opts for the classic happy ending. Note for a small appearance by Janes Stewart playing Harlow's boyfriend; even in such an early point in his career he seems already showing a little hint of darker performances in the future.

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13 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Sophisticated and intelligent film belies silly title., 31 January 2000

Author: David Atfield (bits@alphalink.com.au) from Canberra, Australia

It sounds like some sort of cheap sex farce, but this wonderful gem from MGM is actually a very sophisticated work. At its heart are the brilliant performances of five shining stars. Myrna Loy, her miraculously beautiful face subtlely registering her consumption by the green eyed monster. Clark Gable, exhaustingly energetic and effortlessly charming. May Robson, worldly wise and utterly compassionate. James Stewart, in an early supporting role displays the sincere simplicity that was to become his trademark. And Jean Harlow, luminous and intelligent - with a practical notion of love - but playing temptation better than any actor I've ever seen. Watch that scene where she takes off Gable's shoes. So sad that she died only a year after this film was made.

At the helm of this under-rated film is the great Clarence Brown, one of the great stylists of the cinema, who was able to take a simple story and give it depth - watch the gossip and the prejudice of the observers that slowly manipulate Loy, Gable and Harlow into distrusting themselves. Magnificent production and costume designs and great music flesh out the film, and make it a memorable experience. And it's very sexy for its time too! If it weren't for the slightly forced happy ending this film would be perfection itself.

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17 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
Very close to a perfect movie, 8 May 2002

Author: Thom Culbertson

It goes without saying that the best Myrna Loy movies have William Powell - but this movie has enough cast that it can virtually throw away Jimmy Stewart and still carry you along with the strength of the character performances. Clark "Big Ears" Gable is not my favorite star, but he plays the role of the loving but thoughtless husband perfectly. He believably pulls off being shrewd in business, but naive enough of his personal life to be almost innocent while looking completely guilty.

Actually, it is the pair of leading ladies that makes this movie so great - Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow. Myrna is great in everything she does - and so is Harlow. Harlow is proof that the original is nearly always the best. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a Marilyn Monroe movie is simply watching second best - Harlow was the original "blonde bombshell" - and is still the best. Her usual forte is comedy, but she nails this light dramatic role perfectly. There are times when you don't know who to cheer for - the Wife or the Secretary - and that's the movie. The whole tension rides on which of these two ladies Gable chooses - or, rather, which one the audience wants him to choose. Myrna may have been the only actress who could have given Harlow a run for her money - and Harlow may have been the only one who could challenge Myrna Loy.

Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow teamed up in another movie - "Libeled Lady" - another tour de force of casting with William Powell and Spencer Tracy along for the ride. "Lady" is a very good movie; a comedy with both drawing room and slapstick elements. This type of comedy is usually more my cup of tea, but as good as "Lady" is, "Wife vs. Secretary" is better - mainly because "Lady" doesn't let Harlow bust loose until the end of the movie.

The light touch that these two great actresses bring to "Wife vs. Secretary" offsets one of the fundamental conflicts and tragedies of life - that though we are often presented with two paths in life, we can only choose one - knowing that we will always wonder about the other....

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11 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
A golden love triangle..., 28 September 2004
Author: Poseidon-3 from Cincinnati, OH

All of the MGM machinery is in place to make this slight little story into an enjoyable bit of entertainment. Three of the studio's biggest and most endearing stars headline the film. Gable plays a hotshot businessman who has a beautiful, affectionate wife (Loy) at home and a beautiful, dutiful secretary (Harlow) at the office. Loy has no reason to feel threatened by the curvy, good-natured Harlow until Gable's mother (Robson) plants the seeds of doubt in her mind. Once her friends chime in as well and Gable and Harlow are in the midst of a major, hush-hush deal, she begins to think that perhaps she is the odd man out. Meanwhile, (a very young) Stewart waits patiently for Harlow to give up her career and marry him. The title comes true in one, fairly-considerate, verbal sparring match near the end. Gable is extremely charming and offhanded in this film. He does as he pleases and doesn't care to answer to anyone or explain his behavior. Loy is also very witty and refreshingly forward-thinking for most of the movie. The couple shares a delightful on screen relationship in which a healthy sex life is clearly implied. Harlow (sporting hair a shade or two darker than when she's playing an outwardly sexual character) does an admirable job of portraying the dedicated, indispensable assistant who may really have some unexplored feelings for her boss. Though the plot is contrived and simplistic in the extreme, the stars do manage to put it over and hold interest. It's not a very realistic film, but who wanted that anyway during The Depression? It's a frothy, fun, occasionally dramatic piece of old Hollywood candy.

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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
suspicious minds, 27 December 2005

Author: blanche-2 from United States

Jean Harlow is the secretary no wife wants her husband to have in "Wife vs. Secretary" starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, and Harlow, with an early appearance by James Stewart. It's hard to believe, looking at this film, that Jean Harlow would be dead a year later. Less blonde than in some earlier films, and far more subdued, she plays the indispensable, smart, and efficient secretary of Clark Gable. Gable is a high-pressured businessman happily married to Myrna Loy. All is well until her mother-in-law advises her to make Gable get rid of that good-looking assistant. Slowly, Loy begins to realize that everyone in their circle is assuming an affair, which up to that point hadn't crossed her mind. It does now.

Harlow is involved with James Stewart, and he doesn't want her to work after they get married. Her job, he feels, is too exciting and important and will threaten their marriage. Harlow is half in love with Gable and refuses to quit. Stewart is adorable and gives a hint of what will be truly be one of the great screen personas.

The cast is splendid. Gable is his usual charming self; Loy and Harlow are perfect casting as unique women who are complete opposites. Their final scene together consists of only a long look. It's very effective, as is the acting of both women throughout. Loy's scene with her mother-in-law is heartbreaking.

This is a dated film but very satisfying. Although it's wonderful to see these stars together, it's sad to realize they're all gone now, and that young Harlow has been gone for 68 years. Quite a loss.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
"I'm the best, aren't I?", 3 July 2006

Author: Michael Bo (michael.bo@pol.dk) from Copenhagen, Denmark

This is a perfect little film, absolutely well-rounded and exquisite. Beautifully scripted, intelligently directed, ebulliently acted.

Clark Gable is the successful publisher, newly married to society lady Myrna Loy who, although very modern and not jealously disposed, begins to suspect that he is carrying on an affair with his bleach-blonde secretary, Jean Harlow. As Gable's mother states, laconically of her son, "You wouldn't blame a boy for stealing a piece of candy".

All fluff, right? Light as air, unsubstantial? Of course it is, it takes masters of their craft to make this plot stick, to make the movie plain unforgettable. Gable was never better, he seems to relish every second he is on screen, and there is none of the masculine stiffness about him that his worst performances have. He is a joy to watch with the always delightful Loy, their scenes together bristle and self-combust, and they are a really sweet, engaging couple. Loy has to be the most sophisticated creature ever to be filmed, she is SO cool and contemporary ("I'm the best, aren't I?", she says with just the slightest sardonic hint.) Harlow isn't given as much to work with, and she has to downplay her sassy sexiness in order not to tip the scales. But she is still almost all Harlow, and they go as far as they possibly could under the Production Code. The scene with Harlow and Gable in the Havana hotel room is all about sex, as we are left in no doubt.

So, watch it and love it. It is as perfect a piece of 30's film-making as you are likely to see.

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
One of Few Salutes to Business Genius, 28 August 2006

Author: DLiebert from New York, NY

I loved the sophisticated representation of the world of a major magazine publisher - usually business executives are played according to a handful of hackneyed formulas. But not here.

Gable's energy, wit, drive and non-stop imagination portray a great 'business man' with feeling and accuracy. Watch Gable at the board meeting near the beginning - it is a wonderful picture of a man reveling in his own genius, intelligence and power (and the sheer joy of using it!)

Other men are drawn to men like this - they are the true 'alpha males'. What is particularly interesting and modern about this movie is that Jean Harlow with an impeccable performance as Gable's exec secretary matches him throughout idea for idea, rises to every challenge and dazzles us with her beauty AND her intelligence. She is an 'alpha female'.

Myrna Loy was never more beautiful. She wears a simple black Adrian gown at her dinner party that is one of the most drop-dead gorgeous things I've ever seen. The opening scene of their 'morning after a night of lovemaking' is a template for married people anywhere. The same energy, wit and spirit of fun Gable puts in at the office, he gives his wife.

Witty dialog abounds. Stewart has the thankless task of 'taming' Harlow to home and kids - one never really believes he could ever hang on to that much blond dynamite. I love watching Harlow and Gable together. One of the great treats in this life. In real life they were never lovers, but like brother and sister. Myrna Loy in close-up is a treat all by herself - classy dame!

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Dated "women's film" will appeal to special interests, 14 October 2006

Author: jcorelis from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is a neglected film -- it's not even listed in many cinema reference books, which is surprising considering its all star cast -- which will appeal to certain of today's viewers.

Clark Gable is a wealthy, hard working magazine publisher who has just celebrated the first anniversary of his ecstatically happy marriage to Myrna Loy; Jean Harlow, his secretary and general Girl Friday, who has made herself indispensable at the office and works closely with him, is an eminently respectable young woman and engaged to lowly office worker James Stewart, but her all too obvious attractiveness leads some of Gable and Loy's high society associates, including Gable's own mother, to believe that their relationship is the stereotypical one between a powerful executive and his gorgeous young assistant. Loy at first dismisses such rumors, but an increasing web of circumstantial evidence, culminating in what seems to be a shameless lover's romp off to Havana, finally convinces her that Gable is indeed being unfaithful, and she files for divorce. Meanwhile Harlow's engagement has also gone on the rocks, due to Stewart's fear that her career associating with the rich and powerful will lead her to believe he's not good enough for her. The situation is resolved by an interesting variation on the obligatory Wife/Other-Woman confrontation scene, resulting in the inevitable happy ending for all.

As the plot summary indicates, this film is solidly within the 1930's "women's picture" genre, and though it's a superior example of the form, few viewers today are likely to find its stock situations and predictable plot very engaging. Yet it's not at all a bad film: the 1930's fashions and decor are lovely, and the acting is creditable all around, with Gable in typically vigorous form and Harlow wisely underplaying her role -- she's become such a legendary erotic icon that it's somewhat surprising to be reminded that she was actually a very good actress. The film will be worthwhile viewing for those interested in the "women's picture" genre or in 1930's style, or who are fans of the starring actors, and especially for those who, like me, could happily spend an hour watching Jean Harlow read a magazine.

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Some psychic foresight would have helped., 6 May 2004

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

I had never seen Wife vs. Secretary until last year and because it was the only film that Clark Gable made with James Stewart, I wanted to see what these two would be like together.

The closest Gable and Stewart have in the way of a scene together is at a roller rink where Gable has brought wife Myrna Loy and Stewart brought girlfriend Jean Harlow. Gable and Stewart are on opposite sides of the floor and never get together.

It's not the best film Gable ever did with Harlow or Loy, but it's good fun. Basically Loy begins to have doubts about Gable's fidelity because the beautiful Ms. Harlow is his secretary. And the doubt is continually being reinforced by Loy's friends, a nasty group of gossips. Innocent events are continually being misinterpreted, but everyone is on the same page by the end of the movie.

Gable was a big star by then, MGM's biggest. Too bad no one knew that Jimmy Stewart was also going to be a cinema legend or some scenes would have included them together.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
The Genius of Jean, 20 March 2008

Author: from United States

I treasure this film for Jean Harlow's performance, capped by a magnificent, simple line reading: "You are a fool. For which I am grateful."

She had amazing range for an actress who died at 26. Howard Hughes presented her in "Hell's Angels" (1930) as an amoral menace to civilization. (When she slips into "something comfortable" she actually puts on clothes.) It would be charitable to call her appearance in that picture acting. Yet within a couple of years she could dominate the screen by the force of genuine talent.

Her starring career blazed briefly, but with almost no wasted roles. Here she gets to behave like a normal working class woman--not a débutante, nor a tenement dweller, nor a criminal's moll, nor a voracious mantrap, nor a comic banshee, nor an adventuress working the China Seas or Malay docksides.

Clark Gable and Myrna Loy have more customary roles. A part this quiet remains a rarity for the winsome, brilliant, and doomed Harlow.

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