''Why Girls Say No'' is a 1927 American
silent
Silent may mean any of the following:
People with the name
* Silent George, George Stone (outfielder) (1876–1945), American Major League Baseball outfielder and batting champion
* Brandon Silent (born 1973), South African former footballer
* C ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...
featuring
Max Davidson
Max Davidson (May 23, 1875 – September 4, 1950) was a German-American film actor known for his comedic Jewish persona during the silent film era. With a career spanning over thirty years, Davidson appeared in over 180 films.
Career
Bor ...
.
Plot
Every boy on the street is in love with Becky. But her father, Papa Whisselberg, insists that they be Jewish. While getting her hair cut, Becky encounters an Irish-looking boy who can't take his eyes off of her. He tries to follow her home but is temporarily sidelined by a policeman who winds up falling into a pit of water. He finally meets up with her, and she falls for him. Becky warns him against entering, saying her father would be brokenhearted if she married a non-Jewish boy. That night, the boy climbs the fire escape to meet Becky in her room. At the same time, a thief enters the house, the policeman in pursuit. Confusion ensues: the thief tries to disguise himself as a woman in a nightgown but his pants give him away. As he escorts the captured thief, the policeman again falls into the pit of water; the scene fades as he throws down his badge.
On the occasion of Papa's birthday, Becky welcomes the boy for the party. Papa warns Becky that he doesn't want an Irishman for her. Trying to be helpful, the boy helps clean up by bringing food into the kitchen. Mama leaves for a minute while the boy opens the oven to see a cake which collapses because of the open oven door. Embarrassed, he shuts the door, only to have Mama return to warn him against opening the oven door because the cake might collapse. Concerned about the impression he'll make, he secretly removes the cake and takes it out the back door to think of what to do. Eyeing a bicycle pump, he uses it to return the cake to its air-filled state, and sneaks it back into the oven without Mama seeing. Everyone is seated for the presentation of Papa's cake. He begins to cut into it, but the nearby candles mysteriously blow out. After repeatedly trying to cut the cake only to have nearby objects flung from the force of air, Maxie reveals that the boy was responsible for making the cake full of air. Papa angrily throws him out of the house, but Becky follows, saying she's going to marry him. After a humorous pursuit down the streets of Los Angeles, Papa finally catches up as Becky and the boy enter his house. Inside the house Papa yells at the boy that his daughter is not going to marry an Irish boy. The boy then introduces his parents, clearly Orthodox Jews, leading to a happy ending. The film fades as Papa chases Maxie for playing a prank on him.
Cast
*
Marjorie Daw - Becky
*
Creighton Hale
Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s.
Career
Born in Cou ...
- The boy
*
Max Davidson
Max Davidson (May 23, 1875 – September 4, 1950) was a German-American film actor known for his comedic Jewish persona during the silent film era. With a career spanning over thirty years, Davidson appeared in over 180 films.
Career
Bor ...
- Papa Whisselberg
* Ann Brody - Mama Whisselberg
*
Spec O'Donnell
Walter "Spec" O'Donnell (April 9, 1911 – October 14, 1986) was an American film actor.
Biography
Born in Fresno, California, in 1911, O'Donnell appeared in more than 190 films between 1923 and 1978. He worked frequently for producer Hal R ...
- Maxie Whisselberg
*
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...
- Police Officer
* Jesse De Vorska - Mr. Ginsberg
*
Noah Young
Noah Young, Jr. (February 2, 1887 – April 18, 1958) was a champion weightlifter and actor.
Biography
Young was born in Cañon City, Colorado. His father, Noah Young, was a foreman of the Glenrock coal mine who later became a coal mine i ...
- Angry motorist (uncredited)
See also
*
List of American films of 1927
This is a list of American films released in 1927, All films on this list are in the Public Domain since 2023.
1927 Academy Award nominees
The 1st Academy Awards were presented in Los Angeles on May 16, 1929 at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel ...
*
Oliver Hardy filmography
__NOTOC__
These are the films of Oliver Hardy as an actor. For the filmography of Laurel and Hardy as a team, see: Laurel and Hardy films.
Unconfirmed film appearances
* ''The Artist's Model'' (1916)
* ''Terrible Kate'' (1917)
* ''His Mov ...
External links
*{{IMDb title, id=0131135, title=Why Girls Say No
1927 films
American black-and-white films
1927 comedy films
American silent short films
Films directed by Leo McCarey
American comedy films
1920s American films
Silent American comedy films