She Couldn't Say No

SHE COULDN'T SAY NO is very well done little "B" movie comedy from 1940 from Warner Bros., a studio not known for comedies "A" or "B". This 62-minute film stars Eve Arden and Roger Pryor as young lawyers in love who find themselves representing different sides of a breach of promise suit filed by elderly spinster Vera Lewis against her 15-year beau Clem Bevans, a wealthy 80-year-old who can never say yes. This little programmer completely foreshadows the 1949 classic ADAM'S RIB with Hepburn and Tracy although most intriguingly each lawyer here represents the opposite sex client. Perhaps with a bigger budget and revised script, the producers of SHE COULDN'T SAY NO might have whipped up a classic themselves but there is much to enjoy in this little gem particularly the performances. It is a special treat to see Eve Arden playing a very rare starring role in a film rather than the acerbic sidekick that was her specialty. Eve gets a bit of a glamour treatment too with sharp clothes and blonde hair and is superbly cast as the sharp as whip professional woman. One can hardly say the movies wasted her but she shows here she might have given Rosalind Russell a run for her money as the screen's top businesswoman comedienne in similar films. And how nice to see Clem Bevans and Vera Lewis in very large supporting roles; both character performers usually played small unbilled bits. (Of note too, Bevans at 61 is cast as an 80-year-old while Miss Lewis is 68 and plays someone perhaps a few years younger.) There's also the wonderful Ziffie Tilbury, one of the oldest character players of the period playing Vera's mother. This is one of those little unheralded gems Turner Classic Movies unearths now and then that shows why this channel is so special.

Eve Arden ("Our Miss Brooks" TV Show in the 1950's, and many sidekick roles like in Mildred Pierce) stars as one of the two lawyers on a breach of promise case. Fun, happy, upbeat, much easier to watch than the Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy version to come later. Fast paced script, its only about an hour long; Every role here is a character to laugh along with - the farmer type bachelor, the judge, Eve Arden's assistant, Cliff Edwards, who can also sing and play a mean ukulele. Vera Lewis, the spinster, made TONS of movies, about half of them silents. Eve's law partner Roger Pryor does a fine job in a smaller role, appears to have stopped making movies in the 1940s. I guess due to the bigger names in the 1949 version, that is the one shown most often on air. I prefer this version.

There are MANY parts of "She Couldn't Say No" which made little sense....which is odd as I did enjoy the film. It's one of these 'turn off your brain and just enjoy' sorts of films. In other words, provided you don't overthink the silliness, you'll enjoy it.

When the story begins, Alice (Eve Arden) is the secretary for a new, struggling lawyer, Wallace (Roger Pryor). Here comes the first problem with the film.....it seems she is also a lawyer but instead of practicing, she pretends just to be a secretary. Why? Because she wants to capture Wallace's heart...and is afraid that if she's as well trained and capable as him, he'll be scared off!!

Despite this, one day a prospective client comes through the office door...the practice's first. Wallace had already tried to talk to the guy but got some buckshot in his butt as a result (logical problem number two). However, their assistant (Cliff Edwards) is able to befriend the prospective client and later brings him into the office...only to find Wallace is gone. But Alice IS there and so she decides to take the case herself in order to help Wallace. What follows is a bit like a sillier version of "Adam's Rib", as eventually BOTH Alice and Wallace end up representing BOTH sides in a breach of promise suit.

While none of this sounds especially funny, as usual Eve Arden is a hoot. But she's even overshadowed by supporting actors Clem Bevins and Vera Lewis as the elderly couple involved in the lawsuit. They are hilarious and fun.....not always logical...but fun.

Overall, this B-movie is fun and worth seeing even if it's not exactly an artistic masterpiece. Worth seeing.

Roger Pryor (Wallace) has a law firm with no clients. One day, he gets one. The plot seems a little complicated but secretary Eve Arden (Alice), who is also a lawyer, and her friend Cliff Edwards (Banjo) decide to help out. This entails taking up the case AGAINST Pryor's client without his knowledge. Things get resolved at the court case.

You know where the film is going but it's a little complicated at the beginning and Cliff Edwards can be annoying, especially when he is singing in a sort of skiffle/jazz fusion. It is not good. In fact, it really grates. And he keeps doing it throughout the whole cocktail party sequence. We get the usual comedy characters pop up but goodness knows why Eve Arden isn't given top billing over Roger Pryor. It's her film.

Wally Turnbull (Roger Pryor) is a struggling lawyer in New York City. He has imaginary partner Johnson and Alice Hinsdale (Eve Arden) is his loyal secretary. She put aside her own law degree to work for him due to her unrequited love for him. Due to a convoluted plot, she pretends to be Johnson and they end up on opposite sides of a case.

It's quite progressive to have a female lawyer at this time. I do wish for the movie to be less convoluted and more funny. I'm not saying that it's bad but it needs work. Alice spends most of the first half with Banjo. She needs to spend time with Wally for the audience to truly fall in love with this as a romance. In the end, Wally is not appealing and that part of the film falters. Eve Arden is pretty good and Cliff Edwards is a fun sidekick. I'd rather just get rid of Wally and have this be a single gal lawyer movie.