Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Finishing the passable 57 minute "Adult" flick Lei'd in Hawaii,I decided to make it a double bill,and go for another movie with a run time of under an hour. Being in a Pre-Code mood recently, I decided it was time to go to the office.The plot:After getting author Kate Halsey to write a book about a secretary who acts like a wife to her boss, businessman Larry Fellowes finds fiction to become reality,when his secretary Andrews faints after learning Fellows is getting married to Linda. Returning from his honeymoon, Fellows meets new secretary Anne Murdock, who causes Fellows to act like a husband to his secretary. View on the film:Made in the very early days of the "talkies", director Lloyd Bacon (with uncredited Michael Curtiz) and cinematographer William Rees are unable to hide the marks of the era,with loud creaks from the floor as the cameraman moves,and long dialogue scenes being shot in stage- bound wide-shots. Steaming up the screen for 58 minutes, Bacon and Curtiz step into the risqué world of Pre-Code with eye- catching dissolves over Anne Murdock's sexy legs,and some of the ladies being given a suggestive "butch" short haircut and one size too small suit.Torn from the pages of Faith Baldwin's the prize Cosmopolitan magazine serial, the screenplay by Charles Kenyon makes the office sizzle with playful, double- entendre dialogue tightening the romance between Fellowes and Anne.As the romance fizzes away, Kenyon dives into areas that would be lost in the Hays Code, as (most of) the office staff and their families are charmed by the feel-good Rom-Com infidelity of Fellowes,and the ladies are given the impressively modern sexual freedom that the men have. While they have a very noticeable age gap, Lewis Stone and Dorothy Mackaill give sparkling performances as Fellows and Anne,thanks to Stone's very funny manner of being tempted by an eyeful of Anne,smoothly blending with Mackaill making Anne a nervous flirt for an office romance.

"The Office Wife" (1930) is one of my favorite movies. True, I thought Lewis Stone was a bit stodgy, but this mannerism certainly suited his role. Fortunately, Dorothy Mackaill, still at her ravishingly beautiful zenith here, makes a delightful contrast, and there are some excellent support performances from Blanche Frederici (that is the way she preferred to spell her name) as the writer, Dale Fuller as the head- over-heels initial secretary, Hobart Bosworth as the office manager, Joan Blondell as our heroine's sister and Walter Merrill as the loser of the dime. Director Lloyd Bacon, although no doubt exhausted from his experiences with John Barrymore on "Moby Dick", handles his chores here with both admirable competence and celerity. Available on an excellent Warner Archive DVD coupled with another excellent Dorothy MacKaill vehicle, "Party Husband".

The Office Wife (1930) *** (out of 4) Highly entertaining pre-code about Larry Fellowes (Lewis Stone), a publishing company owner who gets a new secretary (Dorothy Mackaill) and it doesn't take long for the two to fall for one another. THE OFFICE WIFE is certainly a naughty little film and especially when you compare it to some of the other pre-codes of this era. The film kicks off with Stone talking to a writer saying that the bond between a businessman and his secretary is stronger than the bond he has with his wife. From this point on we're given a film with several characters doing morally questionable things, which would certainly hit the editing room floor in a few years once the Hayes Office put a stop to this sort of thing. I really thought the film was incredibly entertaining because of its rather frank dialogue, which often time hinted at some sexual stuff. Mackaill, whose career was hot during this era but quickly faded, is wonderful in her role and I think she did an extremely good job at making the viewer feel sorry for her and begin to care for her. I also thought her comic timing during certain scenes were flawless and especially during one where she's "preparing" herself to flirt with the boss. Stone is always watchable and that's true here as he gives another strong performance. Walter Merrill is good in his supporting role as the wannabe boyfriend. The major scene-stealer is Joan Blondell who plays Mackaill's saucy sister. Whenever she's on the screen she's usually slipping in or out of clothes and the camera certainly loves to follow her legs around. If you're a leg man then you're going to be in heaven here as both ladies constantly have the camera highlighting their legs. Again, morality was a big issue back during this era and it's pretty shocking to see how THE OFFICE WIFE ends. I'm not going to ruin anything but it's pretty refreshing to see.

Larry (Lewis Stone) has a wife Linda (Natalie Moorhead) but the appointment of a new secretary Anne (Dorothy Mackaill) throws a spanner in the works. Larry and Anne fall in love with each other while Linda drifts away from him. It is up to Katherine (Joan Blondell) to let Larry know what the real deal is.The acting is sometimes stilted and the basic idea of Larry and Anne getting together is utterly ludicrous. He is more like her grandfather, ie, they are 2 generations apart. Set against this there are positives such as the roles played by Joan Blondell and Blanche Friderici as "Kate". Friderici is the best lesbian I have seen and I was quite surprised to see that women could be so outwardly gay in 1930. She smokes a cigar and dresses like a man but there is absolutely no attempt to feminize the look as there was with Dietrich. This girl is all man! And it's brilliant.The film is OK, nothing more, and it's interesting to see that the women of the time seemed to favour that short haircut which makes them look a bit severe. Joan Blondell's hair is the nicest coz it looks the most fluffy.