The Girl Said No

Dir. Sam Wood

93 Minutes

USA

1930

Starring: William Haines, Leila Hyams, Polly Moran, Marie Dressler, Francis X. Bushman Jr., Clara Blandick

**1/2/*****

First talking picture with William Haines oddly feels like something that would be produced today by the Apatow gang (and, at 92 minutes, is an epic for this kind of business). Haines plays the son of a wealthy banking family returning home after finishing college. He comes whirling into town creating chaos, content to being in a state of arrested development while his father hopes to integrate him into the family business. He falls in love with a receptionist (Leila Hyams), finds a romantic rival, and reassesses his priorities after an unexpected tragedy.

The arc of this boorish man-child finding redemption is nothing new, but Haines feels so awkward in the first half of this film replacing loudness with humor. The character is just TOO much that the back half sentimentality does not feel earned or organic. The character is frankly a bitter bill for swallow for the majority of the running time, and it is difficult to imagine any viewer not siding with Hyams titular statement. The film mostly flounders with a few exceptions: Polly Moran as a servant who is tired of Haines' shenanigans even before they get going, and Marie Dressler who is funnier in her one scene than Haines is the entire time. This is not to say that Haines is generally a bad performer. Enjoyable in his silent films, this one just seemed like they were attempting to ingrain too much into his character and as a result most of it simply does not work. Tolerable curio for fans of early sound film, but easily skippable.

August 25th, 2019