Wife vs. Secretary
by Clarence Brown, Errol Taggart
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Clark Gable, George Barbier, Jean Harlow, May Robson, Myrna LoyDirector: Clarence Brown, Errol Taggart
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-06-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Wife vs. Secretary
Movie Review: "You're a fool, for which I am grateful..."
Summary: 4 Stars
WIFE VS. SECRETARY (directed in 1936 by Clarence Brown) is a brisk programmer starring three of MGM's best of the period: Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow. It was based on a story by Faith Baldwin which originally appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Van Stanhope (Clark Gable) is a successful publishing tycoon whose marriage with lovely wife Linda (Myrna Loy) is put to the test when rumours about an affair with Van's secretary 'Whitey' (Jean Harlow) start to circulate. At first, Linda dismisses it as gossip, but later comes to the conclusion it must be true, following a whirlwind business trip to Havana...
Jean Harlow is the one who'll really surprise you in this movie. In a performance worlds away from the zingy dames she played in "Dinner at Eight" and "Red Dust", Harlow is incredibly naturalistic with her character of 'Whitey', Van's efficient, no-nonsense secretary. Observe closely her scenes with Clark Gable (especially during the Havana sequence) and her final scene with Myrna Loy. Very rarely did Harlow convey so much by doing so little on the screen.
Gable and Loy conjure up a very healthy screen chemistry. WIFE VS. SECRETARY also features an early performance from James Stewart, playing Harlow's lanky boyfriend. The supporting cast includes May Robson, George Barbier and Hobart Cavenaugh.
The DVD also includes the 'Crime Does Not Pay' short "The Public Pays" (which recycled the sets used in WIFE VS. SECRETARY), musical short "New Shoes", and the trailer. (Single-sided, dual-layer disc).
Summary of Wife vs. 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 vs. Secretary: Guess who wins!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
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