A woman writes a best-selling book for women warning them about the "dangers" of men. A handsome photographer for a national magazine arrives in her town to do a feature story on her. Compli... Read allA woman writes a best-selling book for women warning them about the "dangers" of men. A handsome photographer for a national magazine arrives in her town to do a feature story on her. Complications ensue.A woman writes a best-selling book for women warning them about the "dangers" of men. A handsome photographer for a national magazine arrives in her town to do a feature story on her. Complications ensue.
- Maj. Gen. Horatio W. Schofield
- (as Robert Williams)
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
- Woman at Meeting
- (uncredited)
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
- Brawler
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBarbara Carroll's debut.
- Quotes
Dorinda Hatch: Well, what makes HER so important ?
Potsy: She don't take no "stuff" from nobody... unless she wants to. Then she takes anything that isn't nailed down.
Dorinda Hatch: Well, I think it's disgusting. Why any woman could get a man like that if she wanted to. I know I could... couldn't I ?
Potsy: You don't have the stuff it takes to take the stuff you don't have.
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits show a woman's hands opening a gift card from a fancily wrapped present, which starts the credits. The next shot is the opening of the gift itself, which turns out to be a book with the title of the movie (based on a book a female author writes).
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."
- SimonJack
- Mar 4, 2019
- How long is The Lady Says No?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Bruden sa' nej
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 20 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1