Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Wife Vs. Secretary (1936)

Don McKeon, one of the regular contributors to the blog, emailed me last night that he came across a Scranton reference in the 1936 classic Wife Vs. Secretary.

Directed by the legendary Clarence Brown (National Velvet, The Yearling, seven films with Greta Garbo--including 1930's Anna Christie, in which "Garbo Talks!"), the comedy Wife Vs. Secretary tells the story of hardworking magazine executive Van Stanhope (Clark Gable), who is happily married to Linda (Myrna Loy). Though the pair have unconditional trust, it doesn't stop the neighbors from cautioning Linda about Van's sexy blonde secretary Whitey (Jean Harlow) who, although she has a boyfriend, may be harboring a secret crush on her boss after all.

Don told me via email:

"Clark Gable mentions to his wife, played by Myrna Loy, that upon registering their names at the hotel they were staying at, that he said they were from Scranton, Pennsyltucky."

Wife Vs. Secretary
is available to borrow on DVD from the Lackawanna County Library System; click here to place a hold.

Much thanks to Don McKeon for this reference.

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