The Lady Says No

As another reviewer once noted, "The Lady Says No" is "a listless raspberry at feminism circa 1951." This is a good description as far as it goes. The film is uninspired and quite predictable. Pretty Joan Caulfield plays feminist author Dorinda Hatch who has written a book advising women to avoid romances with men. Handsome David Niven plays wolfish Bill Shelby who is attracted to this man-hater and soon has her reluctantly returning his desires.

The film has a lackluster script. Caulfield does the best she can with the part but Niven appears just plain bored as if he has mentally checked out from this trite material.

One thing about it is that it reminds people of how feminism made a strange turn in the 1970s. Giving up on the idea of persuading women en mass to eschew intimate relations with men, feminism adopted legalized abortion as its cause. Obviously, abortion would have little market if it were really possible to get women to "say no."

Although the film isn't terrific, IT SHOULD BE WATCHED! It should be watched to see what people in the 1950s thought a feminist would look like and be like and what feminism would champion. Does anyone in this era think a feminist is a dowdy stout woman in a long dress who stays home and knits? As I've already pointed out, a feminist movement that successfully championed celibacy would not be tied to "abortion rights."

I want to add that I saw this routine programmer because I'm a fan of the relatively little-known Peggy Maley, the blonde beauty cast as Midge. I thought Maley did well with her lively but small part. She certainly looked sexy and bright but she almost always did. Here's to Peggy!