By Glenn Erickson
The Lady Takes a Sailor
Brief Synopsis
A woman is saved from drowning by a mysterious submarine, but nobody believes her.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Michael Curtiz
Director
Jane Wyman
Jennifer Smith
Dennis Morgan
Bill Craig
Eve Arden
Susan Wayne
Robert Douglas
John Tyson
Allyn Joslyn
Ralph Whitcomb
Film Details
Also Known As
The Octopus and Miss Smith
Genre
Comedy
Romance
Release Date
Dec
24,
1949
Premiere Information
New York opening: week of 16 Dec 1949
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 39m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Synopsis
Jennifer Smith, head of the Buyer's Research Institute, has been promised an endowment from the Tyson Institute to continue her work. To celebrate, Jennifer and her friend, Susan Wayne, who runs a cosmetics company, spend the weekend at Susan's beach house on Long Island. A storm blows in while Jennifer is sailing, but before she can return to shore, her boat is capsized by a rising undersea tractor. Jennifer insists that the reluctant sailor, who calls himself "Davey Jones," take her on board and put her ashore. The sailor tells Jennifer that he is a zoologist, studying undersea life, but his lack of knowledge about marine life makes her suspect his claim. After the storm ends, he gives Jennifer sleeping pills and leaves her on the beach. Meanwhile, a frantic Susan calls the Coast Guard, who begin a search for Jennifer. They finally find her on the beach where the sailor left her, but when Jennifer tells them her story, they think she has been hallucinating. She then remembers that she took pictures of the ship, but discovers that the film is missing from her camera. As Jennifer's credibility is called into question, she loses her endowment. Determined to restore her reputation, Jennifer sets out to prove her story by finding the sailor, who unknown to Jennifer, is actually Bill Craig, a submarine engineer working on a secret government project. While at a nightclub with her fiancé Ralph Whitcomb, Jennifer recognizes singer Raquel Riviera as the woman whose photo was hung on the wall of the undersea tractor. She questions Raquel, who denies knowing a man named Davey Jones. Later, Jennifer sees Bill enter the club to meet Raquel, but when she demands her film, Bill claims not to know her. Jennifer and Ralph then follow the couple. After they leave their car, she searches it for identification, but the couple returns and she is forced to hide in the back seat. Frustrated, Jennifer then hires private investigator Henry Duckworth to find the film. Bill spots Duckworth following him and sets a trap for him and Jennifer. While they try to open the safe where the film is hidden, Bill sneaks back into his apartment and interrupts them. Duckworth flees and Bill tries to explain his dilemma to Jennifer without revealing the strategic importance of his study. Unknown to Bill, after Jennifer leaves, Duckworth, who has been hiding under the bed, steals the film. Jennifer arranges to get the film from Duckworth at Susan's house, where she is going to try to convince Tyson to restore her endowment. Bill follows Jennifer and makes every effort to retrieve the film. Tyson is completely baffled by the unexplained activities that subsequently take place and decides that Jennifer is insane. Eventually Bill captures the film and steals Duckworth's car, but Duckworth has installed a breakaway steering wheel of his own invention, which causes Bill to collide with Tyson's car. Everyone then returns to Susan's house, where a reporter demands to know if Bill's presence explains her story. Jennifer, having fallen in love with Bill, keeps his secret, after which Ralph replaces her at the Institute, and she begins a new life with Bill.
Director
Michael Curtiz
Director
Cast
Jane Wyman
Jennifer Smith
Dennis Morgan
Bill Craig
Eve Arden
Susan Wayne
Robert Douglas
John Tyson
Allyn Joslyn
Ralph Whitcomb
Tom Tully
Henry Duckworth
Lina Romay
Raquel Riviera
William Frawley
Oliver Harker
Charles Meredith
Dr. McKewen
Craig Stevens
Danvers
Kenneth Britton
Davis
Fred Clark
Victor Sangell
Tom Stevenson
Institute guide
Ray Montgomery
Lab man
Ruth Lewis
Miss Clark
Ruth Lee
Miss Brand
Sonja Bryden
Arlette
Walter Shumway
Dr. Coombs
Olan Soule
Secretary
Rosemary Pettit
Secretary
Henrietta Taylor
Dr. Anna Sparton
Emil Rameau
Dr. Mittenwald
Leslie Kimmell
Conrad Updike
John Halloran
Homer Benton
Grandon Rhodes
Dr. Newman
Harry Cheshire
Judge Vardon
John Morgan
Constable
Len Hendry
Constable
Russ Conway
Constable
Josephine Whittell
Reporter
Kenneth Patterson
Reporter
Ray Erlenborn
Photographer
John Mcguire
Coast Guard officer
Robert Malcolm
Chief of police
Robert Jellison
Mr. Wentworth
Frank Cady
Mr. Crane
George Spaulding
Admiral Morell
Jack Lee
Captain Cutter
Joe Mcturk
Waiter
Bridget Brown
Hat check girl
Hallene Hill
Flower woman
Richard Ryan
Apartment house clerk
Stanley Prager
Taxi driver
Wendy Lee
Telephone operator
Phyllis Godfrey
Hilda
Jack Boyle
Intern
Luther Crockett
Doctor
Nina Prescott
Tyson's secretary
Crew
Milo Anderson
Wardrobe
Everett A. Brown
Sound
Edward Carrere
Art Director
Murray Cutter
Orchestration
Roy Davidson
Special Effects Director
Everett Freeman
Screenwriter
Jerry Gruskin
From a story by
George James Hopkins
Set Decoration
H. F. Koenekamp
Special Effects
Harry Kurnitz
Producer
Ted Mccord
Director of Photography
Sherry Shourds
Assistant Director
Eric Stacey
Unit Manager
Max Steiner
Music
Norman Stuart
Dialogue Director
David Weisbart
Film Editor
Perc Westmore
Makeup Artist
Film Details
Also Known As
The Octopus and Miss Smith
Genre
Comedy
Romance
Release Date
Dec
24,
1949
Premiere Information
New York opening: week of 16 Dec 1949
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 39m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Articles
The Lady Takes a Sailor
Jane Wyman won a much-deserved Best Actress Oscar for Johnny Belinda (1948). Despite the fact that she would now receive star billing, Warner Bros. still had difficulty finding worthy roles for her. Formerly titled 'The Octopus and Miss Smith', the oddball romantic comedy The Lady Takes a Sailor hides a strong subtext about the problems women face as working professionals. Michael Curtiz directs for producer Harry Kurnitz, who spent most of his career as a top writer on comedies and suspense thrillers. The story stretches the definition of far-fetched comedy. Consumer research executive Jennifer Smith (Jane Wyman) loses her job over a credibility issue - as a consumer advocate she's expected to be entirely candid and truthful. When she's found unconscious on a beach after a storm, the authorities don't believe her story of encountering a strange undersea tractor. They also don't believe Jennifer's tale of meeting its driver, who identified himself as Davey Jones, a marine biologist - no such man can be found. Discredited and humiliated, she tries to find her missing photos of the aquatic tractor, and locate the mystery rescuer, who apparently drugged her to allow him to slip away. A detective (Tom Tully) proves a bumbling idiot, and the safecracker Jennifer hires can't get into a Sardine can. She undergoes some serious comic indignities, such as being hung by her heels, and having her face pushed down in the mud. People are doused with paint and stuck with pitchforks. Poor Jennifer's strained attempts to clear her name finally pay off when her mystery man is revealed to be Bill Craig (Dennis Morgan), a marine engineer in charge of the top secret new invention. National security forced him to ruin her reputation. Extra fun is provided by Eve Arden's wisecracking, boyfriend-challenged assistant. Former Xavier Cugat vocalist Lina Romay sings a song in a nightclub, and Max Steiner provides the raucous music score. Not heralded as a great comedy, The Lady Takes a Sailor has its moments, as when a chuckling, insulting William Frawley presents the furious Jennifer with an award - from The Liar's Club.
By Glenn Erickson
By Glenn Erickson
The Lady Takes a Sailor
Jane Wyman won a much-deserved Best Actress Oscar for Johnny Belinda (1948). Despite the fact that she would now receive star billing, Warner Bros. still had difficulty finding worthy roles for her. Formerly titled 'The Octopus and Miss Smith', the oddball romantic comedy The Lady Takes a Sailor hides a strong subtext about the problems women face as working professionals. Michael Curtiz directs for producer Harry Kurnitz, who spent most of his career as a top writer on comedies and suspense thrillers. The story stretches the definition of far-fetched comedy. Consumer research executive Jennifer Smith (Jane Wyman) loses her job over a credibility issue - as a consumer advocate she's expected to be entirely candid and truthful. When she's found unconscious on a beach after a storm, the authorities don't believe her story of encountering a strange undersea tractor. They also don't believe Jennifer's tale of meeting its driver, who identified himself as Davey Jones, a marine biologist - no such man can be found. Discredited and humiliated, she tries to find her missing photos of the aquatic tractor, and locate the mystery rescuer, who apparently drugged her to allow him to slip away. A detective (Tom Tully) proves a bumbling idiot, and the safecracker Jennifer hires can't get into a Sardine can. She undergoes some serious comic indignities, such as being hung by her heels, and having her face pushed down in the mud. People are doused with paint and stuck with pitchforks. Poor Jennifer's strained attempts to clear her name finally pay off when her mystery man is revealed to be Bill Craig (Dennis Morgan), a marine engineer in charge of the top secret new invention. National security forced him to ruin her reputation. Extra fun is provided by Eve Arden's wisecracking, boyfriend-challenged assistant. Former Xavier Cugat vocalist Lina Romay sings a song in a nightclub, and Max Steiner provides the raucous music score. Not heralded as a great comedy, The Lady Takes a Sailor has its moments, as when a chuckling, insulting William Frawley presents the furious Jennifer with an award - from The Liar's Club.
By Glenn Erickson
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film's working title was The Octopus and Miss Smith. A September 1948 Los Angeles Examiner news item reported that Bette Davis and Robert Montgomery were to star in the film. Zachary Scott, who is listed as a cast member in early Hollywood Reporter production charts, did not appear in the released film. On May 15, 1950, Lux Radio Theater broadcast a radio version of the film, starring Jane Wyman and Dennis Morgan.
