Without Reservations (1946)

En route to Hollywood, an author becomes smitten with a marine, though he is unaware of her celebrity status and is critical of her best-selling novel.

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Andrew Solt (screenplay), Jane Allen (novel)

Stars:

Claudette Colbert, John Wayne, Don DeFore

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claudette Colbert	...	Kit
John Wayne	...	Rusty
Don DeFore	...	Dink
Anne Triola	...	Connie
Phil Brown	...	Soldier
Frank Puglia	...	Ortega
Thurston Hall	...	Baldwin
Dona Drake	...	Dolores
Fernando Alvarado	...	Mexican Boy
Charles Arnt	...	Salesman
Louella Parsons	...	Louella Parsons (as Miss Louella Parsons)

Storyline

Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes. She and Rusty are greatly attracted, but she doesn't know how to deal with his disdain for the book's author.

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Plot Keywords:

train | writer | novelist | mexican | chicago illinois | 

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Taglines:

Uh-oh! Danger Signals ahead!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Claudette Colbert's character travels to Hollywood to make a movie from her best-selling novel. Already cast is Lana Turner in the female lead. She meets John Wayne's character and decides to take him for a screen test, as the perfect type to play the male lead. Wayne would later star with Turner in The Sea Chase (1955).

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Goofs

When the three travelers go to the Ortega property, the road is a fairly steep hill that curves to the left. When they leave, they drive down a road with an "S" curve that is on nearly flat ground.

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Quotes

Rusty: Have you heard of some fellas, who first came over to this country? You know what they found? They found a howling wilderness, with summers to hot, and winters freezing. Did they have insurance for their old age, for their crops, for their homes? They did not. They looked at the land and the forest and the rivers they looked at their wives, their kids, and their houses. Then they looked up at the sky and said thanks God, we'll take it from here. They were men!

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Connections

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

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Soundtracks

Marines' Hymn
Music by Jacques Offenbach
(Incorrectly credited as Traditional)
Played when Rusty and Dink arrive at the jail

User Reviews

"Thanks, God. We'll take it from here."

Claudette Colbert plays a best-selling novelist on her way to Hollywood, where her book is being made into a movie. On the train she meets two Marines (John Wayne, Don DeFore). She immediately sees Wayne as the ideal man to play the lead character from her novel. Unfortunately for her, Wayne's read the novel and hates it, so she keeps her identity a secret as she travels with the two men to California.

Colbert is right at home playing a role similar to ones she had played a few times before. So it's no surprise she is good here. Nor is it a surprise that Don DeFore is good as Wayne's sidekick. But what may come as a surprise for many watching this is just how good John Wayne is at a light comedy role. Anne Triola is also lots of fun as Consuela Callaghan, described as a "beetle" by Wayne & DeFore. For what they mean by that you'll have to watch and see. Beautiful Dona Drake has a small part but she's always stunning to look at. Several celebrity cameos, including Cary Grant. The only time John Wayne and Cary Grant appeared in the same film, albeit not in the same scene. Very charming and funny romantic comedy, the second half of which is in the It Happened One Night vein.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

13 May 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Thanks, God, I'll Take it From Here

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,683,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 101 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1