What Every Woman Knows

In this unusual comedy, Helen Hayes (reprising her Broadway role) plays an old maid who takes care of everyone in her family. She's a running joke to never get married, and Dudley Digges, Donald Crisp, and David Torrence ridicule her. When a young, handsome newcomer arrives in town, he immediately gets invited over for dinner, with hopes by her brothers that he'll marry the spinster. Helen is taken with him, but what does she have to offer? Her brains and her money. He's an ambitious fellow, but she's got what it takes to be the woman behind the man. So, she makes him an offer of marriage in exchange for a humungous dowry and strategy for his career.

Why would she do all this? Because he's Brian Aherne! Six feet, four inches of ridiculously handsome, Irish, curly-haired, passionately tempered Brian Aherne! Brian has to think about her offer, and since Helen is smarter than him, she lays out her argument in such a subtly cunning way, he eventually sees the wisdom in it.

This is a very clever, timeless movie. It's funny and smart, and as the title implies, will make every woman in the audience chuckle. Brian may be gorgeous, but he's not too bright. Helen knows how to get around him, and she's perfectly willing to teach the audience, too!

Helen Hayes never had great success in the movies, but this is the best of her film performances that I've seen so far. Her Scottish accent is convincing, she's charming, and she conveys Maggie's underlying strength with great subtlety.

Brian Aherne is charismatic as the young politician Maggie is attracted to; he allows us to see through his egotism to the vulnerability and insecurity just below the surface.

The beautiful and talented Madge Evans is fine in the "other woman" role. Supporting stalwarts Lucile Watson, Donald Crisp, Dudley Digges, David Torrence, and Henry Stephenson are all well-cast, and turn in wonderful performances.

I had no idea what to expect from this film, but I found it highly enjoyable, with gentle humor, light drama, and romance that won't send your blood sugar into orbit.

Brilliantly constructed movie and the casting is spot on. Intriguing plot - this movie is one that needs to be watched at least twice to pick up the details missed the first time around - maybe the Scottish accents need some adjusting to - If you know the perception of Scottish frugality (especially by those south of the border) the movie really has some hugely comical moments, such as the taxi scene, the newspaper that was never purchased and the expensive shawl moment. Helen Hayes plays the adoring wife of a young politician precisely and the plot has a very positive and surprising ending to what seems like an impossible situation. They just don't make 'em like this any more. I watched this movie for the first time this year (2005) and my only regret is not having seen it years ago - get a copy is my advice and enjoy!

HELEN HAYES indeed made a stage name for herself in this vehicle, but it's hard to see why in this film version of her stage success. BRIAN AHERNE does nicely as her somewhat stuffy husband, but all in all it's clearly aimed at pleasing the followers of Miss Hayes.

She photographs well as the supposedly plain heroine and her Scottish accent is never too jarring--and thankfully, she downplays a lot of her stage mannerisms with a style of acting more suited to the camera. But this tale of a little woman who is really the brains behind her non too bright politically minded husband, is a very modest effort from the pen of Sir James M. Barrie and there is no big payoff for anyone in the cast. Madge Evans has a rather thankless role as the other woman.

Donald Crisp and Lucille Watson have the most to do in supporting roles but have distinguished themselves elsewhere in better material.

Only interesting as an early Helen Hayes vehicle that seems more quaint than charming. As in most films of this period, there is almost no background music to give a lift to any of the stagebound scenes.

Trivia bit: Olivia de Havilland starred at the Westport Country Playhouse in this play--summer stock in 1946--and during the run of the play was married to first husband, writer Marcus Goodrich.

"What Every Woman Knows" is an odd sort of romance. It involved two people who were in a one-sided relationship. The woman loved the man, and the man just tolerated the woman.

Maggie Wylie (Helen Hayes) was a plain Scottish woman who couldn't find love. Her father and her two brothers were determined to help her get married even if it meant making a man contractually obligated to do so. And that's what they did.

They entered into a bargain with a young rabble rouser named John Shand (Brian Aherne). They would pay for his schooling for five years and in return, he'd have to marry Maggie should she want him. Maggie was well aware of this bargain, and she didn't mind it at all. After the five years were up, Maggie wanted to marry John, and he agreed to marry her per his word, even though he didn't love her. It was a rare movie in that a man was obligated to marry a woman instead of the other way around. That gave it a different sort of feel.

There have been plenty of movies in which a woman goes through with marrying or being with a man out of a sense of duty, but very few men have ever had to be in that situation. I've always felt a little sorry for the women, I didn't feel sorry at all for John Shand. Maggie gave him the option to be free of her, but he was too principled to back out of an agreement he benefited greatly from.

In some ways it was sad watching Maggie sweat and toil for John's benefit in hopes that he would one day love her as she loved him. John was such a serious man that it seemed he would never love anybody. Such a sentiment was put to the test when Lady Sybil Tenterden (Madge Evans) entered the picture.

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