The Lady Takes a Sailor

I'm surprised at the rating and the reviews. I found this very amusing and charming. The romance was the highlight but the comedy wasn't bad at all. I will definitely be watching it again.

This is a very cute classic movie. A woman meets a guy in a very unusual circumstance, however her professional career is on the rocks soon afterwards! I noticed that William Frawley aka Fred Mertz from the "I love Lucy" show makes a quick appearance here. Anyways I would reccomend it for anyone who's into classic movies.

Just stumbled on this one on TCM. Always been Dennis Morgan fan , but never really knew much about Jane Wyman other than her one time marriage to a future president. They made a really good team in this one. The love ( from his end) and hate ( from her end ) finally tilted toward him. With the always dependable Eve Arden in a supporting role , not much more is needed. But throw in Tom Tully as a private detective with much comic relief, the movie really got going. Not sure I'm buying the Jack Lemmon sighting , but it could just be me. Couldn't find him. Give this one a chance , hoping you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

"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.

"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.