Vacation in Reno (1946)

A hapless husband searches for buried treasure at a dude ranch; meanwhile, his wife wants a divorce and bank robbers want him dead.

Director:

Leslie Goodwins

Writers:

Charles E. Roberts (screenplay), Arthur A. Ross (screenplay),

Stars:

Jack Haley, Anne Jeffreys, Wally Brown

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jack Haley	...	Jack Carroll
Anne Jeffreys	...	Eleanor
Wally Brown	...	Eddie Roberts
Iris Adrian	...	Bunny Wells
Morgan Conway	...	Joe
Alan Carney	...	Angel
Myrna Dell	...	Mrs. Dumont
Matt McHugh	...	William Dumont
Claire Carleton	...	Sally Beaver
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Sheriff (as Jason Robards)
Matt Willis	...	Hank, Deputy

Storyline

Jack Carroll and his wife have a phony argument to teach their friends a lesson, but when he makes a crack that her mother is a "fat porpoise," they fight for real and she leaves him. To make matters worse, Jack runs into two men just before they don masks and rob a bank. Now he is the only one who can identify them. In spite of all this, he takes a vacation in Reno; he is convinced he can use a metal detector to find buried treasure and realize his dream of starting a rabbit farm. Coincidentally, the bank robbers make their getaway to Reno and check into the same dude ranch as Jack. In fact, they bury a suitcase full of the loot and who should find it but hapless Jack himself. This is the just beginning of Jack's troubles, as he finds himself at odds with a deputy sheriff, a roughneck sailor and a gun moll who tries (for complicated reasons) to convince the police she is Mrs. Carroll. Worst of all, Jack's wife arrives and wants a divorce. Before this mess is cleared up, Jack will ...

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Plot Keywords:

bank | buried treasure | bank robber | divorce | dude ranch | 

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Taglines:

IT'S A LAUGH-SPREE IN RENO! (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 December 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Falsa Felicidade

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Eleanor Carroll checks in to the Bar Nothing Ranch, she is told that Mr. Carroll (her husband, Jack) is just down the hall in Room 222. However, when later we see Jack entering and exiting his room, the numbers on the door read 225.

User Reviews

Oh Mr. Tin Man, No!

For its first third or so, this resembles the very corniest of short subjects from its day, or earlier. It elicits more groans than laughs.

Jack Haley has a nice comic touch as we all know but the material here is from hunger.

About a third of the way into it, Haley ends up in the title city. Marital squabbling is replaced by bank robbers and confused identities. When the Robbers, Haley, his wife, a sailor and his wife, the sheriff, and assorted others are running from room to room, it turns into a sort of French farce. Not a funny French farce, mind you. More "oh not THAT again" than "ooh-la-la." The supporting cast is amusing, in a very broad way. Haley's mother-in-law, an actress unknown to me, is a monster as intended and is quite funny.

It seems like an older crowd, however, and somehow the lovely young Anne Jeffries is made up or directed, or both, to seem tired and worn down like the others.

It's not offensive in any way. And I sat through the whole thing. So I guess the real joke was on me.