A Lady Takes a Chance

A Lady Takes a Chance is a 1943 American romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Jean Arthur and John Wayne. Written by Robert Ardrey and based on a story by Jo Swerling, the film is about a New York working girl who travels to the American West on a bus tour and meets and falls in love with a handsome rodeo cowboy. The film was produced for RKO Radio Pictures by Frank Ross, who was Arthur's husband at the time. The supporting cast features flamboyant comedian Phil Silvers, Hans Conried (without his stentorian Barrymoresque voice), Charles Winninger, and Mary Field.

Plot
Three of her suitors protest when Molly J. Truesdale, on a whim, boards a bus in New York City to find out what life in the American West is like.

Molly goes to a rodeo, where a bucking bronco tosses rider Duke Hudkins right into her lap. Duke buys her a beer afterward and then Molly brings him luck while gambling, but his saddle pal Waco warns her that Duke is not the right guy for her. Whenever Duke warms to her charms, Molly panics and shies away. Duke escorts Molly to various places and events until she learns that her tour bus has left without her. Her pride will not permit Duke and Waco to help her so she decides to hitchhike, but in the dead of night she meekly accepts a ride to the next bus depot -- from Duke and Waco.

The threesome camps outdoors overnight. The cowboys are comfortable but Molly isn't, so she takes a horse blanket from Duke's horse Sammy. The next day, Duke is incensed when Sammy catches pneumonia. Molly makes one last-ditch attempt to snare Duke by preparing an elegant dinner for two, but steak-and-potatoes Duke is reluctant. Finally he himself panics and insists that he will not be tied down. Giving up, Molly goes home to New York and her waiting suitors, who are astounded when a tall cowboy suddenly shows up and carries Molly away. They take the same tour bus back out west.

Reception
Director William A. Seiter was noted for his charming comedies that were moderately paced and kept the laughs coming quietly, rather than resorting to joke-laden dialogue and slapstick. His handling of A Lady Takes a Chance was entirely in keeping, which some critics praised and others took for slowness. Film Daily loved the film: "Smart, clever romantic comedy should prove a boxoffice wow. Every moment of it is vastly entertaining and amusing beyond the ordinary. John Wayne turns in a far better job than one would have expected of him. One wouldn't be going overboard in saying it was his best work yet... [Seiter] has brought out the fine qualities of the script masterfully. He has truly made A Lady Takes a Chance delicious entertainment." Red Kann in Motion Picture Daily concurred: "If this is not on the riot side, it makes an unchallenged substitute. That's how delicious a comedy A Lady Takes a Chance proves itself to be... On the side of performance, far and away of course is Miss Arthur. If your reviewer knew a better word for excellent, he'd use it. John Wayne has never done a better job within this knowledge... No question whatever about this one. RKO has a hit on its hands." The Exhibitor conceded that the film was "pleasant entertainment" but offered a mild dissent: "This lacks substance and doesn't quite come off. Arthur can't do much with what she has been given to work with, and while there are some funny sequences, this has stretches where the laughs aren't forthcoming." The independent Film Bulletin wrote in the same vein: "Perhaps a more supple and subtle leading man would have helped. Or perhaps, it is too obvious that the makers were straining to produce another It Happened One Night. At any rate, A Lady Takes a Chance turns out to be only a moderately successful romantic comedy, despite some gay situations and another sparkling performance by lovely Jean Arthur... Because the public is buying 'escapist' entertainment and Jean Arthur has an established following, Lady Takes a Chance should draw good grosses in most locations. Wayne's name will help in the action spots."

The boxoffice predictions proved to be correct. The film brought in $2,500,000, earning a profit of $582,000.

Cast

 * Jean Arthur as Molly J. Truesdale
 * John Wayne as Duke Hudkins
 * Charles Winninger as Waco
 * Phil Silvers as Smiley Lambert, bus tour director
 * Mary Field as Florrie Bendix
 * Don Costello as Drunk
 * John Philliber as Storekeeper
 * Grady Sutton as Malcolm Scott, suitor
 * Grant Withers as Bob Hastings, suitor
 * Hans Conried as Gregg Stone, suitor
 * Jean Stevens as "Jitterbug"
 * Ariel Heath as Flossie
 * Sugar Geise as Linda Belle
 * Joan Blair as Lilly
 * Tom Fadden as Mullen
 * Cy Kendall as Gambling Boss
 * Dorcas McKim as Beggar Woman (uncredited)