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Why Girls Say No

  • 1927
  • 23m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
92
YOUR RATING
Ann Brody, Max Davidson, and Spec O'Donnell in Why Girls Say No (1927)
ComedyShort

A Jewish patriarch would prefer that his attractive daughter have one of their kind as a boyfriend, but she easily succumbs to an "Irisher" suitor who literally stalks her through the street... Read allA Jewish patriarch would prefer that his attractive daughter have one of their kind as a boyfriend, but she easily succumbs to an "Irisher" suitor who literally stalks her through the streets.A Jewish patriarch would prefer that his attractive daughter have one of their kind as a boyfriend, but she easily succumbs to an "Irisher" suitor who literally stalks her through the streets.

  • Director
    • Leo McCarey
  • Writers
    • H.M. Walker
    • Stan Laurel
    • Hal Roach
  • Stars
    • Marjorie Daw
    • Creighton Hale
    • Max Davidson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    92
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Leo McCarey
    • Writers
      • H.M. Walker
      • Stan Laurel
      • Hal Roach
    • Stars
      • Marjorie Daw
      • Creighton Hale
      • Max Davidson
    • 2User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Top cast9

    Edit
    Marjorie Daw
    Marjorie Daw
    • Becky Whisselberg
    Creighton Hale
    Creighton Hale
    • Becky's Boyfriend
    Max Davidson
    Max Davidson
    • Papa Whisselberg
    Ann Brody
    Ann Brody
    • Mama Whisselberg
    • (as Anne Brody)
    Spec O'Donnell
    Spec O'Donnell
    • Maxie Whisselberg
    Jesse De Vorska
    Jesse De Vorska
    • Mr. Ginsberg
    • (uncredited)
    Ruth Feldman
    • Boys Mother
    • (uncredited)
    Oliver Hardy
    Oliver Hardy
    • Policeman
    • (uncredited)
    Noah Young
    Noah Young
    • Angry Motorist
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Leo McCarey
    • Writers
      • H.M. Walker
      • Stan Laurel
      • Hal Roach
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews2

    6.292
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    Featured reviews

    5Paularoc

    A so-so Max Davidson

    Reviewer MacIntyre's summary and beautifully written review of this short is spot on. Where we differ is how we would rate the short – of the Max Davidson films that I have seen, I would rank this as a lesser effort almost completely devoid of laugh out loud humor. Perhaps I couldn't see beyond the blatant stalking element. Ethnic humor – as long as it is done by a member of the ethnic group can be funny as when Creighton Hale wears a too small hat but the other stereotype humor fell short. The Hardy sequences were indeed funny but I've seen that sink hole gag many times so it didn't have the wallop it might otherwise have had. One thing – the print I saw of this was gorgeous; how I wish that other Davidsons were as good. As to the title – she didn't say no to the fellow she probably should have.
    7F Gwynplaine MacIntyre

    Hardy's best pratfall

    "Why Girls Say No" is one of Max Davidson's funnier comedies, even though the aggressively Jewish stereotypes are more obvious here than in most of his other films. Still, there are some very disturbing plot elements here. This is one of those movies which subscribes to the view that, if a man pursues a woman aggressively enough, she will eventually welcome his advances. In "Why Girls Say No", Creighton Hale pursues Marjorie Daw in a manner which we would nowadays describe as stalking: when he starts out, she clearly has no interest in him at all, but he persists with high-pressure tactics (such as lurking outside her upstairs bedroom window late at night) and a couple of days later the two of them are engaged to be married!

    Papa Whisselberg (Davidson) has an attractive young daughter Becky (Daw) who is beginning to attract gentlemen callers ... but Papa insists that all of her suitors must be Jewish. When the doorbell announces the arrival of yet another young swain, Papa grows angry ... until he gets a look at the visitor's huge nose, which satisfies Papa that the man is indeed "kosher". (The visitor is played by Jesse De Vorska, a gawky actor of extremely Semitic appearance.)

    Becky attracts the attention of a young man (Creighton Hale) who doesn't appear to be Jewish at all. He pursues Becky very aggressively. She rejects him at first (rather sensibly, I thought) but is eventually won over. Only one problem: in order to call for Becky at her father's house, Creighton will have to pass for Jewish. Amazingly, he accomplishes this by wearing a hat several sizes too small. In the Whisselberg home, the men and boys wear hats at the table ... which seems plausible, except that none of the men are wearing yarmulkes. Ginsberg (De Vorska) wears a jaunty straw boater.

    The funniest performer in this movie is Oliver Hardy (not yet teamed with Laurel), playing a brawny cop who is very different from his famous "Ollie" character. (Improbably, Officer Hardy is on patrol duty in the day time AND at night, but this movie doesn't stand up to analysis.) In hindsight, Hardy's presence makes some of the gags very obvious. At one point, Hardy the cop tries to walk across a mud puddle: anyone who has ever seen a Laurel & Hardy movie will know what happens next. Elsewhere in the film, Hardy does an amazing pratfall. I also laughed at a gag sequence in which Creighton Hale, a fully-grown man, uses an amazingly simple ploy to disguise himself as a little girl.

    Give Stan Laurel credit for the script for this very funny film. I'll rate this movie 7 out of 10. I really dislike the "stalk a woman till she falls in love with you" plotline here, but that mentality is so widespread in movies and tv shows that it would be unfair of me to single out this movie for disapproval.

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    Storyline

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • February 20, 1927 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • None
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Die unfolgsame Tochter
    • Production company
      • Hal Roach Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      23 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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