Maisie Goes to Reno

For once, Maisie Ravier isn't losing a job on vaudeville, in a carnival or night club. "Maisie Goes to Reno" is the 8th of 10 films of the Maisie series by MGM. But now, our heroine has been working too hard at the war-time factory. So, the company doctor orders her to take a two-week vacation. Well, she runs into an old pal, Tommy Cutter, who happens to have a band and is heading for a gig at a hotel in Reno. He talks her into making her two-week vacation a return to singing with his band.

But, after being scammed by an old lady in the train depot and losing her money for a ticket, she gets her ticket from a G. I. He was on his way to try to stop his recent bride from divorcing him, but his leave has just been cancelled and he has to report back to base right away. In exchange for the ticket, Maisie agrees to take his letter and deliver it personally to the girl.

Well, Maisie winds up in another situation of skullduggery, but she is able to crack the case in the end so that the two lovebirds aren't divorced. In the meantime, of course, she has problems of her own over work and singing. How interesting this always is so that the audience never sees Ann Sothern sing or dance. Maisie falls for another guy, but has to put Flip off for moving too fast. Things get a little wacky in this one before it's over.

Here are some good lines from this film.

Flip Hennahan, "Take it easy! Take it Easy! What for? Do I have to buy you flowers and take you to the movies a whole year before I convince you?" Maisie Ravier, "Well, a girl does like to have flowers and a little romance before she's married. Heaven knows, few of them get it after."

Parsons, "You are an employee of this hotel. I'll see you in my office." Maisie, "Yes, sir. Shall I being the whip along or do you keep one handy?"

George, the blackjack dealer, "Aw, come now. Too much is plenty."

Maisie Ravier, "Flip, are you intimating again, that I'm a little nutsy?" Flip Hennahan, "Oh, no, honey, of course not. You've just been working too hard."

This middling entry in MGM's answer to Warner's Torchy Blaine series has Maisie going to Reno, getting involved in a mystery surrounding a divorcing couple.

It is a rather dull entry, the result of an uninvolving script and bland characterizations. Harry Beaumont, one of MGM's longtime B directors, does his best with the visual story telling, but even Anne Southern, aided and abetted by some up-and-coming players like Ava Gardner and John Hodiak can't do much with the story but talk fast.

MGM, once Thalberg was dead, never quite knew what to do with unglamorous characters and a smattering of 40s jive talk dates the story and gives an infantile air to the entire operation. For completest of the talent involved, but if you miss this, you won't suffer.

This eighth installment of the Maisie franchise is pretty strange and the plot very contrived. Yet, it still manages to entertain. It begins with Maisie being ordered to take a vacation from the defense plant, as she's exhausted and hasn't had a vacation in almost a year and a half. When she meets an old friend who is a band leader, he invites her to sing with his band in Reno. This way, her vacation will be paid for and all she'll need to do is get there. At the bus station, however, she meets a soldier (Tom Drake) who tells her a sob story in order to get her to give him her bus ticket. It seems his wife is now in Reno trying to get a divorce and he wants to stop her, as it's all just a bit misunderstanding. She gives him the ticket but then all leaves are canceled--and he's ordered back to camp. Maisie agrees to see the wife and deliver a letter to her.

When Maisie arrives at where the wife is staying, he gives her the letter and learns that the husband is a creep. Maisie is satisfied and decides to stay out of the situation. BUT, she then learns accidentally that the lady she spoke with is NOT the soldier's wife! What gives? Who is impersonating the wife and why? Perhaps it's because the real wife (Ava Gardner) is very rich and someone is trying to steal her fortune. The problem is no one believes Maisie and she has a devil of a time convincing any one! As I said, the plot is strange and contrived. But, it manages to be pretty entertaining as well--especially at the end. Not among the better Maisie films but all are awfully good, so it's worth your time.

I believe there is an error here. Ann Southern is not portraying Maisie, Bunny Waters is. Might be a good idea to correct this. It's a very entertaining movie and I'm enjoying it. But, I feel that credits need updating. Bunny Waters deserves the credit for this performance. Ann Southern is one of my favorite actresses, however, she is not playing this part. Ann appears in the movie a few times, but doesn't have a significant part, unfortunately. I am hoping the staff at IMDb can take care of this issue. I use IMDb All the time and I never seen an error that I knew of. I'm quite positive that I am right.

Maisie Goes To Reno finds Ann Sothern initially being Rosie the Riveteer at a defense plant. But when she starts getting snappish with her fellow workers and develops a nervous wink that other people throughout the film keep misinterpreting she gets on doctor's order a two week paid vacation in Reno. Salary and a chance to sing at night with Chick Chandler's Orchestra at one of the casinos.

Right there was a problem and I'm sure audiences must have vigorously scratched their heads and wondered how they could get to work in Maisie's factory. Some doctor might have prescribed a rest period, but a vacation with salary, that was just plain ridiculous for all the Rosies in the audience.

But on the way she gets involved with a young soldier Tom Drake who is on his way to Reno to divorce his wife. However Drake gets orders to go to his new camp and his leave is canceled. He gives Sothern a letter to deliver to the wife pleading for a second chance.

Maisie does as she's asked, but when she delivers the letter to Marta Linden she soon after smells a rat. In fact there are three rats in the picture. But no one wants to believe her. All I can say is that Paul Cavanaugh, Linden, and Bernard Nedell have a very interesting scheme afoot.

John Hodiak is also in the film, but he's thoroughly wasted in the part of a casino croupier who befriends Sothern. He was an up and coming player just as Tom Drake was with MGM at the time. Neither had the career of top stardom although both later turned in some really good performances.

However this was a film that also showcased Ava Gardner whose role I won't mention because that would give things away. She and Ann Sothern singing a nice rendition of Panhandle Pete are the best things that Maisie Goes To Reno has going.