Wife vs. Secretary (1936)

Memorable, crazy movie

As Good As It Gets

Blistering performances.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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.

Van Stanhope (Clark Gable) is a successful magazine publisher with a perfect marriage to lovely wife Linda (Myrna Loy). The two are blissfully happy. That is until Van's mother, Mimi (May Robson), starts putting doubts in Linda's ear about his relationship with his devoted secretary, Whitey (Jean Harlow). Linda trusts in her husband and ignores the warning but slowly becomes more and more suspicious of Whitey and all the time Van spends with her. Complicating matters further is that Whitey really does have feelings for Van, which is fracturing her relationship with fiancé Dave (Jimmy Stewart).I'm not sure why this is listed everywhere as a comedy when it's a romantic drama. There's very little humor in it, except for some throwaway lines from supporting characters. It's an enjoyable film, helped by a great cast of likable stars. 'Dracula's daughter' Gloria Holden has fun in one scene as a catty partygoer. Some of the views in this are dated and will no doubt ruffle modern viewer's feathers, especially when the story begins to lend credence to them. It reminds me a little of The Women, which also had an icky one-sided view of infidelity. By the way, I believe the title has a subtle double meaning. 'VS' is also Clark Gabe's character's initials and nickname.

Clark Gable stars in this comedy as Van Stanhope, a successful magazine executive who is happily married to his wife Linda(played By Myrna Loy). When Van hires a new secretary, the beautiful Whitey(played by Jean Harlow) Linda tries not to be jealous, but even Van's mother warns her that Van may stray, just like his father did, because of temptation. Despite the fact that Whitey has a boyfriend(a young Jimmy Stewart!) Linda becomes convinced that there has been an affair, which threatens to break up the marriage, despite denials... Good actors can't overcome obvious and predictable comedy that isn't funny enough to make it work either. Notable only for the cast.

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.