This is the second best movie Rosalind Russell made in 1940, behind His Girl Friday, a perfect movie. The plot was kind of wacky, but it DID end up with Ros in a position of power that she relished, which led to a great use of her comic gifts.

A thought: throughout the 30s and 40s, films dealt with the "professional woman." These days, the pro woman is usually in need of a soulful hunk (I'm thinking the Hallmark movies I've only seen part of). That's basically the plot of Woman of the Year. The other kind of movie has a secretary who really runs everything - she's a Radar O'Reilly type - while the genius boss gets to have big ideas. Mad Men's Peggy was this until she became something more interesting. Anyway, here Ros is the secretary who runs everything.

But the movie goes in wild directions: handsome Aherne has to marry Ros in order to stave off some kind of Gekko-esque corporate takeover, when he really wants to marry model Virginia Bruce. Bruce's character comes and goes so much, but I actually really liked every scene she was in, particularly when she's in an (even-handed) battle of wits with Ros.

As the credits order suggests, Ros is the star of this movie: she's the first person we meet. That she falls hard for Aherne's corporate man-on-the-move is the least convincing part of the movie. John Carroll plays some kind of Latino lover, and is not great.

I'm now trying to think of movies where the star plays the secretary. In Working Girl, 48 years later, it's a plot about brilliant capitalist sexy ingenuity. In the 1930s Wife vs. Secretary, it's about romantic rivalry (Loy vs. Harlow! What a ticket!). There's others, I'm sure.

I feel this will be a repetitive statement, but you watch this movie to watch Rosalind Russell dynamic presence. You don't if you want to see a capital C classic.

Again, I'll assert: Ros is not only assertive and funny, she's sexy. That's something she didn't believe, but she's electrifying in a movie that's not necessarily that.