The Wiser Sex is a weird, fun mess with a great Claudette Colbert

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, if you like watching Claudette Colbert be smarter than everyone in the room, yes. It's a quick watch.

You’ll like this if you enjoy fast-talking 1930s movies where the stakes feel high but the logic is low. If you need your crime dramas to be gritty and realistic, you’re going to hate this one. 🎬

The Wig Situation

I have to talk about the wig first because it’s the most distracting thing in the whole movie. Colbert goes undercover as a 'blonde' to trick the bad guys.

It looks like a pile of shiny plastic sitting on her head. Nobody in the movie notices it’s her, which is hilarious because she still has the same face and voice.

There is a scene where she’s trying to act 'tough' and it’s just pure gold. She does this little squint that is supposed to be intimidating but is actually just adorable.

The Plot (What there is of it)

Melvyn Douglas plays the boyfriend, Phil. He's a lawyer who is way too honest for his own good.

He gets framed for a killing by these mob types who look like they stepped right out of a comic strip. It’s one of those setups where you know exactly what’s going to happen in the first five minutes.

The pacing is a bit jagged. The movie starts off really fast, then slows down for some weirdly long conversations in a living room.

I found myself wondering why the lighting in the apartment was so dim. It made the whole thing feel a bit like Broadway After Dark but with less energy.

Lilyan Tashman is the MVP

Lilyan Tashman plays the gangster’s girl, and she is incredible. She has this way of leaning against a doorframe that makes everyone else look like they are trying too hard.

She and Colbert have a few scenes together that are the best part of the movie. You can tell they were having a good time filming those parts.

It’s a bit like the vibe in Grit, where the women are way more interesting than the guys with guns. 💅

Small details I noticed

• There is a telephone in one scene that looks like it weighs about fifty pounds.
• Melvyn Douglas wears a suit that fits him perfectly, but he looks slightly uncomfortable the whole time.
• The courtroom scene has about three people in the 'crowd' who look like they were pulled off the street and told to look 'serious.'

One reaction shot of a guy in the back of the courtroom lasts way too long. He’s just blinking. I couldn’t stop looking at him.

Final Thoughts

The movie gets a lot better once the 'undercover' stuff actually starts. Before that, it’s a lot of people in suits talking about 'justice' and 'the law' in ways that felt a bit dry.

The ending is a bit of a rush. It’s like they realized they only had five minutes of film left and needed to solve the murder immediately.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s fun. It has that specific 1932 charm where everything feels a little bit dangerous but also very stagey.

I’ve seen better stuff from this era, like maybe Symphony of Six Million, but this is a decent way to spend an hour. Just don't expect it to change your life.

Also, the music is barely there. It’s mostly just the sound of people talking and the occasional car horn. It makes the silence feel very heavy in some scenes.

I’d give it a watch if it’s raining outside and you have some popcorn. 🍿

Oh, and look out for the scene with the handkerchief. It's a tiny bit of business that Colbert does that shows why she was a star. She just knows how to use a prop.