During the 1920s, William Haines made a string of films with very, very similar themes. In films such as BROWN OF HARVARD and THE SMART SET, he played a smug braggart that was immensely talented but needed to learn humility. He always found this out after he disappointed the team with his boorish behavior. However, late in the films, a humbler Haines then learns what it means to be self-sacrificing--once again allowing him to be the hero--and so ended each picture.
By the 1930s, Haines was essentially doing the same roles he'd done for years. The big difference was that with the advent of sound pictures, he not only acted conceited but you could hear him talking non-stop about himself--making people like me wish he'd stayed in silent films! Additionally, by the time he did THE GIRL SAID NO, his character had also changed--and not for the better. In the earlier films he was conceited but immensely talented. However in THE GIRL SAID NO, he was essentially an annoying idler with nothing to back up his boasting but his "charming personality". Well, to me this personality was not at all charming and I just wanted to bust him in the mouth!! An unlikable and sociopathic jerk is what he was in this film (such as sexually harassing a girl repeatedly, acting cruelly to everyone he came in contact with and risking others' lives) and I found myself loathing every second he was on film. This is quite a change, as I had liked many of his earlier films, but by this awful film he was simply too unlikable, too brash, too talkative, too selfish and just too much! Watching him was like watching an obnoxious four year-old who insists on entertaining guests--whether they want to or not!!
I've gotta admit something before I close. This is the first Haines film I didn't finish. I tried, believe me, but I simply hated the sight and sound of him and couldn't take it any more. I know that according to formula, by the end of the film he'll have changed, but I wasn't willing to wait plus someone this awful really won't change in real life.
I read a book some time ago about leading men at MGM and it said how Haines' career ended because Louis B. Mayer was a homophobe and pushed him out of films. I used to believe it, but with films like THE GIRL SAID NO, I am more inclined to believe that Haines just overstayed his welcome. With him performing essentially the same role again and again (and the character getting more obnoxious as the years passes), it's no wonder he was out of the business by the mid-1930s. I truly, truly hated him in this film and would rather gargle with glass then see it to the end!!
