The Lady Takes a Sailor
The Lady Takes a Sailor
NR | 16 December 1949 (USA)
The Lady Takes a Sailor Trailers

Jennifer Smith heads a "Consumer Reports"-type company and her reputation for honesty is her greatest asset. While out boating one day she encounters a secret prototype submarine piloted by Bill Craig. Trying to explain her absence after her boat sinks becomes very difficult as Bill and his cohorts attempt to discredit her story.

Reviews
michaeljhuman

I got stuck, in my brain with the constant feeling the government could have admitted that some details were true with a simple statement and come to an agreement with her to eliminate all of the ensuing problems. Which made it a bit hard to solider on watching itThe leading man and lady were both fine. Dialog is strictly average, but delivery of dialog is good.I very much liked the lady's independent nature and tenacity. It's marred by the standard Hollywood Dislike to love switch that seems to happen quickly and not for very good reasonsAnyway, it's amusing in spots, and mildly interesting to see how it's all going to end so 5/10.As I personally see this as a bit of a screwball comedy, if you like that sort of thing, you might prefer to watch the movie What's Up Doc, which is better in every way :)

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glofau

The concept for this romantic comedy is kind of interesting: consumer-protection-expert Jane Wyman gets picked up by submariner Dennis Morgan on a secret mission and finds herself discredited by government misinformation. Wyman and Morgan are charming, ably supported by Allyn Joslyn, Robert Douglas and Eve Arden as comic foils. William Frawley has an amusing bit as the representative of the Liar's Club. Michael Curtiz' direction is efficient, the Max Steiner score is effective and excellent, the production is beautiful and beautifully photographed. Jane Wyman, in particular, is made to look especially glamorous and gorgeous; Eve Arden also looks exceptionally beautiful. These positive elements, however, are torpedoed by a tedious, unfunny script. Maybe the movie could have been better if the secret-mission concept had been more thoughtfully worked out or if the core of the picture had been slightly more "true" to better propel the farce; as it is, the various story elements feel arbitrary and disconnected. For instance, Jane Wyman plays a consumer protection expert, but her expertise has nothing whatsoever to do with the story; the story centers on her fight to regain her ruined reputation. The story is clearly intended to be farcical; why not have Wyman use clever inventions from her business (amusingly presented in the first scene) to fight Dennis Morgan instead of the boring, imagination-free ruses she employs? Morgan, meanwhile, comes off as a womanizing liar for much of the film; is he a hero, or just a jerk? It's difficult to decide. Comedy characters are often idiots, by design, but you need to feel sympathy for them as well; these characters were just off-putting. Between the script problems, and the poorly-motivated slapstick comedy, this movie falls flat. As a rule, I adore fluffy comedies, but this one made me squirm in my seat, thankful at my release once it had ground its way to a conclusion. If you're a fan of any of the principal players or makers, as I am, the film is worth seeing because it has some bright performances (particularly by Eve Arden), clever scoring, and attractive photography. If you're into fashions of the postwar era, this film has some wonderful clothes and hair. For most people, I would say, do yourself a favor and skip this misfire of a film. It's not good enough to be worth your time, nor is it bad enough to be fun. It's just beautiful and kind of annoying, a change-of-pace experiment for Michael Curtiz that doesn't really work. For Completists only.

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Ray Faiola

Okay, it's forgettable fluff but Curtiz at least gives it some pep. Best of the whole magilla is Max Steiner's score. Worst of all is Robert Douglas. What in heaven's name was Warners thinking by casting him in a knockabout farce. He just sinks the whole ship. They were trying to build him up (he played another incongruous role in THE DECISION OF CHRISTOPHER BLAKE) but this was a misstep. He faired MUCH better in ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN and THE FOUNTAINHEAD. They really needed a blowhard comedian (Raymond Walburn, Thurston Hall). Come to think of it, studio regular Sydney Greenstreet would have been perfect. Hmmm... I wonder if Douglas was a substitute. Watson - The Memmos!!The David Butler unit was doing much better comedies at Warners during this period. But, still, it's worth one look (and listen).

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mdonath

Wyman is fine and Arden does her usual duty, but the rest is an awful mess. The main flaw is very weak plot is all over the place. First we're in Wyman's potentially interesting workplace that, after a big setup, we'll never see again. Then we have the ridiculously stupid underwater tractor where our two leads meet. After that we just have dumb slapstick and unwitty dialogue. The pacing is terrible, nothing makes sense, and there's little chemistry with the love angle. Give it a miss.

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