The Office Wife
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| The Office Wife | |
|---|---|
 Poster showing Hobart Bosworth and Dorothy Mackaill |
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| Directed by | Lloyd Bacon |
| Written by | Charles Kenyon based on the novel by Faith Baldwin |
| Starring | Dorothy Mackaill Lewis Stone Natalie Moorhead Joan Blondell Hobart Bosworth |
| Music by | Alois Reiser |
| Cinematography | William Rees |
| Editing by | George Marks |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | August 23, 1930 |
| Running time | 59 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Office Wife (1930) is a romantic Pre-Code drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon, released by Warner Bros., and based on the novel of the same name by Faith Baldwin. It was the talkie debut for Joan Blondell who would become one of the major Warner Bros. stars for the following nine years.
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[edit] Plot
Larry tells us that the personal secretary/stenographer spends more time with the busy executive and makes more decisions than his wife ever will. This, he asserts, creates a bond between the secretary and boss that the wife can not hope to equal. He persuades Kate with these points and promises her to make her rich and she finally agrees to write the novel.
Larry is about to get married to a woman named Linda (Natalie Moorhead). When his secretary (who is in love with him) hears about this she has a nervous breakdown. A new secretary named Anne Murdock (Dorothy Mackaill) is hired while Larry is on his honeymoon. She is very attractive but also extremely smart and efficient. Larry, a workaholic, begins to neglect his wife and spends so much time working with his secretary that they both fall in love. Meanwhile, his wife is going around with another man named Mr. Jameson (Brooks Benedict) with whom she falls in love. Eventually, Larry kisses his secretary while they are working together at his apartment. Meanwhile, his wife has been making love all night with her young gigolo. Eventually, Mr. Jameson gives her the key to his apartment and says goodnight. Linda returns to her husband (after giving them enough time to compose themselves) and tells Larry that it is very late and that they should go to bed. Anne watches as Larry goes to the bedroom with his wife and closes the door behind him. She is heartbroken and decides she will give him her resignation in the morning...
[edit] Pre-Code Sequences
- In one sequence, Joan Blondell comes out of the shower and slowly takes her time dressing while the camera shows off her body. We see her slowly putting on her negligee, silk stockings, garters and even her shoes before she decides to put on her dress.
- In another scene, Natalie Moorhead asks her husband (Lewis Stone) to help her out of her dress and we see her in her negligee.
- Blanche Friderici plays a character who is obviously a lesbian. She wears a man's business suit and hat and even smokes cigars.
[edit] Cameos
- Dickie Moore makes a cameo appearance in the scene by the pool.
[edit] Preservation
The film survives intact and has been broadcast on television and cable.
