April 28 movie: Wife vs. Secretary. Myrna Loy is married to Clark Gable and consumed by jealousy over his secretary, Jean Harlow. That description makes Loy sound like a shrew. Actually her jealousy is unfounded but completely reasonable. Because Gable is an oblivious oaf who constantly behaves suspiciously and then gets all indignant when Loy is suspicious. He's a "who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?" kind of guy. Except that the movie vindicates Gable by making Loy's eyes actually lie to her. It's kind of painful to watch her crumble under her insecurities.
For me the most sympathetic character is Harlow. In too many movies her characters are grasping and tawdry. Here she's a talented professional woman who handles a difficult situation with maturity and clarity. It's tragic that she died so soon after making this movie. Also nice work by a very young Jimmy Stewart as Harlow's boyfriend.
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