Harlow vs Loy
Jean Harlow puts Myrna Loy to shame in this gem! Both looks wise AND acting!
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MovieChat Forums > Wife vs. Secretary (1936) Discussion > Harlow vs Loy
Haha! Yes, much as I like Myrna Loy she could never really compete with Jean. I always feel bad for Jean's costars in these movies. Rosalind Russell once said that she felt absolutely ridiculous playing the "other woman" in China Seas because Jean was so ridiculously beautiful. Why would Clark hesitate for even an instant to ditch Roz's character?
I get the feeling you're violating somebody's basic human rights here...
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Oh I disagree! Not that Jean doesn't have her charms. I thought she did a great job of portraying a competent (and then some) secretary/personal assistant, but Myrna was just as good. I especially love the scene where Clark's character first greets her. She's totally adorable there.
They are two completely different types, though, so I'm sure to each his/her own.
I like Myrna Loy a lot but Harlow is the winner hands down in screen appeal. Myrna can be a bit aloof and it can take time to warm up to her. Claudette Colbert played the same type of parts yet she is always warm and adorable.
shareI would have to chose Myrna Loy, because I really don't see anything in Jean Harlow. I'm not a hater, but I'm just not a fan of Harlow. Her eyebrows are extremely annoying and I can't get over that whenever I see her in a film (this film was very entertaining btw)
shareWell eyebrows aside, the woman Jean Harlow in this film has a lot more going for her in warmth, depth, class, subtlety and her beauty has never been matched. She glows with sedated elegance. It was her most distinct, classy and adult character of her career. Frankly my third favorite of Jean's after Vantine and Lola Burns.
"Any girl can look glamorous. Stand still and look stupid."
--Hedy Lamarr
I'll take Loy any day. I like Harlow but never have found her to be physically attractive,especially when she is peroxide(d) to death. But I find her to be her most attractive in this movie. Also she is at her best acting wise and I find her portrayal very sympathetic.
But between the two Myrna was SO much more gorgeous!!
When there are two, one betrays-Jean-Pierre Melville
I really like Harlow alot, but Loy is both the better actress and the more beautiful one as well.
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I think they are about even, but this is clearly Harlow's film. She is at her most beautiful and natural looking here.
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Yes, I'd have to say I see a lot more in common with Gable and Harlow in this film than what is going on between Gable and Loy. Loy's character just seems to be content to spend his money and dart off at the drop of a hat expecting to be taken on trips. Harlow has brains in this one and she's basically keeping track of everything technical in the company Gable is running. Loy seemed more of a grump when she wasn't playing hostess. A pretty grump - but still not on any equal terms with Harlow, relationship-wise.
Personally, I never would have confronted Loy on the ship...and I don't think Gable would have thought of his wife much after marrying Harlow. To me they had much more in common.
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I'm sure it has been said any number of times by now, but here's my plug nickel's worth: this is purely a subjective call on your part, but - for my money - Myrna beats Jean out in both departments here. I like Harlow quite a bit and some nice performances were in her future, but this isn't one of them. She's more than adequate in the film, but Myrna's acting has a much wider emotional range (she has the much more demanding role - the most difficult in the film), her gestures are subtler and often heart breaking. She's easily the main attraction in this film. As for looks - Jean is still not in her platinun glory days yet, and - in fact - she looks a little drab here. But even at her height of screen magnetism, I think Myrna's beauty is of a different sort, one that is not only physical but also cerebral. Myrna has that throughout her career. I think she is one of the most beautiful women in all of film.
shareIndeed they are both beautiful women. I liked Jean Harlow in this movie as she is portrayed more as her natural self visually - without the ultra peroxide look. Designers did a nice job of emphasizing her physical assets ;P as that era of design so nicely does. Or as I like to call it the 'babymaker wrap'look.
Myrna Loy tended to play a certain type (at least in most of films I recall seeing her in) and she is gorgeous also in this film. Loy in this film seemed to be playing an extension of her Thin Man roles as wife of William Powell with just a tad more range in her relationship with Clark Gable.
You can't go wrong with either woman, just preferences as to body type perhaps. Loy would age more gracefully and with Jean Harlow dying so young, it preserved our cinematic image of her forever as the young healthy solid beauty. However, with her body type I don't think that beauty would age as well as Loy's.
Love the style of that era in women's design they all looked exceptional (healthy feminine) in this film.
Hi borodinrodin,
Both women were fabulous in my very humble opinion. Of the two, Harlow's character was much more assessable and sympathetic. Harlow is presented as a modern career girl, intelligent and hardworking, while the beautiful Loy is a rather vapid, cloying woman who needs to be wised up about the terrific guy she married. The Loy/Harlow final look was priceless. I agree with you about Harlow, as lovely as she was I don't think she would have aged well.
I agree that both were fabulous in this film. They were very dear friends in real life. The final look between the two actresses in the film is priceless.
dgniewek; In this film believe HARLOW out pointed LOY in regards too physical looks, going very natural. Rather then the rather obvious effects of her earlier films. The 1936 fashions flattered LOY because dresses/skirts were long (below mid-calf) and her legs were rather heavy, particularly compared to HARLOW. Both were attractive Women.
shareThis was actually one of Harlow's last few movies. She abandoned the platinum hair and Adrian's costumes--she wanted to be more natural and become, actually, a Myrna Loy type of leading lady. I don't think she was entirely successful there, but she was dead only a few years later at 26--and showing her illness in her final three films. Had she been healthy and lived, she would have continued to improve. I find her quite charming here.
Dolly Tree's costumes for Harlow, here and in the future are mostly bad. Adrian knew what to do with her.
Nah, Harlow reminds me of Sally Struthers in this one. That chin cleft just isn't my thing.
shareAre you serious, OP?
Both women did an amazing job, but there was something about Loy that was brilliant. She had the quieter role, and it was in her expressions and subtle gestures that made me drawn to her character. And appearance-wise? Wow, that's not even a competition--Loy takes it.