DKosty123
This is one of Myrna Loy's better roles as a wife who listens to her mother-in-law and begins to suspect her husband- Clark Gable- is having an affair with his secretary-Jean Harlow. This story holds up pretty well for a film of this vintage.What is interesting is towards the end of the film both Loy and Harlow have some of the saddest frowns I have ever seen on actresses in a movie. I almost wonder if they had to suck on a lemon before doing these scenes as the pucker looks so sad. Still, Loy who would really take off in the Thin Man Series is a perfectionist in this one- making Gable redo a kissing scene several times to make sure they got it right.Harlow is great as the secretary who dating Jimmy Stewart in one of his earlier roles, and not a large part. At one point, Harlow gets mad at him and dumps him for pretty near half the film before getting back with him at the end. It is understandable how Loys character would suspect hankie and pansy with her husband's subordinate as Harlow looks pretty good.Still, all the trouble is caused by the Mother-in-law here. She plants the suspicious seed into Loy which eventually blooms into divorce proceedings. Then Harlow breaks her train of thought and forgives Stewart as well. This one is worth watching, as a talented cast brings off an old warhorse of a script quite well considering this type of jealousy plot was already over-done in 1936. They make the material seem fresher than it is.
nomoons11
Ah how jealousy can ruin any relationship rather easily. All that's needed to prevent it is communication but alas...it rarely ever happens.Clark Gable is a well liked owner of a magazine/publishing firm. He has that kinda personality that everyone takes to. Not a bad bone in his body. His new wife, Myrna Loy, doesn't have any doubt's about him around other women....until later of course. His super smart and efficient secretary, Jean Harlow, dotes on him. She looks after him without letting him know she loves him. Problem is, she isn't the kind of girl who will outright ruin a relationship to get what she wants. She's just always there. All his wife's friends plant the seed in her mind that the secretary is just too pretty for him not to be cheating. Heck, even his own mother tells her the same. She decides to tell him to not to keep his secretary and give her the promotion to work on another floor but he'll have none of it. He needs her cause she's too good at her job. Uh oh....there's a problem now.From all that you'll get circumstance upon circumstance where things never get solved because of one reason...lack of communication. Sound familiar? If they would only sit down and talk about how they feel in depth, and not in passing, things could easily work themselves out. Gable plays one of those guys that people from all around would like but he has no clue how he makes others feel...in this case...women. They love him but he has no feeling for them like he does for his wife. He's too friendly and that's where the issue is. Anyone would be jealous under those circumstances so you can't really blame his wife for her reaction. If he cared for her, he'd acquiesce, but he takes a stand instead. A younger crowd probably won't enjoy this but those who have been in relationships, this is a really good film about trust and boundaries between a married couple. Trust can only go so far until a seed is planted and you just don't know anymore. The one-eyed monster "Mr. Jealousy" comes out and it usually can ruin everything.
Claudio Carvalho
In New York, the magazine publisher Van "V.S." Stanhope (Clark Gable) and his beloved wife Linda (Myrna Loy) have been happily married for three years and are in love with each other. Van is a dynamic executive of the Stanhope Publications and works very close to his dedicated and efficient secretary Helen "Whitney" Wilson (Jean Harlow), who is a beautiful young woman engaged with Dave (James Stewart). When Van's mother Mimi (May Robson) poisons Linda about the relationship of her son with his secretary, Linda becomes jealous of her. Whitney and Dave have an argument and she breaks with him. Meanwhile Van is secretly planning to buy a magazine owned by Underwood (George Barbier) and Whitney helps him with the strategy. When Whitney discovers that the competitor Hanson House is also disputing the magazine, she travels to Havana to help Van to close the business with Underwood. They are well- succeeded in their intent and celebrate until late night. When Linda calls Van at 2:00 PM, Whitney answers the phone call and Linda believes that Van is really having an affair with Whitney. In the end, don't look for trouble where there isn't any because if you don't find it, you'll make it."Wife vs. Secretary" is an adorable romantic comedy by Clarence Brown with Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Myrna Loy in the lead roles. The intelligent screenplay is very well written, with funny situations. James Stewart in a supporting role in the beginning of his career has the final and most important line of this movie. The talented Jean Harlow passed away on the next year of cerebral edema caused by uremic poisoning, in a great loss for the cinema industry. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Ciúmes" ("Jealousy")
lugonian
WIFE VS. SECRETARY (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1936), directed by Clarence Brown, with title promising loud and sassy comedy, is actually a somber story by Faith Baldwin featuring a top-notch cast of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, and a young James Stewart shortly before reaching star status himself. Harlow, who earlier encountered a "wife vs. secretary" situation of her own in RED-HEADED WOMAN (1932) opposite Chester Morris, is the secretary again. No longer the vulgar, sex-starved, immoral type from that pre-code era, but resolved, soft-spoken, and highly efficient. With the screenplay by Norman Krasna, Alice Duer Miller and John Lee Mahin, the film itself comes across as not highly original in premise but something slightly ahead of its time as well as better scripted than others bearing a similar theme.The introduction to the central characters starts with the boss. He's Van Stanhope (Clark Gable), a happily married man of three years with an attractive wife, Linda (Myrna Loy), living in a luxurious New York City Park Avenue apartment equipped with servants and expensive furnishings. A magazine publisher of his very own business, Stanhope Publications, Van has an attractive secretary, Helen "Whitey" Wilson (Jean Harlow), who affectionately addresses him as "Dear." A middle-class girl living with her brother and his wife (William Newell and Margaret Irving), Whitey is also engaged to Dave (James Stewart), an ambitious $75 a week working man who wants her to quit working after they get married. Upon her initial meeting with Whitey during an office visit with Linda, Van's mother, Mimi (May Robson), with a suspicious nature based on her own marital experience, advises the non-jealous Linda to have Van dismiss his secretary, but overlooks it, believing their partnership is only platonic. After hearing similar accusations from her society friends (Marjorie Gateson and Gloria Holden) attending her dinner function, and observing Van and Whitey ice skating together at a company party as she sits in the grandstand suffering from a cold, Linda slowly starts believing these accusations to be true. Even Dave, who patiently awaits for Whitey in his car while she works overtime, begins to have his doubts, causing the engagement to be broken. As Van gets called off for an important business deal in Havana, Cuba, Linda eagerly awaits his telephone call that never comes. She finally makes the call herself, connecting to his hotel room at 2 a.m., only to be surprised that it's Whitey, not Van, who answers the phone.Initially a disappointment for anyone expecting a retread of RED-HEADED WOMAN or a wild and crazy farce as Harlow and Loy's second and final union in LIBELED LADY (1936), WIFE VS. SECRETARY is actually quite effective in the way the actors present themselves: Gable the serious-minded businessman who loves his wife ("If you want to keep a man honest, never call him a liar") while looking upon his secretary simply as his loyal assistant; Loy, the highly sophisticated and refined type wearing fur coats, outlandish gowns and even a classy wardrobe at the breakfast table, as the trusting wife. Breaking away from stereotypical feuds between in-laws, wife and mother-in-law get along quite favorably. Resorting to tears at one point, wife's crying is not enacted in the usual outbursts and screeching in the Carole Lombard or later Lucille Ball manner, and thankfully so. Harlow's Whitey is serious-minded and hard-working, but because of her attractiveness and relationship with her employer, falls victim to accusations for which she is innocent. Whitey's confrontation with the wife while on the verge of leaving her husband concludes with her saying, "You're a fool, for which I am grateful." The familiarity of the James Stewart persona is quite evident here, even at this point of his early career. Regardless of he using the male ego reflection of he "wanting to wear the pants," his character is soft-spoken, patient and caring in spite of playing second fiddle to his girlfriend's job. Stewart's two extended scenes with Harlow as they converse late at night while seated in his car gives him worthy attention from its viewers. Director Clarence Brown keeps the leisurely pace moving at 88 minutes. Under less capable direction, WIFE VS. SECRETARY wouldn't have been as interesting with its result. Of its three, or four central characters, it's Harlow who comes out best. Other members of the cast include George Barbier, Hobart Cavanaugh and Gilbert Emery.Seldom seen and revived until cable television came along, WIFE VS. SECREtARY finally turned up on Turner Network Television before finding its place on Turner Classic Movies. Distributed to home video in the 1990s, WIFE VS. SECRETARY is also available on DVD. (*** steno-pads)
