The Office Wife (1930 film)
- August 23, 1930 (1930-08-23) (US)
The Office Wife is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic 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.[1]
Plot
Publisher Larry Fellowes (Lewis Stone) believes that Andrews, his stenographer/secretary (played by Dale Fuller), spends more time with him and makes more decisions than a wife would for her husband. He persuades author Kate Halsey (Blanche Friderici) to write a novel based on this premise.
When Andrews learns of Larry's plans to marry Linda (Natalie Moorhead), the secretary has a nervous breakdown because she is in love with him herself. A new attractive, intelligent and efficient secretary, Anne Murdock (Dorothy Mackaill), is hired while Larry is on his honeymoon. Larry, a workaholic, begins to neglect his wife working with his secretary, and they both fall in love. Meanwhile, his wife is seeing another man (played by Brooks Benedict), with whom she falls in love.
Eventually, Larry kisses Anne while they are working together at his apartment, while Linda makes love with her young gigolo, who 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 they should go to bed as it is very late. 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.[clarification needed][why?]
Linda decides to divorce Larry. Anne agrees to marry her long-time admirer Ted O'Hara after giving her resignation. On the final day of work, Anne's sister Katherine Murdock (Joan Blondell) phones the confused Larry and explains everything, bringing about a happy ending.
Cast
- Dorothy Mackaill as Anne Murdock
- Lewis Stone as Larry Fellowes
- Natalie Moorhead as Linda Fellowes
- Hobart Bosworth as J.P. McGowan
- Joan Blondell as Katherine Murdock
- Blanche Friderici as Kate Halsey
- Brooks Benedict as Jameson
- Dale Fuller as Secretary Andrews
- Walter Merrill as Ted O'Hara
Cast notes:
- Dickie Moore makes a cameo appearance in the scene by the pool.
Preservation status
The film survives intact, preserved by the Library of Congress.[2]
Home media
The film was released on DVD from Warner Archive made-on-demand as a double bill with Dorothy Mackaill's Party Husband.
References
External links
- The Office Wife at IMDb
- The Office Wife at AllMovie
- The Office Wife at the TCM Movie Database
- The Office Wife at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- v
- t
- e
- Broken Hearts of Hollywood (1926)
- Private Izzy Murphy (1926)
- Finger Prints (1927)
- White Flannels (1927)
- The Heart of Maryland (1927)
- A Sailor's Sweetheart (1927)
- Brass Knuckles (1927)
- Women They Talk About (1928)
- The Singing Fool (1928)
- Pay as You Enter (1928)
- Stark Mad (1929)
- No Defense (1929)
- Say It with Songs (1929)
- Honky Tonk (1929)
- So Long Letty (1929)
- The Other Tomorrow (1930)
- She Couldn't Say No (1930)
- A Notorious Affair (1930)
- Moby Dick (1930)
- The Office Wife (1930)
- 50 Million Frenchmen (1931)
- Kept Husbands (1931)
- Sit Tight (1931)
- Gold Dust Gertie (1931)
- Honor of the Family (1931)
- Manhattan Parade (1931)
- Crooner (1932)
- Miss Pinkerton (1932)
- The Famous Ferguson Case (1932)
- You Said a Mouthful (1932)
- 42nd Street (1933)
- Picture Snatcher (1933)
- Footlight Parade (1933)
- Son of a Sailor (1933)
- Wonder Bar (1934)
- A Very Honorable Guy (1934)
- Here Comes the Navy (1934)
- He Was Her Man (1934)
- 6 Day Bike Rider (1934)
- In Caliente (1935)
- Frisco Kid (1935)
- Sons O' Guns (1936)
- Cain and Mabel (1936)
- Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
- Marked Woman (1937)
- Ever Since Eve (1937)
- San Quentin (1937)
- Boy Meets Girl (1938)
- Racket Busters (1938)
- A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
- Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938)
- Wings of the Navy (1939)
- The Oklahoma Kid (1939)
- Indianapolis Speedway (1939)
- Espionage Agent (1939)
- A Child Is Born (1939)
- Invisible Stripes (1939)
- Three Cheers for the Irish (1940)
- Brother Orchid (1940)
- Knute Rockne, All American (1940)
- Honeymoon for Three (1941)
- Footsteps in the Dark (1941)
- Affectionately Yours (1941)
- Navy Blues (1941)
- Larceny, Inc. (1942)
- Wings for the Eagle (1942)
- Silver Queen (1942)
- Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
- The Fighting Sullivans (1944)
- Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944)
- Captain Eddie (1945)
- Wake Up and Dream (1946)
- Home Sweet Homicide (1946)
- I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947)
- You Were Meant for Me (1948)
- Give My Regards to Broadway (1948)
- An Innocent Affair (1948)
- Mother Is a Freshman (1949)
- It Happens Every Spring (1949)
- Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949)
- The Good Humor Man (1950)
- Kill the Umpire (1950)
- The Fuller Brush Girl (1950)
- Golden Girl (1951)
- Call Me Mister (1951)
- The Frogmen (1951)
- The Great Sioux Uprising (1953)
- The French Line (1953)
- She Couldn't Say No (1954)
This article related to an American film of the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e