Wife Versus Secretary (1936) starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Jimmy Stewart
Synopsis of Wife Versus Secretary
Of course Linda Stanhope trusts her husband Van. Their marriage is based on love and respect. Who cares if Van’s secretary has the face of an angel and the body of a chorus girl? Who says a blonde bombshell can’t type and take dictation? But people are whispering. And when Linda calls Van’s hotel room late at night during his solo business trip to Havana, guess who answers. Four Golden Era greats – Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Myrna Loy as the romantic triangle and a lanky newcomer named James Stewart as Harlow’s beau – gild this sophisticated comedy-drama that takes a savvy look at men, women and love. Wife versus Secretary: Guess who wins!
Editorial review of Wife Vs Secretary courtesy of Amazon.com
For such an unheralded movie, Wife vs. Secretary provides a surprisingly satisfying time, aided immensely by the old MGM gloss and a trio of big stars. Clark Gable, so secure in his manly-man pictures, reminds us that he could be a dab hand at lightweight romance; his role is a typical Gable world-beater, a publishing tycoon with a lavish Manhattan lifestyle. But here he’s happily, blissfully married, and his scenes with wife Myrna Loy are playful and cute. The only glitch is, his secretary is Jean Harlow, and despite Gable’s fidelity, tongues will inevitably wag. Harlow here has none of the boisterous sass of her earlier pairings with Gable–she really is just an efficient and plucky secretary, even if boss and assistant trade charged glances during a business trip to Havana–and so the movie’s tone is pretty genteel.
The greenhorn James Stewart, still a couple of years from stardom, plays Harlow’s mild but suspicious suitor, and he gets stuck with obligatory dialogue urging Harlow to give up her job and settle down with him. (The movie is interesting in showing how productive and fulfilled Harlow is by work rather than marriage.) MGM mainstay Clarence Brown directed, with an approach so dignified that nothing, alas, ever gets too giddy. Still, Gable and Loy are so fun together the movie succeeds. For Thin Man fans who can’t get enough of Loy and the idea of marriage-as-playtime, this is a good fix. –Robert Horton
Cast
- Clark Gable (Dancing Lady) … Van Stanhope
- Jean Harlow (Libeled Lady) … Helen (Whitey) Wilson
- Myrna Loy (Double Wedding) … Linda Stanhope
- May Robson (Bringing Up Baby) … Mimi Stanhope
- George Barbier (The Adventures of Marco Polo) … J.D. Underwood
- James Stewart (Harvey) … Dave
- Hobart Cavanaugh (Cowboy from Brooklyn) … Joe
- Tom Dugan (Bataan) … Finney
- Gilbert Emery (The Return of the Vampire) … Simpson
- Marjorie Gateson … Eve Merritt
- Gloria Holden (Miracles for Sale) … Joan Carstairs
