Maisie Goes to Reno

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.

Maisie Ravier (Ann Sothern) is cracking after working 16 straight months at the airplane factory. She is ordered to take a 2 week vacation with pay. Tommy Cutter offers her a singing job with him in Reno. At the bus station, she encounters Sergeant Bill Fullerton who wants her to deliver a letter to his wife Gloria. In Reno, she falls for blackjack dealer "Flip" Hennahan (John Hodiak) who drives her to Gloria. Unbeknownst to her, Gloria is being manipulated to divorce Bill.

I'm a little back and forth with Flip. He's not really necessary for a good movie. It could be a more fun caper without him. I'm not sure about the reason for the scheme either. I have my guesses. I like screwball caper part of the movie. I like bellboy Jerry. I still like Maisie and that's the main thing.

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.

Plot-- Maisie takes a vacation to Reno from her demanding wartime job. At the train station she gets caught up with a likable soldier being sent abroad. There she agrees to take a letter to his wife in Reno pleading with her to stop divorce proceedings. Trouble is things are not what they seem at the wife's Reno household.

Lesser entry in the Maisie series. The series draw, of course, is Sothern's spunky turn as the sassy blonde. Problem here is that the supporting roles are all sober-sides (except for Byron Foulger's last-minute goofy doctor), who too often squelch Maisie's comedic spark. Thus the amusement doesn't spread. Then too, the slender plot gets dragged out over 90-minutes minus needed comedic mood. Then too, the storyline meanders rather than builds.

On the other hand, the opening scenes are a good taste of wartime America, with crowded trains, ration cards, and Maisie the Riveter. I wish that had carried over to the body of the movie. Also, I thought we'd get more swing-time band numbers given Maisie's employment with a band.

Anyway, the tall, striking Hodiak is made for film noir not comedy, while the equally striking Gardner is largely wasted in a lesser role, still early in her career. At the same time, 1944 was a big year for all-American boy Tom Drake, what with his key role in the classic Meet Me In St. Louis (1944). Too bad his career never flowered. And what about that Mickey Rooney look- alike as the bellhop. I kept having to tell myself it's really not Rooney.

All in all, the series and actress Sothern are better than this particular installment.

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."