She Had to Say Yes is a 1933 film directed by George Amy and Busby Berkeley.
Sol Glass's clothing business is facing tough times, as almost every business is during the Great Depression. Glass and his salesmen have been providing "customer girls", who are apparently more or less hookers, to help make deals with retailers. Unfortunately, it seems that the retailers that Glass does business with don't much care for the customer girls who Glass's salesmen have been pimping out, and so Glass is losing business to other manufacturers.
Tommy Nelson, a smarmy weasel who also happens to be one of Glass's top salesmen, comes up with a new idea. Why don't they asks the stenographers in the office to prostitute themselves—um, "entertain customers"? Glass goes to the steno pool and makes his offer, and most of the secretaries are willing to do it. As it happens, Tommy is dating one of the stenographers, Florence Denny (Loretta Young). He doesn't want his girlfriend to go around humping fat, old businessmen, so Flo doesn't jump from the steno pool to the customer girl pool.
Only it seems that Flo is a little too virginal for Tommy's tastes. He starts cheating on her, with Birdie, a much more accommodating woman from the steno pool. He then manipulates Flo into going out on a date with a customer, one Daniel Drew. Daniel acts all charming but then starts getting rapey, and Flo winds up beating a hasty retreat from the hotel room. Daniel is apologetic, and then starts telling Flo that he's in love with her—but does Tommy want Flo back?
Busby Berkeley's first movie as a director. It isn't a musical and so does not have a Busby Berkeley Number but it does have the scantily-clad Fanservice women seen in so many of his films.
Tropes:
- Chiaroscuro: The scene towards the end where David nearly rapes Flo is shot dark and shadowy, with him manhandling her in a bedroom that is lit only from the outside, presumably from moonlight.
- Fanservice Extra: A brief sequence during the opening montage shows fashion models in getting dressed in lingerie and modeling said lingerie for customers.
- Follow That Car: "Follow that roadster!", says Tommy, after David and Flo take off from the restaurant.
- Gold Digger: This exact phrase is used to describe the unsatisfactory "customer girls" that the Glass company has been providing their retailers. It's a little vague but apparently the women in question have been demanding direct cash payments for sex.
- Leg Focus: It's a Busby Berkeley movie.
- One of the first shots of the film focuses on the stocking-clad leg of a model who is about to wear a Glass dress.
- In the scene where Glass goes into the steno room to talk the ladies into becoming quasi-prostitutes, several of them are sitting on desks, and the camera catches several pairs of legs dangling.
- Lingerie Scene:
- Glass models showing off the company's lingerie in the opening montage.
- A later scene shows Flo in her apartment in a slip.
- Literal Ass-Kicking: When a customer is reluctant to leave Flo's sassy friend Maizie, Maizie kicks him in the butt and sends him off to the stairs.
- Male Gaze: Tommy has escorted Mr. Haines, a customer, into the stenography room to pick out his babe for the evening. He suggests Birdie. Haines says "Birdie, she's the one with—", and at that moment the camera shows Birdie bending down as she goes into a filing cabinet, presenting her bottom to the camera. Tommy says "That's her."
- Match Cut: From Flo stubbing out a cigarette to Haines signing a contract, after Flo maneuvered him into a compromising position and basically forced him to sign to avoid getting busted by his wife.
- My Girl Is Not a Slut: Both Tommy and David get violently angry when they think Flo might have had sex with another man.
- Near-Rape Experience: David is violently manhandling Flo and it's clear he's about to rape her. Finally she gives up resisting and sort of collapses onto a chaise lounge. David makes a sneering comment about how she stopped fighting, only to be brought up short when she says "Is that all I mean to you, David?" With that he walks out of the room.
- Off-into-the-Distance Ending: Ends with Flo and Daniel walking back into the mansion to have sex.
- Reveal Shot: Tommy is in a phone booth, calling Flo and telling her he can't make the show that night. Then a glove-clad hand comes into frame and takes the cigarette out of his mouth. The camera pans to show Birdie nestled right up next to him, revealing that Tommy is cheating on Flo.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: A very cynical take on dating, office romances, and predatory men. Both Tommy and Daniel are horrible hypocrites who very much want to have sex with Flo but condemn her as a whore when they think she's had sex with someone else. Flo for her part isn't all that enthusiastic when she agrees to marry Daniel at the end, saying it's "choosing the lesser evil."
- Video Credits: Of all the main players at the beginning of the film, which was Warner Brothers/First National house style in this era.
