Rendezvous (1935)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

William K. Howard

Writers:

Herbert O. Yardley (book)
Bella Spewack (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

25 October 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Tagline:

Bill Solves an Exciting Mystery and Wins a New Sweetheart!

Plot:

In 1917 Lt. Bill Gordon is headed for France when he meets and becomes friendly with Joel Carter, niece of the Asst...

Plot Keywords:

Spy | War Department | Secret Code | Suicide | Washington D.C.

Cast

William Powell	...	Lt. William 'Bill' Gordon / Anson Meridan
Rosalind Russell	...	Joel Carter
Binnie Barnes	...	Olivia Karloff
Lionel Atwill	...	Maj. William Brennan
Cesar Romero	...	Capt. Nicholas 'Nikki' Nieterstein
Samuel S. Hinds	...	John Carter, Assistant Secretary of War
Henry Stephenson	...	Russian Ambassador Gregory
Frank Reicher	...	Dr. R.A. Jackson
Charley Grapewin	...	Prof. Martin
Leonard Mudie	...	Roberts
Howard C. Hickman	...	G-Man (as Howard Hickman)
Charles Trowbridge	...	Secretary of War Baker
Murray Kinnell	...	De Segroff

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Movie Connections:

Remade as Pacific Rendezvous (1942)

Soundtrack:

Till We Meet Again

German Spys Don't Fool William Powell

While Myrna Loy was in one of her sit down strike moods looking for better scripts out of MGM, Rosalind Russell who Louis B. Mayer signed as a backup to Loy got her chance at a lead in Rendezvous. Her performance her was an object lesson to Loy from Mayer purportedly saying I can always get another Nora Charles.

While I personally doubt that, there is no doubt that Russell filled in admirably in this espionage comedy/drama set in Washington, DC during the days immediately following American entry to World War I. And of course her leading man is William Powell.

The film is actually based on the real life American cryptography expert H.O. Yardley who wrote a book about our code room in the War Department of Newton D. Baker. Baker himself makes a brief appearance here played by Charles Trowbridge. Yardley worked there and Powell's character is based on him.

I doubt very much if Yardley got involved with a beautiful bubbleheaded heiress like Russell who's uncle just happens to be Baker's assistant secretary Samuel S. Hinds. Nor was he playing as secret agent to trap a beautiful German spy like Binnie Barnes.

Powell's a veritable James Bond, charming and debonair as always more hindered than helped by Russell as he was in the Thin Man series by Loy. It would do well to remember that there was no Thin Man series as such yet. There was only one Thin Man movie made at the time so Mayer had a bit more leverage with Myrna back then. And Russell was almost a newcomer herself having made her debut as a second lead in another Powell-Loy film, Evelyn Prentice.

There are some good performances here by Lionel Atwill from British intelligence who is compromised and killed by Barnes and from Cesar Romero from the Russian embassy working as part of the German spy ring. Barnes herself essays the role of the cool villainess with grace and style that was her trademark.

In fact for fans of Powell and Russell of which I am both, this is an entertaining and stylish film all around.