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IMDbPro

Without Reservations

  • 19461946
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
John Wayne and Dona Drake in 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.
Play trailer1:52
1 Video
48 Photos
  • Comedy
  • Romance
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Mervyn LeRoy
  • Writers
    • Andrew Solt(screenplay)
    • Jane Allen(novel)
    • Mae Livingston(novel)
  • Stars
    • Claudette Colbert
    • John Wayne
    • Don DeFore
Top credits
  • Director
    • Mervyn LeRoy
  • Writers
    • Andrew Solt(screenplay)
    • Jane Allen(novel)
    • Mae Livingston(novel)
  • Stars
    • Claudette Colbert
    • John Wayne
    • Don DeFore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 34User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:52
    Official Trailer

    Photos48

    John Wayne and Claudette Colbert in Without Reservations (1946)
    John Wayne and Dona Drake in Without Reservations (1946)
    John Wayne and Dona Drake in Without Reservations (1946)
    John Wayne, Claudette Colbert, and Don DeFore in Without Reservations (1946)
    John Wayne, Claudette Colbert, and Thurston Hall in Without Reservations (1946)
    "Without Reservations," RKO 1946. John Wayne and Claudette Colbert.
    John Wayne and Claudette Colbert in Without Reservations (1946)
    John Wayne, Claudette Colbert, and Don DeFore in Without Reservations (1946)
    John Wayne and Dona Drake in Without Reservations (1946)
    John Wayne, Claudette Colbert, Don DeFore, and Anne Triola in Without Reservations (1946)
    John Wayne and Don DeFore in Without Reservations (1946)
    John Wayne, Claudette Colbert, Griff Barnett, and Tom Chatterton in Without Reservations (1946)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Claudette Colbert
    Claudette Colbert
    • Kit Maddenas Kit Madden
    John Wayne
    John Wayne
    • Captain 'Rusty' Thomasas Captain 'Rusty' Thomas
    Don DeFore
    Don DeFore
    • Lieutenant 'Dink' Watsonas Lieutenant 'Dink' Watson
    Anne Triola
    Anne Triola
    • Connieas Connie
    Phil Brown
    Phil Brown
    • Soldieras Soldier
    Frank Puglia
    Frank Puglia
    • Ortegaas Ortega
    Thurston Hall
    Thurston Hall
    • Baldwinas Baldwin
    Dona Drake
    Dona Drake
    • Dolores Ortegaas Dolores Ortega
    Fernando Alvarado
    Fernando Alvarado
    • Mexican Boyas Mexican Boy
    Charles Arnt
    Charles Arnt
    • Salesmanas Salesman
    Louella Parsons
    Louella Parsons
    • Louella Parsonsas Louella Parsons
    • (as Miss Louella Parsons)
    Eric Alden
    Eric Alden
    • Chauffeuras Chauffeur
    • (uncredited)
    Fred Aldrich
    Fred Aldrich
    • Train Passengeras Train Passenger
    • (uncredited)
    Jose Alvarado
    • Mexican Boyas Mexican Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Ernest Anderson
    Ernest Anderson
    • Dining Car Waiteras Dining Car Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Anderson
    Robert Anderson
    • Radio Announceras Radio Announcer
    • (uncredited)
    Lois Austin
    • Senatoras Senator
    • (uncredited)
    Griff Barnett
    Griff Barnett
    • Train Conductoras Train Conductor
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Mervyn LeRoy
    • Writers
      • Andrew Solt(screenplay)
      • Jane Allen(novel)
      • Mae Livingston(novel)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Cary Grant also makes a cameo appearance.
    • Goofs
      Just before Louella Parsons is seen in the radio studio, an exterior shot shows a building with the name NBC, but when Parsons is at the mic, it is marked ABC.
    • 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 too 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!

    • Connections
      Featured in Discovering Film: Claudette Colbert (2015)
    • Soundtracks
      Cow Cow Boogie
      Music by Don Raye

      Lyrics by Benny Carter and Gene de Paul

      Played in club car on train to California

    User reviews34

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    An author meets her fictional hero in person - so she thinks
    Claudette Colbert chases a soldier "Without Reservations" in this 1946 film which also stars John Wayne, Don DeFore, and Ann Triola, with cameos by Louella Parsons, Cary Grant, Jack Benny, and Delores Moran as themselves.

    Colbert plays a best-selling author, Christopher Madden, who has written a book about the world post-war - it looks to be a combination of "Gone with the Wind" and "Atlas Shrugged." En route by train to Hollywood to do the screenplay, she is extremely distressed to learn that Cary Grant will not be available to do the movie version.

    She is writing a telegram to the producer when she comes face to face with her fictional hero in the flesh. He's a soldier named Rusty (Wayne) going to San Diego with his pal, Dink (DeFore). She doesn't tell them her identity, giving her name as Kit Klatch.

    Kit decides she has to have Rusty star in the film so instead of boarding the train that will take her to L.A., she gets on the train going to San Diego. This leads to all sorts of adventures for the threesome, and it's obvious that Kit and Rusty, despite very opposing political views, have fallen in love.

    Colbert is delightful as usual, and DeFore, kind of a Jack Carson type, is always pleasant to watch. The surprise for some will be John Wayne who's not riding a horse or wearing a cowboy hat. Frankly, this writer has always preferred him that way. I'm not a particular fan of westerns, and the plainclothes Wayne seems handsomer and less stiff somehow.

    Here, he's playing the role of someone whose beliefs are close to his own in real life, i.e., somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan, while the Colbert character is a socialist. Tall and handsome, he does the romantic scenes well; one wishes he'd stayed out of the saddle more often.

    This is a light, fun comedy that takes place in a world that, like Kit, doesn't quite know which direction to take post-World War II. Seventy-four years later, we still haven't figured it out, and "Without Reservations" remains an entertaining film.
    helpful•15
    2
    • blanche-2
    • May 25, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 13, 1946 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Thanks, God, I'll Take it From Here
    • Filming locations
      • Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,683,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 47 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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