Customer Reviews

Without Reservations

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was in grade school and we lived in New Jersey there was a television station out of New York City that would show the same movie every afternoon for the entire week. There were two movies that I remember watching five afternoons in a row after school (or maybe it was during the summer). One was the Steve Reeve's 1962 film "The Trojan Horse" ("La Troia di Guerra") and the other was this 1946 comedy from director Mervyn LeRoy starring Claudette Colbert, John Wayne, and Don Defore.

"Without Reservations" is based on the novel "Thanks, God! I'll Take It From Here" by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston. Colbert plays author Christopher "Kit" Madden who has written a best selling novel entitled "Here is Tomorrow." She ends up being a cross between Ayn Rand, in that her novel speaks to an idealized type of man, and Margaret Mitchell, in that she cannot find anybody in Hollywood who could possibly play Mark Winston, her hero, and has started a nation wide search for an unknown. However, when she hops on a train to travel from New York to Hollywood she gets bumped from her first-class accommodations and has to ride coach. She meets two traveling Army aviators, Rusty Thomas (Wayne) and his buddy Dink Watson (DeFore). Rusty is Mark Winston incarnate and Kit thinks he would be perfect for the role. But Rusty has no use for Hollywood (or "Here is Tomorrow") so Kit has to pretend she is somebody else and comes up with the last name of Klotch (this raises some eyebrows all around).

This romantic comedy follows the trio as Kit tries to get Rusty to Hollywood. Of course she falls for him as they travel together and she has to keep scrambling to keep her identity a secret. One of my favorite scenes is where she goes into a liquor store and scores several bottles by convincing the owner she is Kit Madden by reciting the part of her book her is reading. Meanwhile he is convincing her that she really needs to rethink her idea of what a real man should be. When he finds out the truth, Rusty is not happy and Kit has to scramble to bring about the requisite happy ending.

Overall this is a film whose chief virtue is its charm. You expect Colbert to be able to do romantic comedy, but Wayne's deftness has to surprise you a bit. Anne Triola steals several scenes as a "beetle" whose path keeps crossing that of the boys. Jack Benny has a nice cameo appearance as himself, seeking an autograph from Christopher Madden, and Miss Louella Parsons, Cary Grant, and Dolores Moran show up as themselves as well. LeRoy also does something interesting with the final shot, which is of Kit's bed while we hear the couple reconcile off-camera.

I still catch this movie every time I stumble across it and while it is not a great romantic comedy it is still a nice little film that you should check out sometime when you stumble across it.

This movie is a hidden classic and has to be one of John Wayne's more delightful roles. It also stars Claudette Colbert and Dan DeFore. You gotta see this one!

I would highly recommend this film to anyone. It's funny romantic, and a very entertaining story starring John Wayne and
Claudette Colbert. They both make a great pair in the film. It's a real classic.

Without Reservations
The Movie
This movie has obviously been influenced by Singing in the Rain, which isn't a bad thing. It takes the formula without of course the musical and runs with it 2 guys one gal the main guy falls for the girl she falls for him and yes it even rains on them go figure......lol. It's a story of a writer Christopher Madden who rights a book the book is bought to be made a movie. She boards a train and bam there the duke. From there the fun begins. This movie shows the lighter side of the duke which is always fun to watch.

The Video:
Made in 1944 it is black and white full frame. It's nothing spectacular. It could use a cleaning, but it watch able.

The Audio
Presented in 1.0 mono so it's and old movie that's not been updated.

The Extras
I Love My Husband But
A very Looney tunes episode like story about the different types of husbands and the wife who deal with them. I have no real idea why this is here. It was made in 1947 and Without Reservations was made in 1946 so I am not sure why it is here. It is silly and something to watch once.

Holiday for Shoestrings
This is the shoemaker and the elves story from Merrie Melodies that ran before this movie aired it is a charming cartoon. One that I am sure many of us have seen many many times a very nice addition to the collection.

Summary:
All in all a good picture nothing to go crazy over but as for a duke picture it's a nice ride for a couple of hours. The DVD is well done with nice menus and a couple of extras that make it a night at the movies.

I have a number of reservations about WITHOUT RESERVATIONS. Director Mervyn LeRoy clearly had in mind another IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, also starring Claudette Colbert several years earlier. But in that film (1939), Frank Capra had a sure blend of love on the road with Colbert and Clark Gable bouncing off each other at all the right moments. Here LeRoy tries mightily to recapture that same magic blend but here, he misfires in key areas. It is not Colbert's fault since she is sweet and bouncy as always. The problem is John Wayne as the love interest. He tries to be convincing and there are a few scenes where his acting saves that scene, but the trouble is that he is all wrong for the part. There are far too many scenes where he manhandles Colbert all in the name of romance. He might just as well have been roping a steer. Wayne and Colbert have to carry the action since Don DeFore adds little to the mix. LeRoy uses several big names in cameos (Cary Grant & Jack Benny) but that is no way to convince the audience that this film is worth watching. What comes across as a subtext is one that no one at the time probably would even notice. Nearly every young man in the film is wearing a military uniform, thereby affirming the tacit assumption that Hollywood stood squarely behind winning the just ended war. It was refreshing to see all concerned as viewing the military in a positive light, even if the plotting strained believability.

Very good. Funny. I would recommend this. Typical John Wayne. Not his western style but his army style.

The tale of two USMC officers riding on a train, clowning around with Claudette Cobert. What better plot could there be, too bad the writers didn't rise to the challenge. There is little question that Mr. Wayne could (and has) have carried this movie's storyline by himself if given a chance to do so with a stronger script. However, even the Duke needs something to work with. Predictable plot and less than stellar performances from the supporting cast, and you'll no doubt want to find some duck tape to gag the reappearing waitress throughout the movie. Plus, there is no doubt that this is not the Duke's best work. Simply put, John Wayne was out-acted in this movie by Don Defore - best known for his work on the TV series Hazel. Claudette Colbert was her vintage self, a joy to watch but the script let her down. Surprise appearances by Cary Grant, Raymond Burr, Jack Benny and others provide some relief and diversion from the movie's pace. Not by any means a terrible movie, but one that can easily be missed without any degree of guilt. Purchase this film as a novelty to add to your collection, but do not count on it for an evening of entertainment.

The movie "Without Reservations" was very good and in excellent condition as well as its case. I like the message of the movie even it is not in color. Thanks RWM

Without Reservations is a sparkling comedy. Straight-up, delightful, and adult, there is no coyness. You'd never think of pairing John Wayne with Claudette Colbert, but boy does it work. Full of surprises, this is entertainment.

In 1946 John Wayne (1907-79) was a big star as a result of such films as "Stagecoach" (1939), "Dark Command" (1940) and a bevy of WW 2 films like "Flying Tigers" (1942), "The Fighting Seabees" (1944), "Back to Bataan" (1945) and "They Were Expendable" (1945). Concerned with being typecast (as he was in the 30s) he desired to branch out, so he jumped at the chance to do a comedy, especially with Claudette Colbert who was one of the Queen's of comedies.

Claudette Colbert (1903-96) won the Oscar in 1934 for "It Happened One Night" and was nominated in 1936 ("Private Worlds") and 1945 ("Since You Went Away"). In 1987 she won the Golden Globe for a TV show "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles", her last film. In her 50 years of performing, she made more than 50 films, though 35 of them were in the 30s and included such memorable films as "It's a Wonderful World" (1939), "Under Two Flags" (1936), and "Drums Along the Mohawk" (1939).

This was the first and only time Colbert and Wayne worked together.

Mervyn LeRoy (1900-87) directs. He started out directing with "Little Caesar" (1931) and went on to achieve an Oscar nomination for "Random Harvest" (1942) and DGA nominations for "Quo Vadis" (1951), "Mister Roberts" (1955) and "A Majority of One" (1961) and a Golden Globe nomination for "Gypsy" (1962). Among the nearly 80 films he directed were "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" (1932), "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), and "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" (1944). LeRoy was not known for his comedies.

The film has some brief cameos by Jack Benny, Cary Grant, and Louella Parsons as themselves.

In 1946 the biggest hits were "Song of the South", "Duel in the Sun", "The Best Years of our Lives", "The Postman Always Rings Twice", and "Blue Skies". The big Oscar winner was "The Best Years of our Lives" (Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor). Other notable films were Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life", Bogart and Bacall in "The Big Sleep", Burt Lancaster in "The Killers", and "The Yearling".

If you've seen "It Happened One Night" you've seen this film, only you had more chance to laugh with the former. In that Oscar winning film, Colbert travels across country, under an assumed name, meets a tall dark stranger, they fall in love, and stuff happens. Ditto here, absent the laughs. Although the NY Times' Bosley Crowther found some "glib and engaging fun" he must have been doing some deep digging.

Give this one a miss. Colbert has been funnier in many other films, and comedy was not the forte of Wayne or LeRoy.