Maisie Goes to Reno (1944)

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.

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.

In "Maisie Goes to Reno," our usually effervescent Maisie is burnt out working in a wartime factory and is sent on a vacation by her doctor. She accepts an offer to sing with her old band in Reno and relax by day but finds that in order to get there, she has to buy the ticket of a woman who's decided not to go. A soldier sees the transaction and begs Maisie to help him. Initially, he wants her ticket but when an MP informs him that his unit has been called in, he asks Maisie to take a note to his soon to be ex-wife in order to stop the divorce.In Reno, Maisie discovers that the man's wife (Ava Gardner) is being duped by two con artists into believing her husband just wants her money. Maisie herself becomes involved with an employee in the hotel casino (John Hodiak).Sothern does a fun rendition of "Panhandle Pete," Gardner is ravishing, and John Hodiak was never handsomer. Most of the "Maisie" series was pleasant without being overwhelming, though perhaps some of the earlier films were better. This one is okay, worth it to see Gardner and Hodiak in early roles - and of course, the always wonderful Sothern.

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.