A Lady Takes a Chance

Truesdale finally decides to combat her 'cabin fever' on the bus by attending a rodeo. She has a wonderful time, until one of the contestants literally falls into her lap! As the two disentangle themselves, she gets a good look at Duke Hudkins (John Wayne), and it's love at first sight!

Duke is the suitor she'd always dreamed of; handsome, virile, and 'all-man', and she begins a pursuit of the cowboy that is both uncharacteristic for her, and confusing for him! Despite warnings from his best friend, Waco (Charles Winninger) that this girl was after more than just a night of partying and passion, Duke invites Molly out, and the innocent city girl experiences her first evening of carousing! When, at evening's end, she puts the brakes on his amorous advances, he discovers she's not just another 'groupie', and that he's falling in love with her, too...nearly as much as he loves his horse!

A romantic comedy of 'opposites' finding true love, 'A Lady Takes a Chance' benefits from the delightful performances of the two leads! Jean Arthur had a Meg Ryan-like quality of projecting both innocence and sexiness, and she makes Molly's transition from 'pursued' to 'pursuer' both believable, and understandable! John Wayne is equally good, sexy and easy-going, yet conveying Duke's confusion at the feelings he has for Molly, and his gradual realization that he'll have to 'take a chance', himself, to earn her love!

True, the tale follows your basic 'boy meets girl-boy loses girl-boy gets girl' scenario, but under the sure direction of pros William A. Seiter (who directed Astaire and Rogers in 'Roberta', and Shirley Temple, in 'Stowaway'), and Henry Hathaway (the legendary filmmaker who would direct Wayne's Oscar-winning performance in 'True Grit', 26 years later), the story has a freshness and charm that is unbeatable!

Whether you're a Wayne and Arthur fan, or you just love a romantic comedy with a happy ending, 'A Lady Takes a Chance' will bring a smile!


A Lady Takes a Chance   February 14, 2007
JP
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I've watched this movie at least a dozen times. Fine romance! My gosh he was a sexy young man! GREAT chemistry between him and Jean Arthur. Thoroughly enjoyable!


Lassos, leather and laughs   December 31, 2001
charles curtis (Boston, MA)
Story of two fish out of water--a city girl in the West, and a cowboy in love. Arthur is, as always, funny, sexy and smart as the bored lady of the title who falls for Wayne, and the Duke gently spoofs his own he-man image. The bar scene, in which Arthur gets her first taste of "red-eye", followed by the wildest bar fight ever filmed and a classic exit line by Wayne, is worth the price all by itself.


Great Movie.... innocent, funny, a treasure.   December 7, 2009
J. Werner (California)
Great Movie. Innocent, funny, shows how life was (and is truly missed). A treasure to watch with your kids and grandkids.


John Wayne and Jear Arthur sizzle onscreen   May 3, 2004
Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com (...in Middle America)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

An unusual wartime comedy-romance, starring the ever-delectable Jean Arthur as a big-city girl who takes a bus tour out West to see some of the world, and gets a real eyeful when she hooks up with John Wayne, a lanky, laconic cowboy who's rambling around on the rodeo circuit. The script is fairly minimal, and many scenes even seem improvised, but what's remarkable is the underlying sexual frankness of the film -- the two meet by accident, and are inexorably drawn together by sheer sexual chemistry. When they finally give in and go out on a real date, they have nothing to say to each other -- the attraction is purely physical. Certain scenes, such as when he invites her up to his hotel room, offers her a drink, and bed to bunk in, are surprisingly raw, at least for the time. Arthur and Wayne also seem to have chemistry together -- in fact, this is the only film in which I've seen him play opposite a gal when the sizzle seemed real... It's a funny film with an offbeat sense of humor, one that's worth seeing particularly if your a fan of Jean Arthur's work... She's about as cute as ever in this one!