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Surprisingly incoherent and boring

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Copyright 4 August 1950 by Roxbury Productions, Inc. Released through United Artists. New York opening at the Palace: 12 October 1950. U.S. release: 4 August 1950. U.K. release: 9 April 1951. Australian release: 13 July 1951. Running times: 87 minutes (USA), 80 minutes (UK), 65 minutes (Aust).SYNOPSIS: An extremely diminutive but aggressively meddling young woman innocently tries to wreck the lives of four ex-combat servicemen.COMMENT: By independent standards this movie has good production values, including smart sets and lustrous photography, smooth direction and silky film editing. The cast is very capable too. The trouble is the script. Although it offers some promising ideas, it tends to fall between two stools: Too talky but insufficiently witty for a comedy of manners; too clumsy and insufficiently fast-paced for slapstick, though it does have a couple of frantic episodes. The most effective episode has O'Brien slowly beaten up in a prize ring in which Rogell and O'Brien successfully bring off an extremely difficult balancing act. It's funny but it's horrifying. All our sympathy is with O'Brien, but we can't help laughing at him. This sequence alone makes The Admiral Was a Lady worth watching.If O'Brien seems over-boorish in the early stages of the film, put up with him. His character develops. Unfortunately the other players are stuck with more pasteboard figures. Wanda Hendrix is doubly unfortunate. Not only is she an unsympathetic, over-talkative, meddling little fool, but she stays stupid for the whole film. Her devotion to the mysterious Henry seems ill-balanced. The other players have little to do, including Rudy Vallee. We keep waiting for him to come back, but when he does, he doesn't fulfill our expectations.OTHER VIEWS: Saddled with a script that obviously thinks it's much funnier than it actually is, The Admiral Was a Lady offers moderate entertainment at best. Rudy Vallee is wasted in a thankless role. Of course it would all be improved a good deal by cutting. I wonder what the U.K. and Australian prints are like? -- JHR writing as George Addison.

Following service in World War II, four pals - former employment agent Edmond O'Brien (as James "Jimmy" Stevens), boxer Steve Brodie (as Mike O'Halloran), interior decorator Johnny Sands (as Eddie Hoff), and cab driver Richard Erdman (as Oliver "Ollie" Bonelli) - return to civilian life. But, the four men don't want work to interfere with collecting veterans benefits. On the unemployment line, they meet pretty WAVE Wanda Hendrix (as Jean "The Admiral" Madison), and romance ensues. The curiously mismatched cast start out at a disadvantage, and only make up for the incongruence in a couple of supporting roles.**** The Admiral Was a Lady (8/4/50) Albert S. Rogell ~ Edmond O'Brien, Wanda Hendrix, Johnny Sands, Steve Brodie

I agree with the other reviewer that this is one of the best in screwball comedies and deserves more recognition than it has gotten in the past. I came across it quite by accident when purchasing a 50 movie video collection. There were some Stooges (not too fond of), East Side Kids (ok but not attractive enough), and a few other good and unusual movies. THIS one stood out as probably one of the best in the collection for its zany twists and turns and fun all around. As another viewer said, it has an unique twist to the "returning soldier" story. I would think it would fit best under the Preston Sturges movies for the amazing wild and funny antics, Rudy Vallee with the ever persistent glasses that Sturges first placed on his nose in Palm Beach Story, and the heart that demonstrates that even the crazies of men with the craziest ideas has a definite purpose in mind and not so crazy after all.Rudy Vallee and Hillary Brooke as Peter and Shirley Pedigrew nearly steal the show with their wacky relationship, but the sweet romance that builds from the very beginning when Jimmy sees the Admiral is full of innocence and charm.This is one of those movies that you wish had even more than what has been presented to you because you don't want it to stop. You want more.This is a perfect example that there are still hidden gems out there in the Golden Age of Hollywood that are still undiscovered.

The Hollywood treatment of the problems of returning servicemen after World War 2 took many forms - sob stories, psychological dramas, films noirs, even musicals - but this film is unusual, perhaps even unique, in giving them an irreverent screwball slant. The script sparkles with wise-cracking dialogue, and the action proceeds headlong in unpredictable directions. It is the sort of movie that the phrase "never a dull moment" was coined for. The two leads did full justice to their parts, but they lacked the star status to impress the critics. If Claudette Colbert and Cary Grant had been cast, or Jean Arthur and Jimmy Stewart, they could have performed no better, but this film would now be assured of its place in the annals of screwball comedy instead of being neglected and almost forgotten. Luckily it is not lost. It is available on DVD in eminently watchable condition, albeit without the full restoration that it deserves.