By Frank Miller
He Couldn't Say No
Brief Synopsis
A timid advertising man learns to fight for the girl of his dreams.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Lew Seiler
Director
Frank Mchugh
Lambert Hunkins
Jane Wyman
Violet Coney
Cora Witherspoon
Mrs. Coney
Diana Lewis
Iris Mabby
Berton Churchill
Senator Mabby
Film Details
Also Known As
Larger Than Life
Genre
Comedy
Adaptation
Release Date
Mar
19,
1938
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the play Larger than Life by Joseph Schrank (Springfield, MA, 16 Mar 1936) and the short story "Larger than Life" by Norman Matson in Hearst's International-Cosmopolitan (Jan 1936).
Technical Specs
Duration
57m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Synopsis
When linoleum advertising clerk Lambert Hunkins gets a raise, Mrs. Coney, the mother of Violet, his girl friend of five years, takes the opportunity to bulldoze him into proposing marriage. Although he has a crush on Iris Mabby, the daughter of rich and powerful Senator Mabby, Lambert is too ineffectual to protest. With Violet and her mother, Lambert attends a furniture auction. He is unable to bid on any of the items, however, until a scantily clad statue that resembles Iris is brought under the hammer. To Mrs. Coney's disgust, Lambert bids one hundred dollars and happily carts the statue away. Convinced that Lambert only wants the statue, which was actually modeled on Iris, to blackmail him, Mabby tries to buy it back from Lambert, but he refuses to sell for any amount. Iris also visits Lambert and begs him not to sell her statue. When Lambert happily agrees, she kisses him. As a result of the newspaper publicity, Lambert loses his job. The notoriety also attracts a group of gangsters, who decide to steal the statue and sell it to the senator for a large sum. While they are in Lambert's apartment, the senator arrives, accompanied by Iris, and the gangsters force him at gunpoint to take $15,000 for the statue. Iris is disappointed in Lambert, while the senator accuses him of being an opportunist. After they leave, Lambert escapes from his gangster guard and steals a truck to deliver the statue to a museum. When the police catch the criminals, Lambert receives $5000 from the museum. He also gets his job back with a raise and proposes to Iris, who accepts.
Director
Lew Seiler
Director
Cast
Frank Mchugh
Lambert Hunkins
Jane Wyman
Violet Coney
Cora Witherspoon
Mrs. Coney
Diana Lewis
Iris Mabby
Berton Churchill
Senator Mabby
Ferris Taylor
Oxnard O. Parsons
William Haade
Slug
Tom Kennedy
Dimples
Raymond Hatton
Hymie
John Ridgely
The Man-on-the-street
Chester Clute
Musgrave
Cliff Clark
Auctioneer
Rita Gould
Julia Becker
Cliff Saum
Painter
Crew
Frank Beckwith
Dialogue Director
Frank Dewar
Film Editor
Drew Eberson
Assistant Director
Stanley Fleischer
Art Director
Bryan Foy
Producer
Ben Grauman Kohn
Screenwriter
Francis J. Scheid
Sound
Joseph Schrank
Screenwriter
Howard Shoup
Gowns
Arthur Todd
Photography
Jack L. Warner
Executive Producer
Robertson White
Screenwriter
Film Details
Also Known As
Larger Than Life
Genre
Comedy
Adaptation
Release Date
Mar
19,
1938
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the play Larger than Life by Joseph Schrank (Springfield, MA, 16 Mar 1936) and the short story "Larger than Life" by Norman Matson in Hearst's International-Cosmopolitan (Jan 1936).
Technical Specs
Duration
57m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Articles
He Couldn't Say No
Perpetual sidekick Frank McHugh got a shot at stardom in this B-comedy at his home studio, Warner Bros. It provided a nice break from supporting bigger stars like James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, but didn't point to any great future as a leading man. He stars as an advertising clerk who's sort of engaged to co-worker Violet Coney (Jane Wyman) despite his infatuation with a senator's daughter, Iris (Diana Lewis). When he stumbles on a statue of Iris, it causes problems with Violet, who wanted him to buy furniture with the money, Iris' father, who wants it kept out of sight and gangsters out to blackmail the senator with it. The film was adapted from the play Larger Than Life by Joseph Schrank, who had come to Warner Bros. when they turned his hit Page Miss Glory into a 1935 vehicle for Marion Davies. The role of the senator's daughter was Lewis' first big shot at stardom, and she did well enough for MGM to offer her a contract. After playing the eponymous society girl in Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940), she eloped with William Powell eventually retiring from the screen to devote all her time to their marriage.
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
He Couldn't Say No
Perpetual sidekick Frank McHugh got a shot at stardom in this B-comedy at his home studio, Warner Bros. It provided a nice break from supporting bigger stars like James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, but didn't point to any great future as a leading man. He stars as an advertising clerk who's sort of engaged to co-worker Violet Coney (Jane Wyman) despite his infatuation with a senator's daughter, Iris (Diana Lewis). When he stumbles on a statue of Iris, it causes problems with Violet, who wanted him to buy furniture with the money, Iris' father, who wants it kept out of sight and gangsters out to blackmail the senator with it. The film was adapted from the play Larger Than Life by Joseph Schrank, who had come to Warner Bros. when they turned his hit Page Miss Glory into a 1935 vehicle for Marion Davies. The role of the senator's daughter was Lewis' first big shot at stardom, and she did well enough for MGM to offer her a contract. After playing the eponymous society girl in Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940), she eloped with William Powell eventually retiring from the screen to devote all her time to their marriage.
By Frank Miller
Quotes
Trivia
The play by Joseph Schrank opened in Springfield, Massachusetts on 16 March 1936
Notes
According to Variety, this was Diana Lewis' first major screen role. Before its release, the film was entitled Larger Than Life.
