David Niven is quite good and seems very natural in a comedic role in "The Lady Says No." But, that's about the only good thing about this movie. Niven plays Bill Shelby, a roving photographer who works for "Life" magazine. "Life" was the premier general interest magazine published in the U.S. in the 20th century. It was especially noted for its superb photography-news, feature, portrait and artistic.
Here, Shelby is taking photos in northern California. He lives out of a small house trailer that he pulls with his car. It doubles as a darkroom for developing and printing his photos. He has one specific assignment - to interview and photograph Dorinda Hatch who has written a book, the same title as this film. It turns out that Hatch, played by Joan Caulfield, is a young woman who is generally naive about the opposite sex, love and sex. She's not a psychologist or educator, but she's written a book that is a best seller.
The book is advice about something - apparently women just avoiding and having nothing to do with men. Hatch seems to have come up with the idea while growing up with her Aunt Alice and Uncle Matthew. Frances Bavier plays Aunt Alice and James Robertson Justice plays Uncle Mathew. They fought at times, but most of the time he was away from home - apparently for months or years at a time.
So, that's the setting for this comedy that is portrayed as a battle of the sexes. In the early part it has some good lines and a couple of funny scenes. But the plot quickly gets into a rut with a screenplay that runs all over the place yet goes nowhere. Hatch and Shelby have one encounter after another with various soldiers, a wife and girlfriends from nearby Fort Ord. Peggy Maley plays Midge who's a soda jerk at the Fort Ord PX. Lenore Lonergan plays Goldie who's married to Potsy (Henry Jones), an Army staff sergeant.
Hatch lives in Carmel - one can't image where her small house was located that overlooks the ocean. Shelby parks his trailer on a roadside pullout along the coast. These two are back and forth from her home, to the beach, to Shelby's trailer, to the Wharf Rat bar in Monterey, and to Fort Ord. The script by this time is devoid of any funny or clever dialog. Caulfield's frenzied movements and strange behavior are humorless. She has a dream sequence that's droll at best. She just doesn't have a spark for comedy - not in this film anyway. That could be due mostly to a read dud of a screenplay. But, even in her close-ups, she just can't emote humor.
This film quickly becomes boring - by halfway through. So, it's agonizing to watch it to the end, hoping for anything funny or something different to lift it out of the doldrums. My four stars may be generous. But Niven's character has just enough spark and humor to keep one watching. And the scenes on the Monterey coast and around the former Fort Ord add a little historic touch to boost the film a little. Still, this isn't a film worth buying a dvd or paying to rent at any cost, even for David Niven fans.
Here's the single line one might find somewhat funny. Dorinda Hatch, "Women do wear hats. Especially if they write books like mine." Bill Shelby, "Well, the way I see it, you wrote the book with your brain, and your brain is normally in your head, so let's take a look at your head, huh?" Dorinda, "That's logical."
Here, Shelby is taking photos in northern California. He lives out of a small house trailer that he pulls with his car. It doubles as a darkroom for developing and printing his photos. He has one specific assignment - to interview and photograph Dorinda Hatch who has written a book, the same title as this film. It turns out that Hatch, played by Joan Caulfield, is a young woman who is generally naive about the opposite sex, love and sex. She's not a psychologist or educator, but she's written a book that is a best seller.
The book is advice about something - apparently women just avoiding and having nothing to do with men. Hatch seems to have come up with the idea while growing up with her Aunt Alice and Uncle Matthew. Frances Bavier plays Aunt Alice and James Robertson Justice plays Uncle Mathew. They fought at times, but most of the time he was away from home - apparently for months or years at a time.
So, that's the setting for this comedy that is portrayed as a battle of the sexes. In the early part it has some good lines and a couple of funny scenes. But the plot quickly gets into a rut with a screenplay that runs all over the place yet goes nowhere. Hatch and Shelby have one encounter after another with various soldiers, a wife and girlfriends from nearby Fort Ord. Peggy Maley plays Midge who's a soda jerk at the Fort Ord PX. Lenore Lonergan plays Goldie who's married to Potsy (Henry Jones), an Army staff sergeant.
Hatch lives in Carmel - one can't image where her small house was located that overlooks the ocean. Shelby parks his trailer on a roadside pullout along the coast. These two are back and forth from her home, to the beach, to Shelby's trailer, to the Wharf Rat bar in Monterey, and to Fort Ord. The script by this time is devoid of any funny or clever dialog. Caulfield's frenzied movements and strange behavior are humorless. She has a dream sequence that's droll at best. She just doesn't have a spark for comedy - not in this film anyway. That could be due mostly to a read dud of a screenplay. But, even in her close-ups, she just can't emote humor.
This film quickly becomes boring - by halfway through. So, it's agonizing to watch it to the end, hoping for anything funny or something different to lift it out of the doldrums. My four stars may be generous. But Niven's character has just enough spark and humor to keep one watching. And the scenes on the Monterey coast and around the former Fort Ord add a little historic touch to boost the film a little. Still, this isn't a film worth buying a dvd or paying to rent at any cost, even for David Niven fans.
Here's the single line one might find somewhat funny. Dorinda Hatch, "Women do wear hats. Especially if they write books like mine." Bill Shelby, "Well, the way I see it, you wrote the book with your brain, and your brain is normally in your head, so let's take a look at your head, huh?" Dorinda, "That's logical."