A Lady Takes a Chance 1943

Three of her suitors protest when Molly J. Truesdale, Jean Arthur boards a bus from New York City to discover the American West. What unfolds is a light, romantic road-movie that follows a spirited leading woman on a collision course with a charming rogue. At a rodeo, a bucking bronco tosses rider Duke Hudkins, John Wayne, into Molly’s lap, and the moment seeds a curious tension. Duke buys her a beer and Molly brings him luck while gambling, but from the start, Waco, Charles Winninger, warns that Duke is not the kind of man who will settle down. Whenever Duke warms to her charms, Molly panics and shies away, even as the pair are drawn into a string of social stops, dances, and small-town adventures as their tour bus barrels along.

The trio—Molly, Duke, and Waco—are pulled from different worlds, and Duke’s escorting of Molly to various places and events becomes a dance of attraction and independence. When Molly learns that her tour bus has left without her, her pride prevents her from accepting help from Duke and Waco, so she plans to hitchhike herself. Yet in the dead of night she meekly accepts a ride to the next bus depot from them, and the bond between them quietly deepens.

The three camp outdoors, and the night air contrasts with the comfort the cowboys enjoy. Molly is uncomfortable, so she takes a horse blanket from Duke’s horse Sammy. The next day, Duke is incensed when Sammy catches pneumonia, a moment that injects both humor and a touch of consequence into the journey. Molly makes one last-ditch effort to snare Duke with an elegant dinner, but Duke refuses to sacrifice his freedom for love.

Defeated, Molly returns to New York and her waiting suitors, who are astonished when Duke suddenly appears to claim her. In a gesture that hints at a new likelihood, the two decide to take the same tour bus back to the West, suggesting that the road ahead could belong to both of them after all.