Movies such as Secretary tackle the complexity of relationships and emotions in an engaging cinematic experience, challenging societal norms while sparking conversations around controversial subjects like consent and BDSM.
Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, and James Stewart star in this 1936 classic about office politics. Based on Mary Gaitskill’s short story of the same name, Secretary explores sexual exploitation and power dynamics through unconventional means.
Working Girl (1988)
Working Girl was considered a groundbreaking work of feminism when it premiered in 1988. The movie depicted a young woman usurping an established senior woman’s office, clothes, connections, and man, but its message wasn’t limited to power alone; Working Girl also explored balance within professional environments without losing oneself completely.
Mike Nichols begins the movie with an iconic helicopter shot circling Lady Liberty, known for her distinctive “strong verticals,” often described as phallic in appearance, before zooming in on Staten Island ferry secretary Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith). At first glance, Tess may seem similar to one of many career women making their way across New York Harbor for coffee and networking meetings; she sports a messy perm and chunky shoes unfitting of corporate success.
Tess has much going for her and a strong sense of purpose; she’s determined to move out of the pink-collar ghetto despite her low beginnings. While Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver), one of Tess’ coworkers from Staten Island with classy connections such as Wall Street or Ivy League schools attended years earlier, has done both, Tess has taken many night school courses and speech classes instead.
But even so, Katharine and Tess couldn’t be more dissimilar. While Katharine’s big hair, colorful makeup, and flashy jewelry appear appropriate for a soap opera set, Tess’ wardrobe more closely matches her office environment – showing both desire to move up while at the same time understanding that success lies within each individual’s ideas and energy.
Working Girl is an engaging screwball comedy featuring some standout performances, particularly from Griffith as Tess and Weaver as Katharine (Colin Firth is brilliantly terrifying in this role), Weaver as her coldhearted rival Katharine, and Joan Cusack as Cyn. One key component of Working Girl’s success lies in its message of empowerment through knowledge: Tess uses everything she knows to reach her goal and eventually become successful herself.
The Social Secretary (1916)
At a time before sexual harassment laws existed, young stenographer Mayme found her beauty to impede in the workplace. Constantly being subjected to lewd advances from male coworkers and fighting back in response by refusing their advances with a fierce defense of virtue cost her job after job. Looking for security and refuge on Riverside Drive, Mayme responds to an advertisement from Mrs. De Puyster – a society matron – looking for an “extremely unattractive secretary.” She applies to wear her hair slick down with Downdy glasses, which gets hired immediately!
The mother of her wealthy boss and playboy son both become infatuated with her, leading her to realize she must conceal her comeliness to remain employed, dressing down as an attempt at dodging men who seem attracted to her. Unfortunately, this initially fails, but after Mayme learns of an engagement between the young daughter of the house and an evil count, Mayme disguises herself again and saves both reputations, as well as stopping any possible marriage from taking place.
While the plot may be slightly outdated and predictable, its enjoyable features include hilarious dialogue, engaging performances by Talmadge and her fellow actors, as well as skilled direction from John Emerson. Unfortunately, however, this film did not achieve tremendous commercial success because it stands as one of the Talmadge sisters’ films, which viewers will indeed find enjoyable.
Its most striking aspect, however, lies in its portrayal of macho workplace attitudes of 1916 – workers being treated as victims while male bosses and their sons make excuses for their misdeeds by blaming Mayme’s beauty as the source of misbehavior. Kate Lester plays one of her finest silent screen performances alongside Helen Weir Gladden, James Herbert Frank, and Erich Von Stroheim in supporting roles. Norma Talmadge was one of the greatest actresses of her silent screen career, and this delightful film showcases her talents to perfection while remaining forgotten today despite being preserved in excellent condition.
Secretary (2002)
At the center of a high-powered office lies Secretary Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal). A former mental patient, Lee finds solace in work while dealing with an intimidating boss in director Steven Shainberg’s psychosexual office thriller. However, Lee proves an easy target for her twisted boss’ sexual experiments with her, thus exposing and challenging societal norms as part of this dark, intense film.
Peggy Olson from Mad Men is one of the most beloved television secretaries ever. The hardworking, determined, and intelligent young lady, she quickly rose through the ranks at Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency from shy intern to one of TV’s most impressive resumes – a fantastic journey that you don’t want to miss!
Janine “Marnie” Denbrock is an ambitious individual who doesn’t let anything stop her. From her stylish wardrobe to her tireless search for love, Marnie never hesitates to do whatever is necessary in order to reach her goals – Joan Cusack plays this dynamic secretary who refuses to accept no for an answer.
Michelle Pfeiffer doesn’t typically play secretaries, yet that is precisely what actress Michelle Pfeiffer does in Tim Burton’s Batman follow-up film. Her curvaceous temptress becomes a feline henchwoman working for corrupt businessman Max Shreck in this darkly comic sequel.
It is a psychological thriller about an innocent and passive secretary being victimized by her obnoxious boss. An immoral entrepreneur allows an attractive male coworker to pursue the secretary before showing signs of being an abuser himself – to no avail! Based on the short story by Mary Gaitskill, this intense yet shocking movie explores consent issues as well as relationships between men and women, sparking much conversation around consent issues as a fascinating look at life between genders.
Secretary (1994)
As soon as a hardened cynic takes the desk of an innocent new secretary, she has no idea just how drastically their lives will change. They must navigate an unpredictable minefield of office politics, sexual harassment complaints, and career crises while simultaneously dealing with their unsettling suspicion that something much darker might be at work.
As it might be considered an unconventional choice for our list of movies about secretaries, this film may seem out-of-place on this list, but it is an engaging psychological thriller with outstanding performances and an intriguing plotline. It delves deep into power dynamics in the workplace as well as exploring people’s capacity for self-control.
Though known for being somewhat provocative, this film does not fall into the traditional mold of sexual content. There may be plenty of nudity and sexual content present – no doubt made more uncomfortable by having to watch at times – but all done without gratuitousness or gratuitous sexuality. It’s one of the boldest films released this year; definitely not exploitative!
At first, this film appears to be somewhat depressing. We see a man lose his job before meeting Carol, an editor’s secretary for Body and Brain magazine who loves working out at the gym and attending gym classes. Carol is very devoted to her job but has difficulty dealing with Mr. Gilbert, who dominates and abuses them both at work, humiliating employees before others without showing love or sympathy towards anyone he employs.
Nancy Kulp’s popular rural 60’s sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies featured Doralee Hart as a fiery yet charming secretary who can hold her own against Milburn Drysdale (Lily Tomlin). However, in this movie about office politics and sexism, she returns as Doralee Hart. When their boss, Milburn Drysdale, begins penny-pinching them both, they find strength by joining forces with Violet Newstead (Lily Tomlin).
