The Lady Takes a Sailor

When Jane Dylan is good, she's amazing. She was a wonderful dramatic actress. She also had charm and appeal. Dennis Morgan was a decent actor, as well as handsome and appealing.

Unfortunately, neither of them had a flair for comedy. I mean you really have it or you don't. They also have no chemistry whatsoever.

Usually when this happens they go back and punch up the second lead. It has often been Eve Arden. Unfortunately, her part isn't large enough to save this stink bomb.

Romantic comedies usually involve two characters in conflict. To make it work, for starters, they need to be likable, somewhat evenly matched, and in a fun and funny situation. That's why "The Lady Takes A Sailor" doesn't work.

Jane Wyman and Dennis Morgan are in an interesting (not fun or funny) situation: her career and personal reputation- like Aimee Semple McPherson's, a few years earlier- hinge on proving the truth of a wild story behind her brief disappearance, while Morgan's career depends on keeping that truth a military secret. Since Jane is clearly the wronged party- she's shipwrecked, kidnapped, drugged, mocked, and lied to by Morgan- we're rooting for her, but amid mixed messages that she should sacrifice everything for an ungrateful military.

Wyman and Morgan are not equally matched. There's no cleverness (or fun) in their conflict, just a lot of confrontation, in which he effortlessly bullies, stalks, and taunts her. She's a helpless victim and he's basically a cad and a thug.

Morgan's character is therefore totally unlikable, and the idea that he might win this fight, much less get the girl, clouds any fun that this film has to offer. With all that, it hardly matters that the film is completely unfunny, or that the message is (once again) that women don't really need careers when a man- (even a repellent one!)- comes along.

Incidentally, nothing against Wyman, Morgan, director Michael Curtiz, or Eve Arden, who all had fine careers and did excellent work elsewhere.

"The Lady Takes a Sailor" from 1949 is a pleasant comedy, but given the cast of Jane Wyman, Dennis Morgan, Eve Arden, and Allyn Joslyn, directed by Michael Curtiz, no less, one expects more.

Jane Wyman as a blonde was vivacious and really popped in the '30s, often as the best friend; once her hair was brunette, she scored as a dramatic actress. She had a terrific singing voice and often chose to do musicals. And like all stars, some of her films were ordinary. This is one of them.

Here Wyman is about 32 (her birth year is given as 1914 or 1917 but actresses often shaved a few years off when they started as a chorus girl, as she did, in which case they were often underage and gave an earlier birth year. It seems that 1917 is correct. Glamorous and attractive, she plays a consumer protection expert, kind of like a walking Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

During a restful day on her boat, it capsizes and she is picked up by Dennis Morgan, who is on a submarine working on a secret scientific mission for the government. Since the info is secret, when she tells her story, no one believes her and her reputation quickly starts going down the drain. In fact, William Frawley of Fred Mertz fame has a funny scene as the rep of The Liar's Club, who wants to give her an award.

The one thing that will prove her story is some photos she took, but the film has been taken from her camera. She launches a mission to steal the film.

The photography in this film is wonderful, but the script falls flat. It's not an ordinary type of film for Curtiz, and he didn't have a strong enough script. Everyone is good, but Dennis Morgan seems like a big jerk most of the time - again, poor writing.

Pretty ordinary fare.

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.

"The Lady Takes a Sailor" is a kooky comedy that I wanted to like...but really didn't. Now I am not saying it's a bad film, after all the story idea is highly creative...but overall the film seemed forced and I agree with one reviewer who says it just misses the mark.

Jennifer (Jane Wyman) is out in her sailboat when the weather turns bad. But this is not her major problem...the problem is that her boat was just sunk by an experimental submarine-tank hybrid that was out being tested. When she later tells folks about it, no one believes her and they think she's mentally ill. so, it's up to her to find the guy from the sub (Dennis Morgan) and get pictures of this craft.

This is an interesting idea....so why did the film leave me a bit cold? I think it's a great case where the film tried so hard to be kooky and silly that it seemed to try too hard and felt contrived. Even more contrived was the love that came completely out of the blue at the end....more formulaic than realistic in any way. Not a great film...but the actors try despite indifferent writing.