Man Wanted

A woman who runs a magazine has given herself over to the job. The job sits at the centre of her life and everything private comes second. Something begins between her and the male secretary she hires. The roles are the other way round: the boss is the woman, the secretary the man. The film treats this not as an oddity but plainly as the situation. It belongs to the free period of American cinema in 1932, before the self censorship rules settled in. The account is quick and short, over in sixty two minutes. The woman making her own choice sits at the centre of the story. Kay Francis and David Manners take the leads, with Una Merkel also in the cast. William Dieterle’s American film was completed in 1932.