She Had to Say Yes

She Had to Say Yes (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Warner Pre-Code has a sleazy boss coming up with the idea of "offering" girls from his stenographic department to clients in exchange for deals. This is going well until one (Loretta Young) turns down a high-powered client (Lyle Talbot) but soon the two begin to fall in love but more shady deals might happen. This is certainly a strange film for someone like Berkeley to make a debut on but if you're a fan of Warner's Pre-Codes then there should be enough here to keep you entertained even if the film tampers off during the second half. The first half is a pretty interesting mix to the genre as it is hammered home that women are nothing more than sex objects and their only place in the world is to serve men. This certainly isn't a storyline we could see too often in the Golden Era and especially after the Hayes Office took full effect the following year. On that level this film remains entertaining just because of the sexual innuendo, riske storyline and some rather snappy dialogue including a funny little dig at the (then) Republic Party. Young turns in a nice performance because she can perfectly mix that innocent nature with a burning sexuality. Not for a second will anyone not believe she's this sweet girl but at the same time, when she needs to, she can turn on that sexual lure and it too is believable. Talbot is just as usual and he too turns in a nice performance in that Lyle Talbot fashion. What keeps the film from being a total success is the second half of the film when it loses its edge and goes into typical melodrama with one predictable turn after another.