''She Had To Say Yes'' is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

film directed by

George Amy George Joseph Amy (October 15, 1903 – December 18, 1986) was an American film editor. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and started his career at the age of 17, finding his niche at Warner Brothers in the 1930s. It was Amy's editing that w ...

and

Busby Berkeley Berkeley William Enos, (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) known professionally as Busby Berkeley, was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geo ...

. It was Berkley's directorial debut.

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

stars as a secretary who receives unwanted sexual advances when she is sent out on dates with her employer's clients. The film was promoted with the teaser "We apologize to the men for the many frank revelations made by this picture, but we just had to show it as it was filmed. The true story of the working girl."Doherty. pg. 131 According to pre-Code scholar Thomas Doherty, it was part of a series of movies that drew inspiration from the "real-life compromises working girls made to get and retain employment" during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. A repeated theme in women's pictures in the Depression was the "threat of sexual violation" and the "hard necessity of risking virtue to keep a paycheck". Women of that time were often subjected to

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

, and had to endure indignities in a highly competitive job market. The film received a negative review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' when it was released.Nugent, Frank S
"She Had to Say Yes" (1933) review
''The New York Times'', July 29, 1933, accessed October 12, 2010

Plot

Sol Glass (

Ferdinand Gottschalk Ferdinand Gottschalk (28 February 1858 – 10 November 1944) was an English theatre and film actor. He appeared in 76 films between 1917 and 1938. He was born and died in London, England. He made his first appearance on the stage in Toronto ...

) owns a clothing manufacturing company struggling to survive in the midst of the Great Depression. Like his competitors, Glass employs "customer girls" to entertain out-of-town buyers. However, his clients have become tired of his hard-bitten "gold diggers" and have started taking their business elsewhere. Tommy Nelson (

Regis Toomey John Francis Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor. Early life Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, and attended Peabody High Sc ...

), one of his salesmen, suggests that they use their stenographers instead. Glass decides to give it a try. When buyer Luther Haines (

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

) sees Tommy's secretary and fiancee, Florence "Flo" Denny (Loretta Young), he wants to take her out. However, Tommy manages to steer him to the curvaceous Birdie (Suzanne Kilborn) instead. Later, with Birdie sick, Tommy reluctantly lets Flo go on a date with another buyer, Daniel "Danny" Drew (

Lyle Talbot Lyle Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on a wide ...

). They have a nice time together, but she is shocked when she finds out Danny expects sex. A contrite Danny apologizes and tells her that he has fallen in love with her. He has to go on a business trip, but telephones and writes to her regularly. Meanwhile, Flo's friend, fellow employee and roommate, Maizee (

Winnie Lightner Winnie Lightner (born Winifred Josephine Reeves; September 17, 1899 – March 5, 1971) was an American stage and motion picture actress. Perhaps best known as the man-hungry Mabel in '' Gold Diggers of Broadway'' (1929), Lightner was often ...

), shows her that Tommy is cheating on her with Birdie. She ends their engagement. To keep her self-respect, Flo tells Glass that she will not go out with any more buyers. When he threatens to fire her, she quits. Danny returns and takes Flo to dinner. Then, spotting Haines at another table, he asks her to help convince the last holdout to a merger to sign an important contract, the biggest deal of his life. She is disappointed by his request, but agrees to do it. She goes to dinner with Haines, but cleverly arranges with Maizee to have Haines' wife (

Helen Ware Helen Ware ( Remer; October 15, 1877 – January 25, 1939) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Born to the architect John August Remer and Elinor Maria (née Ware), Ware adopted her mother's maiden name as her professional ...

) and daughter show up. Haines has to go along with the pretense that he is conducting business, and signs the contract. When Haines later complains about Flo's methods, and claims that she and Tommy are living together, Daniel suspects that she is not as innocent as he believed, so he drives her out into the country to the mansion of his friends. Nobody is home, but he coaxes her inside and tries to force himself on her. Flo tries to get away, but finally stops resisting. However, when she asks him if that is all she means to him, Danny stops before anything happens. She leaves, only to run into Tommy, who had followed the couple. He also believes she is selling herself. Danny, overhearing their conversation, realizes that Flo is innocent, and forces Tommy to apologize. Danny begs her to marry him. After she whispers in his ear, he picks her up and carries her back into the mansion.

Cast

as Florence Denny *

as Maizee *

as Daniel Drew *

as Tommy Nelson *

as Luther Haines *

as Sol Glass * Suzanne Kilborn as Birdie Reynolds *

as Mrs. Haines *

George Chandler George Chandler (June 30, 1898 – June 10, 1985) was an American actor who starred in over 140 feature films, usually in smaller supporting roles, and he is perhaps best known for playing the character of Uncle Petrie Martin on the television ...

as Taxi Driver

Reception

Writing for ''The New York Times'',

Frank S. Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer. He wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...

gave the film a mostly negative review, primarily due to the constant suspicions the two male leads have about Young's character when the film makes it fairly obvious from the beginning that Young's character is virtuous. Nugent added: "The unfortunate part of it is that the picture has some bright lines and threatens, here and there, actually to become amusing. Hugh Herbert and Winnie Lightner wheedled a few laughs from the stranded Strand visitors, but the gayety was short-lived. It would have been a relief to every one if Miss Young had only said "No!"

References

;Notes ;Sources * Doherty, Thomas Patrick. ''Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema 1930-1934''. New York: Columbia University Press 1999.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:She Had To Say Yes 1933 films 1933 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films First National Pictures films Films directed by George Amy Films directed by Busby Berkeley 1933 directorial debut films 1930s American films Films with screenplays by Don Mullally

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links