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IMDbPro

The Lady Says No

  • 1951
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 20m
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
481
YOUR RATING
David Niven and Joan Caulfield in The Lady Says No (1951)
ComedyRomance

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.

  • Director
    • Frank Ross
  • Writer
    • Robert Russell
  • Stars
    • Joan Caulfield
    • David Niven
    • James Robertson Justice
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.2/10
    481
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Frank Ross
    • Writer
      • Robert Russell
    • Stars
      • Joan Caulfield
      • David Niven
      • James Robertson Justice
    • 22User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos281

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    Top cast41

    Edit
    Joan Caulfield
    Joan Caulfield
    • Dorinda Hatch
    David Niven
    David Niven
    • Bill Shelby
    James Robertson Justice
    James Robertson Justice
    • Matthew Huntington Hatch
    Lenore Lonergan
    Lenore Lonergan
    • Goldie
    Frances Bavier
    Frances Bavier
    • Aunt Alice Hatch
    Peggy Maley
    Peggy Maley
    • Midge
    Henry Jones
    Henry Jones
    • Potsy
    Jeff York
    Jeff York
    • Goose
    George Davis
    George Davis
    • Wharf Rat Bartender
    Robert B. Williams
    Robert B. Williams
    • Maj. Gen. Horatio W. Schofield
    • (as Robert Williams)
    Mary Lawrence
    Mary Lawrence
    • Mary
    Godon Barnes
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Joan Barton
    Joan Barton
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Nora Bush
    • Woman at Meeting
    • (uncredited)
    Barbara Carroll
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Sue Casey
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Peter Damon
    Peter Damon
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    George DeNormand
    George DeNormand
    • Brawler
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Frank Ross
    • Writer
      • Robert Russell
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews22

    5.2481
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    Featured reviews

    6HotToastyRag

    Say 'no' to The Niv?

    You're going to need some serious suspension of disbelief to watch this one. I mean, who would say "no" to David Niven?

    Joan Caufield plays a best-selling authoress, whose claim to fame is a book that warns unsuspecting women about the greatest horror known as Man. Men are filthy, nasty beasts, and women would do well to always say "no"! David Niven works for a popular magazine, and he's assigned to do a featurette on Joan. He hates her book and her message, and as soon as they meet, they're at each other's throats-and not in a good way. But, since it is David Niven, she just might be charmed long enough to listen to what he has to say.

    Yes, it's pretty silly, and enormously dated, but if you like silly and dated, you won't go wrong by renting The Lady Says No on a rainy afternoon. David Niven is absolutely adorable and charming, and since I love him anyway, it's easy to root for him in this funny 50s romp. My advice: watch the opening credits. If you start laughing during the song, you're in the right mindset to enjoy the rest of the movie. I find it hilarious.
    lor_

    Pleasant Battle of the Sexes

    The team that wrote the classic wartime comedy classic "The More the Marrier" made this innocuous but entertaining early spoof of feminism, starring an offbeat couple: Joan Caulfied and David Niven. It's stood the test of time.

    Joan has written the title book, which argues for women to stand up for themselves in a male-dominated society. She's thrown together with a self-assured Life magazine photographer played by Niven, whose innate charm makes his chauvinistic attitudes tolerable, with zero doubt that they will move past detente to become a loving couple by film's end.

    Adding quite a bit to the movie's impact is the subsidiary storyline involving Joan's aunt Frances Bavier and her estranged Scots husband James Robertson Justice, a real chauvinist pig. Casting that team seems unlikely, but this pair of opposites are delightful in their bickering, with Justice's comedy flair (staring in many a British comedy of the Fifties) on display.

    I've been watching David Niven demonstrating his acting versatility a few years later on "Four Star Playhouse", and his nimble comedy reactions help lift "The Lady Says No". Kudos also to the great James Wong Howe's distinctive camerawork. Watch for some strange little touches by director Frank Ross, including a goofy dream sequence and a "jump and jive" Black girl dancing around in a hallway.
    5keith-73

    Ho-hum romantic comedy...

    Short on laughs, sometimes even embarrassing to watch, it makes me wonder what this film would have been like WITHOUT David Niven. His performance is so wooden and he seems so bored with the whole thing. Joan Caulfield, not a well known name, does a really good job, actually, playing the ying and yang of her character.

    Niven seems TOTALLY OUT OF PLACE, a part someone like Tony Randall or Jack Lemmon could have banged out of the park (maybe it was a bit before their time...) Not a bad premise, has been stolen and used repeatedly in movie history, but it seems listless and lifeless when Niven is on screen. Oh, well.
    5wilvram

    The Lady Says No - at least at first

    There were two things at least I enjoyed about this frivolous romantic comedy about the author of a book attacking men and her involvement with the type of man she despises most, the jaunty and catchy intro music, and the performance from the stunning Joan Caulfield, who managed to extract the maximum from an inconsistent and under-written part. A pity she didn't become a greater star than she did. By contrast her co-star David Niven appeared understandably rather uncomfortable throughout. The first half was fairly amusing, albeit dated, with the dream sequence the highlight, but the attempts at humour become increasingly feeble and finally moribund some time before the inevitable conclusion is reached.
    8Ronzique

    While She Says No, I Say Yes...

    The Lady Says No is the type of post World War II film that tackled issues the movies would not focus on. In this case, it's feminism. Beautiful Joan Caulfield (Blue Skies, The Unsuspected) was directed by her husband, Frank Ross, to play a man-hating writer of a book telling women to be cautious of a man's desires. David Niven is a photographer for a magazine who tries to do a story on her, but romance steps in...with complications. He gets embarrassed for whistling at her, she takes the heat for her book causing a marital break-up. But, ultimately, things turn around, as a sergeant reunites with his wife and writer and photographer get back together, as well.

    Also in the cast are Francis Bavier (Aunt Bee-The Andy Griffith Show), James Robertson Justice, Henry Jones, Lenore Lonergan, and Peggy Malley, with Bavier and Justice as Caulfield's aunt and uncle, Jones and Lonergan as a military couple, and Malley as a friend of the military couple.

    Mostly hilarious and predictable (Caulfield's dream of her fighting off jungle women to get to Niven), but stoic in some areas (Niven's lack of comic response), the film was written as a showpiece for Caulfield, who carried the movie. Wouldn't mind seeing it again. In other words, I would love to see Caulfield flaunt her style in Orry-Kelly fashions, while she defends her position of feminism, while a different actor could have been used as a comic foil, maybe Fred MacMurray. A film slightly ahead of its time.

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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Barbara Carroll's debut.
    • Goofs
      James R. Justice's accent keeps switching between (his authentic) Scottish and Irish.
    • 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 credits
      The 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).
    • Soundtracks
      The Lady Says No
      Music by Emil Newman and Herbert W. Spencer

      Lyrics by Mel Leven

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    FAQ13

    • How long is The Lady Says No?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 6, 1952 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Bruden sa' nej
    • Filming locations
      • Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Ross-Stillman Productions Inc.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 20m(80 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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