I can't shake this movie. I'm not going to write very much about it, because if anyone's planning on seeing it, I don't want to spoil it. But, suffice it so say, i always find it interesting when an old film such as this--under the guise of "romantic comedy"--tackles such serious, universal issues like infidelity, and does so poignantly. In some ways, I think social statements made through the medium of comedy or lightheartedness pack more punch than their Drama counterparts.
I did want to highlight just one scene from the end: the moment where Jean Harlow and Myrna Loy--the secretary and the wife--run into each other at the office. Their eyes meet, and in that brief moment, we don't need them to say anything to know exactly what conversation their having. It is very bittersweet, serious moment.
I wish I could talk more about it here, but if anybody's interested, watch the film and then we will talk. It's no Citizen Kane, but at least for me it was though-provoking. Pay special attention to the way Gable interacts with both his wife and his secretary.
2 comments:
In real life Jean Harlow at one time crushed big time on Clark Gable, though her truest love was William Powell, whome Myrna Loy made several films with. There's more to that back story, but it probably all amounts to so much Hollywood gossip. Still, I watched an interesting documentary on Harlow's career and it's interesting to see how her "type" rolls morphed a little through the years as she gained status and credibility. Blah, blah. I guess what I'm saying is I just wish I could have been watching it with you, munching on M&M's.
Every time I go to the library and see piles of old movies, I think of you girls and wish you were around to watch them with. Somehow, I can't watch them alone--sigh. New Years Eve? Moonlight over My hammy? Miss you.
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