A Lady Takes a Chance (1943)

49% of users liked it
(1,730 ratings)

Manhattan working girl Jean Arthur bids goodbye to her three erstwhile suitors (Grant Withers, Hans Conried and Grady Sutton) to take a bus tour of the west. En route, she meets handsome rodeo-star John Wayne, whose bucking bronco hurls him directly into her lap. Stranded in a tank town with Wayne… More Manhattan working girl Jean Arthur bids goodbye to her three erstwhile suitors (Grant Withers, Hans Conried and Grady Sutton) to take a bus tour of the west. En route, she meets handsome rodeo-star John Wayne, whose bucking bronco hurls him directly into her lap. Stranded in a tank town with Wayne and his sidekick Charles Winninger, Arthur is introduced to the sort of frontier activities not covered by the tour books: gambling, boozing and brawling. Not surprisingly, Arthur wants to hightail it back to the East, but by now Wayne has fallen in love with her. Lady Takes a Chance was produced for RKO by Jean Arthur's then-husband, Frank Ross. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: William A. Seiter, Henry Hathaway
Written By: Robert Ardrey, Jo Swerling
Genres: Western, Romance, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 19, 1943 Wide
On DVD: Jan 21, 2003

Critic Reviews

Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
War era comedy is nice turn for John Wayne, co-starring radiant Jean Arthur.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
In this light, minor fare, made before he became a star, Wayne is cast as Duke Hudkins (Duke was his nickname), an easy-going rodeo rider who treasures his indpendence. .
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A lightweight romantic comedy that's pleasing because of the easygoing relationship between stars Jean Arthur and John Wayne.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Conner R

This is really a combination of a lot of different genres and has interesting moments, it just doesn't really go anywhere. The only praise I have for it is John Wayne, he still manages to be charming and cool. I think it fails mainly in that it takes the perspective of Jean… More
This is really a combination of a lot of different genres and has interesting moments, it just doesn't really go anywhere. The only praise I have for it is John Wayne, he still manages to be charming and cool. I think it fails mainly in that it takes the perspective of Jean Arthur's character when she really isn't all that strong.
jay n

Silly comedy of opposites attracting with Arthur and Wayne the oil and water couple. They don't have the greatest chemistry but with each doing their patented bit the film is easy enough to take.