Name: Reet, Petite and Gone
Released: 1947
Duration: 1 min 9 s
Cast: Louis Jordan, June Richmond, Milton Woods, Bea Griffith, David Bethea

Cast & Crew

Film Details

Release Date

Jan 1947

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Astor Pictures Corp.

Distribution Company

State Rights

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 9m

Film Length

6,408ft

Synopsis

While performing in a radio studio with his band, singer Louis Jarvis receives the urgent message that his father, Schyler Jarvis, is on his deathbed. Meanwhile, the beautiful Honey Carter travels to New York City by plane with her best friend, June. Honey had been contacted by Schyler, who wanted to see her before his death as he was once in love with her late mother, singer Lovey Linn. In response to June's queries, Honey relates how, many years ago, the young Schyler met her mother in New Orleans and invited her to New York to become his singing partner. Lovey and Schyler wanted to marry, but Lovey's mother refused her consent and forced Lovey to marry a wealthier man. Honey's father, who died when she was a child, subsequently lost his money in the Great Depression, and Lovey never forgot Schyler, her first love, who went on to become famous and wealthy. Before the arrival of Honey and Louis, Schyler confers a sealed letter to his trusty valet, asking that it not be opened until four weeks after his death. Worried that Louis will never meet his true love, Schyler cryptically declares that his will has been designed to help Louis in his quest. After sending for his lawyer, Henry Talbot, Schyler dictates the terms of his will as Talbot's secretary, Rusty, types the document. The will states that Louis must marry a young woman of a very specific physical description or risk losing his father's sizeable estate. Immediately after signing the will, Schyler dies. Before heading off to the airport to send Honey back home, the greedy Talbot instructs Rusty to change the will to suit her physical description and to add the clause that the estate goes to Talbot if Louis does not comply with the terms of the will. At the airport, Talbot gives Honey and June plane fare home, but they decide to use the money to stay in New York. After Honey reveals that she met Schyler and Louis at her mother's funeral, June urges Honey to approach Louis for a job, but Honey demurs. She changes her mind when Louis' press agent, Sam Adams, announces on the radio that an open audition will be held for the female lead of Louis' next Broadway show. The only catch is that, in addition to singing and dancing, the lucky girl must have the specific physical dimensions required for the job and must wear a bathing suit at the audition so that she can be measured. At the audition, Sam checks each contestant's height and measures a seemingly endless series of busts, waists, hips and thighs, but none of the young women has the qualifications specified in Schyler's will. Honey shows up late and shyly disrobes down to a bathing suit, but her measurements don't meet the requirements either. Nevertheless, Louis is smitten, and when he learns that Honey is Lovey Linn's daughter, he asks her out on a dinner date. Learning of Honey's dire financial situation, Louis promises her a job in the show and also hires June after hearing her sing at the following day's rehearsal. Much to their dismay, Louis and Sam learn that their primary backer, Mr. Baxter, is pulling out of the show. Later, at Talbot's office, Louis realizes that Talbot has bribed Baxter in an attempt to trick Louis into marrying Rusty out of desperation for his father's money, as she is the only woman who matches the description in Schyler's will. Even though it means closing his show, Louis refuses because he has fallen in love with Honey. The angry conversation is interrupted when Schyler's valet phones, asking Louis and Talbot to meet him for the unsealing of the secret letter Schyler entrusted to him. The letter reveals the true description of the girl Louis is to marry, and explicitly states Schyler's desire that Honey and Louis find each other. Talbot is unmasked as a fraud, and he and Rusty are taken away by the police. Louis' show then goes on as scheduled and, at its finale, he croons a love song to Honey, his future wife.