Thursday 29 December 2022

Wife Versus Secretary (1936 Clarence Brown)

"Wife Versus Secretary showed what thoroughly professional writing, production and acting can do for a trite theme. The story, a typical Faith Baldwin magazine piece, was polished by Norman Krasna, Alice Duer Miller and John Lee Mahin, director Clarence Brown and producer Hunt Stromberg until it shone like the silver that poured into the box offices. A major reason for this success was its cast: a restrained and charming Jean Harlow; Clark Gable, vital in almost every frame of the film; and May Robson as his mother, igniting the jealousy of his wife, Myrna Loy, who was at her subtle best. James Stewart, George Barbier, Hobart Cavanaugh, Gilbert Emery and Tom Dugan [and John Qualen] supported." Do you think John Douglas Eames watched every single film in his book 'The MGM Story'?


Harlow had by all accounts a colourful though short life. She died aged 26 in 1937 of uremic poisoning, which is where the kidneys aren't working properly. She's photographed here by Ray June.

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