[4] The conflict regarding Brenda Cummings' desire for a career in movies resembled the situation of Mary Noble in another Hummert program, Backstage Wife.
Menken progressed to more substantial roles by the time she was a teenager and "[t]hrough the mid-1920s, she presented a string of powerful performances in challenging dramas.
"[5] Thus, a newspaper article about Second Husband advised readers: "The series will afford Miss Menken the opportunity of displaying her versatility and acting genius and will enable you radio dialers to hear one of the theater's brilliant actresses in a gripping role.
"[6] A 1939 magazine article about Second Husband described Menken as "a perfectionist, which probably accounts for the fact that she is one of the few stars of stage or screen who has been able to make and retain an equal success on the air.
Radio historian Elena Razlogova wrote: "The networks and magazines perfected the cross-marketing common among department stores, newspapers, movies, pulps, slicks and comic strips in this period [the 1930s].
Razlogova cited one example, when the magazine printed a full-page portrait of Brenda Cummings that was promoted on the radio show, "giving the listener no opportunity to miss either event."