Through Selznick, Arthur received her "best role to date" opposite famous sex symbol Clara Bow in the early sound film "The Saturday Night Kid" (1929). Of the two female leads, Arthur was thought to have "the better part," and director Edward Sutherland claimed that "Arthur was so good that we had to cut and cut to keep her from stealing the picture" from Bow. While some argued that Bow resented Arthur for having the "better part," Bow encouraged Arthur to make the most of the production. Arthur later praised her working experience with Bow: " was so generous, no snootiness or anything. She was wonderful to me." The film was a moderate success, and "The New York Times" wrote that the film would have been "merely commonplace, were it not for Jean Arthur, who plays the catty sister with a great deal of skill."