Rendezvous

Not an often shown film, nor a great one, this is worth your time if TCM ever shows it again. The plot is somewhat dated but nevertheless interesting -- code breaking and spy catching -- if you ignore some of the excesses that were probably added by Hollywood. Folding in comedy, drama, and action into what would probably have made an excellent military training film, we are left unsatisfied with the overall effect. Yet there is a hint of the "Thin Man" chemistry between William Powell and Rosalind Russell that brings a smile to your lips. Fair but I am not sorry that I watched it.

I'm a big fan of William Powell, Rosalind Russell, screwball comedies, and old spy flicks. Wouldn't it have been nice for the two stars to have been in the same movie? After their amusing meeting near the beginning sets up a fine romantic comedy to follow, Powell glides into a serious espionage drama, while Russell goes full-throttle Gracie Allen ditz, with a side order of lovestruck Ginger Rogers.

Film series about The Thin Man, Bulldog Drummond or the lesser-known Torchy Blane, manage to blend the comedy and mystery elements into a harmonious union. This one plays out like a double bill that got spliced into a single mismatched plot. What a waste of talent and opportunity to start with such a promising pairing and end up with Russell's character so woefully out of place for the last 3/4 of the production.

With America just entering WWI, Bill Gordon (William Powell) joins the army as a lieutenant, ready to deploy to France and fight. Right before he deploys he "meets cute" a girl at a cocktail party, Joel Carter (Rosalind Russell). They have a bit of a whirlwind courtship, and Joel begs him to stay. Gordon refuses, but along with that refusal admits to Joel a secret about himself - He wrote the ultimate book on cracking codes under a pen name, and the War Department has been moving heaven and earth trying to find out who the author really is. The next morning, getting ready to board his boat, he is ordered to a desk job. Apparently, Joel is the niece of the assistant head of the War Department, and she has ratted him out as an ace code cracker in order to keep him around Washington. Complications ensue.

This was Rosalind Russell's first starring role, so she doesn't really have her screen persona down which she finally develops in "The Women" four years later. So MGM has her playing this annoying creature who causes trouble for Gordon every time she appears. No way do I believe he'd want her around after all of her frustrating antics.

This is almost like a movie actually made in 1917 - it is such an anachronism. First off, by 1935 when this was made, WWI was considered a waste of blood and treasure, and here Europe was feauding with Germany AGAIN. That is why Congress passed some laws to keep us out of any potential war there. Yet Gordon is practically George M. Cohen here, he is just so anxious to land in a trench in France. Then there are the German spies. Remember these are NOT the Nazis and the Nazis won't be taken seriously for another three years or so. But MGM has them acting exactly like Nazis - ready to turn on each other, ready to kill to save their spy ring.

Finally there is the cryptography issue. There were no computers in WWI, and so I'm sure standard blackboards and cryptography wheels were used as shown to crack codes, but the method that Gordon uses to crack the code - mainly a variation on the primitive Vigenère cipher - would be cracked relatively quickly and it would not take an ace cryptographer to do so. Forgive that digression into geekdom.

This is very much worth your time with great performance by William Powell as always and a look at Rosalind Russell in the beginning.

This is a so-so movie starring the wonderful William Powell. I swear the man could have brought the phone book to life. It's a film about a spy ring, breaking some codes, and finding the mole. Costars include young, dark-haired Cesar Romero (by the time I knew who he was, he had white hair), Binnie Barnes, Lionel Atwill, and Rosalind Russell in a very early - and very annoying role. Russell is pretty (except for what looked a clown costume turned into a woman's suit), and she was certainly a masterful actress/comedienne of stage and screen. But this was not a good part. In fact, as I was watching it, I thought, I wonder if anyone else found this character - well, not very likable. The character reminded me a little bit of Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby, where Hepburn pursued Grant. But Katharine Hepburn played an airhead, and Russell portrays a down to earth woman. Somehow, her making a nuisance of herself with Powell isn't as fun as seeing Hepburn do it.

Bottom line, it's just not a great script, but it is interesting to watch.

Most of these reviews mention how Russell was a poor replacement for Loy. I didn't really make that connection as I'm a fan of Russell's from My Girl Friday. She was much better in MGF, I will grant you, but it didn't lessen my enjoyment of Rendezvous just because Loy was not in it.

William Powell plays Bill Gordon, a genius puzzle solver, who gets duped into becoming a code breaker for the Army by Russell's Joel Carter when America enters WWI. She is the niece of the Asst Secretary of War and uses her connections to get Gordon placed at a desk in Washington D.C. to keep him near. Its supposed to be cute and romantic, but it comes off as spoiled and cruel. Gordon then goes on to break an important spy message and leads him to a ring of spies operating in town.

Powell is amazing as usual. The opening scene where Joel mistakes him for a Russian singer and Gordon plays along is vintage Powell. He had great comedic chops and timing. The code breaking scenes are fantastic as Powell conveys wit, genius, and tension as his character goes through the long hours and countless failures trying to crack the code. As I said, Russell has done better work. Her role is is to act as a ditsy foil to Powell and it doesn't work.

The supporting cast is brilliant. While Russell was a the weak link in her first major role, the rest of the cast does great work. Binnie Barnes and The Joker himself, Caesar Romero, as German spies are top notch. Lionel Atwill as Gordon's boss provides a looming presence. With a tighter script and less pratfalls from Russell, this could have been a wonderful spy drama. It seemed they tried too hard to shoehorn in the comedy instead of letting it develop naturally with the plot.

If you are fan of Powell's this is a movie that needs to be part of your viewing library. If not, focus on the code breaking scenes and its still a fun ride.