The Girl Said No

William Haines the Star of THE GIRL SAID NO (1930) had created a persona that he played in every film. His character was of the irresponsible young man who through a challenge in his life turns it around and saves the day and gets the girl. In the silent era his pantomime may have been acceptable, but in sound he just comes across as a prissy ham.

THE GIRL SAID NO well illustrates this. For the first half of the picture he mug's at every opportunity. We suppose this behavior makes him endearing to the Female members of the audience of the time. What the Men thought can only be guessed at, but we are sure it was not flattering. Mr. Haines was capable of a more subtle acting style which he illustrated in SHOW PEOPLE (1928). For some reason though he kept returning to his 'Gay Blade' persona. A characterization that did not hold up well to Depression Era audiences.

Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg had come to that conclusion, tastes were changing and they needed Stars that the new audiences could identify with. Using the pretext of Haines homosexuality and the morals clauses in contracts of that time he was forced out of the business. Fortunetly the talented Mr. Haines other skills as a interior decorator with his Hollywood contacts provided a successful second career.