Vacation in Reno (1946) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

Newlyweds try to survive their first fight.

Cast & Crew

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Leslie Goodwins

Jack Haley

Anne Jeffreys

Eleanor [Carroll]

Wally Brown

Iris Adrian

Morgan Conway

Film Details

Also Known As

Double Trouble

Genre

Comedy

Crime

Release Date

Dec 10, 1946

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Location

Chatsworth--Iverson Ranch, California, United States

Technical Specs

Duration

60m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Synopsis

After Jack and Eleanor Carroll entertain their perpetually squabbling friends, Eddie Roberts and Sally Beaver, they decide to show the couple how their bickering appears to others by staging a phony row the next time they dine together. Although the ruse succeeds in changing Eddie and Sally's attitudes, it also leads to a real fight between Jack and Eleanor when Jack insults Eleanor's mother. Furious, Eleanor leaves home and returns to her mother's side on the first day of Jack's long-awaited vacation. On Eddie's advice, the bumbling Jack, who has acquired a mine sweeper in order to locate some buried treasure in Reno and finance his own rabbit farm, then leaves for Nevada without Eleanor. Before Jack arrives at the Bar Nothing Dude Ranch, he stops at a local bank and becomes a witness to a bank robbery. The robbers--Joe, Bunny Wells and Angel--flee from the police, bury the stolen money near the ranch and, posing as tourists, check into the ranch. Later, Jack finds the robbers' suitcase of money and silver with his mine sweeper and assumes it is the buried treasure. After placing the suitcase in the ranch's safe, Jack is questioned by both the robbers, who recognize him from the bank, and the sheriff, who wants to know if Jack can identify the crooks. Although he brags to the sheriff that he can identify the crooks, Jack treats Joe, Angel and Bunny as friends and nonchalantly tells Bunny that he has a suitcase full of money. Eleanor, who has learned of Jack's whereabouts from Eddie, then arrives at the ranch concerned that he has come to Reno for a divorce. When Eleanor hears that Jack is in the bar with his "wife," as Bunny has identified herself, she confronts him. Jack tries to convince her of his true mission by showing her the money, but discovers that he has been mistakenly given a suitcase filled with women's clothes. While Jack then tries to retrieve his suitcase from the wife of a jealous sailor and explain matters to Eleanor, the robbers plot to steal back the money. At the same time, an officer assigned to watch Jack becomes determined to trap Jack with "wife" Bunny. As soon as Jack gets his hands on his suitcase, the officer catches him leaving the sailor's room and handcuffs him to his bedpost. By the next morning, Jack has escaped and made up with Eleanor, but is forced at gunpoint to return the suitcase to the robbers and is locked in Eleanor's room. Jack breaks out, however, and lands on top of the dude ranch's stagecoach, which is carrying the fleeing robbers. After a furious chase involving Jack, the sheriff and Eleanor, the robbers are apprehended and Jack is given a $5,000 reward.

Director

Leslie Goodwins

Cast

Jack Haley

Anne Jeffreys

Eleanor [Carroll]

Wally Brown

Iris Adrian

Morgan Conway

Alan Carney

Myrna Dell

Mrs. [Madeleine] Dumont

Matt Mchugh

Claire Carleton

Matt Willis

Constance Purdy

Stanley Blystone

Phillip Morris

Phil Warren

Robert Bray

Lou Davis

Max Wagner

Nan Leslie

Telephone operator

Bill Shannon

Jack Rice

Eric Wilton

Al Choals

Stagecoach driver

Franklin Farnum

Crew

C. Bakaleinikoff

Doran Cox

Assistant Director

Lucius O. Croxton

Russell A. Cully

Special Effects

Albert S. D'agostino

George E. Diskant

Director of Photography

Leslie Goodwins

Roy Granville

Charles Kerr

Les Millbrook

Mclean Nisbet

Charles E. Roberts

Sid Rogell

Executive Producer

Arthur Ross

Francis M. Sarver

Paul Sawtell

Darrell Silvera

Film Details

Also Known As

Double Trouble

Genre

Comedy

Crime

Release Date

Dec 10, 1946

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Location

Chatsworth--Iverson Ranch, California, United States

Technical Specs

Duration

60m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Articles

Vacation in Reno

February 25, 2005

Vacation in Reno (1946) comes from the RKO assembly line. It's stocked with contract actors from the studio, was written by a career RKO writer, and directed by another RKO lifer. And while it's just a little wisp of a movie, Vacation in Reno proves that the studio system wasn't such a bad thing. The movie plays like an hour-long sitcom from the days before television - and even for a B-movie it's better written than most of what's on TV now. The studio system, despite its machine-like production line, also allowed artists to hone their craft. And this craftsmanship is visible in Vacation in Reno which relies on unique characters and offbeat situations for its humor.

For starters, we have Jack Carroll (played by the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Jack Haley), an inventor/rabbit farmer who's always on the lookout for the next get-rich scheme. His latest idea involves a metal detector and a book called "Famous Undiscovered Treasure." When Jack goes off to Reno to dig for gold, his wife Eleanor thinks he's looking for a quickie divorce. She follows him to a dude ranch where the situation gets complicated -- Jack gets mixed up with bank robbers, the police, and another woman claiming to be his wife.

RKO contract actress Anne Jeffreys plays Jack's wife Eleanor. Vacation in Reno was typical of the B-films Jeffreys was cast in during her 5 years at the studio. Prior to RKO, Jeffreys' career included a brief stint at MGM and a bit part opposite signing idols Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald in their last film I Married An Angel (1942). She also appeared in several Republic Westerns, often alongside Gabby Hayes in the Wild Bill Elliott series. But one of Jeffreys' most memorable roles came at RKO in the Dick Tracy series. She played Tess Trueheart in two films, Dick Tracy, Detective (1945) and Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946). Jeffreys left RKO in the late '40s for television. She and second husband Robert Sterling (the former husband of Ann Sothern) starred in the sitcom Topper from 1953-55 as ghosts George and Marion Kerby. The series was nominated for an Emmy in 1954 as Best Sitcom.

Another RKO veteran, Leslie Goodwins, directed Vacation in Reno. Goodwins got his start directing two-reelers at RKO, working frequently with comedian Edgar Kennedy and character actor Leon Errol. Goodwins would later employ Errol in the Mexican Spitfire series of films. These films, starring Lupe Velez, are probably Goodwins' best-known work. Also on board for Vacation in Reno was writer Charles E. Roberts. Roberts, like Goodwins, got his start in RKO short subjects. In his thirteen years at RKO, Roberts penned some 70 plus shorts and features - including six entries in the Mexican Spitfire series.

Producer: Leslie Goodwins, Sid Rogell
Director: Leslie Goodwins
Screenplay: Charles E. Roberts, Arthur A. Ross, Charles Kerr
Cinematography: George E. Diskant
Film Editing: Les Millbrook
Art Direction: Lucius O. Croxton, Albert S. D'Agostino
Music: Paul Sawtell
Cast: Jack Haley (Jack Carroll), Anne Jeffreys (Eleanor), Wally Brown (Eddie Roberts), Iris Adrian (Bunny Wells), Morgan Conway (Joe), Alan Carney (Angel).
BW-60m.

by Stephanie Thames

Vacation In Reno

Vacation in Reno

Vacation in Reno (1946) comes from the RKO assembly line. It's stocked with contract actors from the studio, was written by a career RKO writer, and directed by another RKO lifer. And while it's just a little wisp of a movie, Vacation in Reno proves that the studio system wasn't such a bad thing. The movie plays like an hour-long sitcom from the days before television - and even for a B-movie it's better written than most of what's on TV now. The studio system, despite its machine-like production line, also allowed artists to hone their craft. And this craftsmanship is visible in Vacation in Reno which relies on unique characters and offbeat situations for its humor. For starters, we have Jack Carroll (played by the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Jack Haley), an inventor/rabbit farmer who's always on the lookout for the next get-rich scheme. His latest idea involves a metal detector and a book called "Famous Undiscovered Treasure." When Jack goes off to Reno to dig for gold, his wife Eleanor thinks he's looking for a quickie divorce. She follows him to a dude ranch where the situation gets complicated -- Jack gets mixed up with bank robbers, the police, and another woman claiming to be his wife. RKO contract actress Anne Jeffreys plays Jack's wife Eleanor. Vacation in Reno was typical of the B-films Jeffreys was cast in during her 5 years at the studio. Prior to RKO, Jeffreys' career included a brief stint at MGM and a bit part opposite signing idols Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald in their last film I Married An Angel (1942). She also appeared in several Republic Westerns, often alongside Gabby Hayes in the Wild Bill Elliott series. But one of Jeffreys' most memorable roles came at RKO in the Dick Tracy series. She played Tess Trueheart in two films, Dick Tracy, Detective (1945) and Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946). Jeffreys left RKO in the late '40s for television. She and second husband Robert Sterling (the former husband of Ann Sothern) starred in the sitcom Topper from 1953-55 as ghosts George and Marion Kerby. The series was nominated for an Emmy in 1954 as Best Sitcom. Another RKO veteran, Leslie Goodwins, directed Vacation in Reno. Goodwins got his start directing two-reelers at RKO, working frequently with comedian Edgar Kennedy and character actor Leon Errol. Goodwins would later employ Errol in the Mexican Spitfire series of films. These films, starring Lupe Velez, are probably Goodwins' best-known work. Also on board for Vacation in Reno was writer Charles E. Roberts. Roberts, like Goodwins, got his start in RKO short subjects. In his thirteen years at RKO, Roberts penned some 70 plus shorts and features - including six entries in the Mexican Spitfire series. Producer: Leslie Goodwins, Sid Rogell Director: Leslie Goodwins Screenplay: Charles E. Roberts, Arthur A. Ross, Charles Kerr Cinematography: George E. Diskant Film Editing: Les Millbrook Art Direction: Lucius O. Croxton, Albert S. D'Agostino Music: Paul Sawtell Cast: Jack Haley (Jack Carroll), Anne Jeffreys (Eleanor), Wally Brown (Eddie Roberts), Iris Adrian (Bunny Wells), Morgan Conway (Joe), Alan Carney (Angel). BW-60m. by Stephanie Thames

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The working title of this film was Double Trouble. Scenes for the picture were filmed at Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, CA.

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