Without Reservations (1946) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A woman writer falls for a war hero who's a perfect match for the hero of her latest novel.

Cast & Crew

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Mervyn Leroy

Claudette Colbert

[Christopher] Kit [Madden, also known as Kit Klotch]

John Wayne

[Captain] Rusty [Thomas]

Don Defore

[Lieutenant] Dink [Watson]

Anne Triola

[Consuela] Connie [Callahan]

Phil Brown

Photos & Videos

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Without Reservations -- (Movie Clip) He's Lana Turner

Without Reservations - (Re-issue trailer)

Without Reservations -- (Movie Clip) Miss Christopher Madden

Without Reservations -- (Movie Clip) To Jack Benny

Film Details

Also Known As

Thanks, God, I'll Take It from Here

Genre

Comedy

Adaptation

Classic Hollywood

Romance

Release Date

May 1946

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Jesse L. Lasky Productions, Inc.; RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Location

Chatsworth, California, United States; Chicago, Illinois, United States; New York City, New York, United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the novel Thanks, God, I'll Take It from Here by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston (unpublished).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 47m

Sound

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Synopsis

Hollywood-bound author Christopher "Kit" Madden, whose best-selling novel Here Is Tomorrow is the talk of the nation, is about to board a train in New York when she is cabled that Cary Grant is unavailable to play the lead in the screen adaptation of her book. Although Kit initially rejects the suggestion of Arrowhead Pictures producer Henry Baldwin that an unknown be cast as the novel's post-war hero, she changes her mind when she is seated across from Captain Rusty Thomas, a handsome Marine. Immediately struck by Rusty's masculine charm, Kit finds herself lying about her identity upon hearing Rusty and his good-natured traveling companion, Lieutenant Dink Watson, denigrating Here Is Tomorrow . Calling herself Kit Klotch, Kit defends the book and insists on the credibility of the hero's pragmatic notions about romance. While waiting for a new train in Chicago, Kit receives a telegram from Baldwin, whom she had contacted earlier about Rusty, ordering her to keep track of him. Rusty and Dink, however, leave the station in order to purchase some rationed whiskey, and Kit ends up missing her train while chasing after them. To avoid revealing herself, the baggage-less Kit pretends that she has lost her ticket and is forced to travel in the coach section. Kit nonetheless enjoys herself with Rusty and Dink, getting drunk and silly in the dining car. When Consuela "Connie" Callahan, a talkative flirt whom Dink and Rusty refer to as a "beetle," accuses Kit of stealing her orchid, however, a scene erupts, and Kit is thrown off the train the next morning. Then, as they make plans with Kit to meet up in San Diego, where they are stationed, Rusty and Dink miss their train. Although the Marines have access to a nearby military airfield, Rusty, eager to stay with Kit, lies that the next flight to San Diego has been canceled due to bad weather. Kit, Rusty and Dink get caught in a downpour while walking from the airfield, but are befriended by a man who eventually sells Kit his exotic, fussy Italian car. During the drive west, Rusty tries to romance Kit in a hay field, but his unabashed sexuality unnerves her and causes her to intellectualize the situation. Frustrated, Rusty starts to mope until the car runs out of water and they are forced to seek help at a New Mexican ranch. There Rusty flirts with the Mexican-American ranch owner's daughter, causing Kit to seethe with jealousy. Anxious to stop the flirtation, Kit tells the patriotic rancher that Rusty and Dink stole their uniforms and are only posing as Marines. When the enraged rancher begins firing his rifle at Dink and Rusty, the trio drives off in a frenzy. After Kit confesses her lie and thereby reveals her true feelings, she and Rusty happily reconcile. Later, at an Albuquerque hotel, Kit, who left her purse at the ranch, decides to use her notoriety to wrangle a room for the night. The scheme backfires, however, when a local newspaper reporter informs the hotel manager that according to the latest press wire, Kit has already arrived in Hollywood. Kit is thrown in jail, but is bailed out by the still ignorant Dink and Rusty. Baldwin then arrives to vouch for Kit, and upon learning of Kit's true identity, Rusty becomes irate and refuses to consider starring in her movie. While Kit then makes her mark in Hollywood, Rusty feigns indifference and tries to ignore reports about Kit's romance with an Arrowhead star. At Dink's urging, Rusty finally admits that he still loves Kit and wires her that he is coming to visit. As Rusty pulls up to her house, an overjoyed Kit looks heavenward and says, "Thanks, God, I'll take it from here."

Director

Mervyn Leroy

Cast

Claudette Colbert

[Christopher] Kit [Madden, also known as Kit Klotch]

John Wayne

[Captain] Rusty [Thomas]

Don Defore

[Lieutenant] Dink [Watson]

Anne Triola

[Consuela] Connie [Callahan]

Phil Brown

Frank Puglia

Thurston Hall

[Henry] Baldwin

Dona Drake

Dolores [Ortega]

Fernando Alvarado

Charles Arnt

Miss Louella Parsons

Jack Benny

Cary Grant

Dolores Moran

Mervyn Leroy

Charles Evans

Harry Hayden

Lela Bliss

Houseley Stevenson

Junius Matthews

Griff Barnett

Train conductor

Will Wright

Pullman conductor

Tom Chatterton

Pullman conductor

Thelma Gyrath

Marilyn Buford

J. Louis Johnson

Frank Dae

Ian Wolfe

Grace Hampton

Minerva Urecal

Esther Howard

Robert Espinoza

Henry Mirelez

Rose Marie Lopez

Michael Economides

José Alvarado

George Economides

Miguel Tapia

Dick Dickerson

Joel Fluellen

Waiter in club car

Jack Parker

John Crawford

Lee Bennett

Henry Vroom

Oscar O'shea

Ruth Roman

Girl in negligee

William Challee

Sam Mcdaniel

Henry Hastings

Ernest Anderson

Tay Dunn

Harold Davis

Tom Hubbard

Bob Wallace

Sid Davies

Charles Elmergreen

Fleet White

Bill Shannon

Roger Creed

Joe Haworth

Peter Michael

Ralph Hubbard

Russ Whiteman

Jon Gilbreath

Bill Udell

Brooks Hunt

Army lieutenant

Bruce Brewster

Army lieutenant

Charles Faber

Army lieutenant

Bill O'leary

Chef Milani

Harry Evans

Paul Gustine

Reid Kilpatrick

Vincent Graeff

Kernan Cripps

Charles Moore

Dudley Dickerson

Charles Williams

Erskine Sanford

Jan Wiley

John Bleifer

Charles Hall

Art Miles

Warren Smith

Eric Alden

Al Kunde

Abraham Lincoln

George Russell

Abraham Lincoln

Bill Sundholm

Abraham Lincoln

Frank Pharr

Abraham Lincoln

Harry Holman

Gas station attendant

Wallace Scott

Gas station attendant

Lisa Golm

Blanca Vischer

John Kellogg

Robin Short

Nanette Vallon

Jean Wong

Lois Austin

Leona Maricle

Baldwin's secretary

Jean Koehler

Western Union operator

Harry Strang

Cy Kendall

William Benedict

Western Union boy

Lorin Raker

Jesse Graves

Al Rosen

George Magrill

Raymond Burr

Fred Coby

Verne Richards

June Glory

Barbara Smith

Bob Pepper

Crew

Adrian

Miss Colbert's clothes by

James Altwies

C. Bakaleinikoff

Ralph Berger

William H. Cannon

Production Assistant

Russell A. Cully

Special Effects

Albert S. D'agostino

Harry Davis

Lynn Dunn

Transparency projections shots

William Hebert

Advertising and Publicist Director

Milton Krasner

Director of Photography

Jesse L. Lasky

Mervyn Leroy

Walter Macewen

Earl B. Mounce

Harold Palmer

Clem Portman

Lloyd Richards

Assistant Director

Jack Ruggiero

Francis M. Sarver

Darrell Silvera

Al Simpson

Matte paintings

Andrew Solt

Harold Stine

Special Effects

Vernon L. Walker

Special Effects

Roy Webb

Videos

Without Reservations -- (Movie Clip) To Jack Benny Off the train in Chicago, "Kit" (Claudette Colbert) signs her book for Jack Benny, then chases down Rusty (John Wayne), whom she wants for the lead in the movie, and Dink (Don Defore), who still don't know she wrote the book, Erskine Sanford in the liquor store, in Without Reservations, 1946.

Without Reservations -- (Movie Clip) He's Lana Turner Author Christopher "Kit" Madden (Claudette Colbert) joins her new Marine pals Rusty (John Wayne) and Dink (Don DeFore) in the dining car, them still not knowing she wrote the ubiquitous best-seller, about to be made into a movie, in Without Reservations, 1946.

Without Reservations -- (Movie Clip) Miss Christopher Madden Joining in the opening simulated newsreel as author "Christopher" Madden (Claudette Colbert) is introduced, Thurston Hall the Hollywood executive making her book into a movie, from Without Reservations, 1946, also starring John Wayne.

Without Reservations - (Re-issue trailer) John Wayne and Claudette Colbert star in Without Reservations (1946) about a woman writer and a war hero.

Film Details

Also Known As

Thanks, God, I'll Take It from Here

Genre

Comedy

Adaptation

Classic Hollywood

Romance

Release Date

May 1946

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Jesse L. Lasky Productions, Inc.; RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Location

Chatsworth, California, United States; Chicago, Illinois, United States; New York City, New York, United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the novel Thanks, God, I'll Take It from Here by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston (unpublished).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 47m

Sound

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Articles

Without Reservations

November 24, 2003

A little bit Romancing the Stone (1984), part It Happened One Night (1934), Without Reservations (1946) is about a best-selling novelist who meets a real life version of her fictitious hero. Claudette Colbert plays the writer, en route to Hollywood to oversee her novel's film adaptation. While on the train, she meets up with Marines John Wayne and Don DeFore, who unaware of her identity, point out the holes in her book. The trio is eventually kicked off the train, Colbert revisiting her It Happened One Night road trip shenanigans.

The film was directed by Mervyn LeRoy, who racked up such varied credits as the Busby Berkeley musical Gold Diggers of 1933, wartime drama Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) and epic Quo Vadis (1951), during his fifty years in Hollywood. Joining LeRoy on Without Reservations was his cousin, and one time brother-in-law of Samuel Goldwyn, producer Jesse Lasky. Lasky's Feature Play Company, formed in 1913 with friend Cecil B. DeMille, would merge with several companies, eventually evolving into Paramount.

LeRoy befriended John Wayne during the filming of Without Reservations and went on to assist the Duke in his first directorial effort The Green Berets (1968). Colbert also made an impact on Leroy while working on Without Reservations. He would later refer to her as an interesting lady to work with, recalling her habit of not watching where she was going and constantly bumping into things. He also recalls Colbert's belief that the left side of her face was her good side and how every shot in the film had to be arranged so the star's favored side was captured.

LeRoy's tinsel town connections made for a few interesting cameos in Without Reservations. Look for Jack Benny as an autograph seeker in the train station. Louella Parsons plays a Hollywood radio gossiper. Cary Grant also appears for a dance sequence. Apparently Grant walked by the set one day during filming and LeRoy asked him to come in. Even the director himself makes an on-screen appearance, dining with Colbert.

And be sure to listen for Colbert's famous line towards the end of the film, "Thanks, God, I'll take it from here." The line was actually a familiar prayer used by aviators after a particularly heated engagement. It was also the title of the book, by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston, on which Without Reservations was based.

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Producer: Jesse L. Lasky, Walter MacEwen
Screenplay: Andrew Solt, based on the novel by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston
Cinematography: Milton R. Krasner
Editor: Jack Ruggiero
Art Direction: Ralph Berger, Albert S. D'Agostino
Music: Roy Webb
Cast: Claudette Colbert (Christopher 'Kit' Madden), John Wayne (Rusty Thomas), Don DeFore (Dink Watson), Anne Triola (Consuela 'Connie' Callahan), Phil Brown (Soldier), Frank Puglia (Ortega).
BW-101m. Closed captioning.

by Stephanie Thames

Without Reservations

Without Reservations

A little bit Romancing the Stone (1984), part It Happened One Night (1934), Without Reservations (1946) is about a best-selling novelist who meets a real life version of her fictitious hero. Claudette Colbert plays the writer, en route to Hollywood to oversee her novel's film adaptation. While on the train, she meets up with Marines John Wayne and Don DeFore, who unaware of her identity, point out the holes in her book. The trio is eventually kicked off the train, Colbert revisiting her It Happened One Night road trip shenanigans. The film was directed by Mervyn LeRoy, who racked up such varied credits as the Busby Berkeley musical Gold Diggers of 1933, wartime drama Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) and epic Quo Vadis (1951), during his fifty years in Hollywood. Joining LeRoy on Without Reservations was his cousin, and one time brother-in-law of Samuel Goldwyn, producer Jesse Lasky. Lasky's Feature Play Company, formed in 1913 with friend Cecil B. DeMille, would merge with several companies, eventually evolving into Paramount. LeRoy befriended John Wayne during the filming of Without Reservations and went on to assist the Duke in his first directorial effort The Green Berets (1968). Colbert also made an impact on Leroy while working on Without Reservations. He would later refer to her as an interesting lady to work with, recalling her habit of not watching where she was going and constantly bumping into things. He also recalls Colbert's belief that the left side of her face was her good side and how every shot in the film had to be arranged so the star's favored side was captured. LeRoy's tinsel town connections made for a few interesting cameos in Without Reservations. Look for Jack Benny as an autograph seeker in the train station. Louella Parsons plays a Hollywood radio gossiper. Cary Grant also appears for a dance sequence. Apparently Grant walked by the set one day during filming and LeRoy asked him to come in. Even the director himself makes an on-screen appearance, dining with Colbert. And be sure to listen for Colbert's famous line towards the end of the film, "Thanks, God, I'll take it from here." The line was actually a familiar prayer used by aviators after a particularly heated engagement. It was also the title of the book, by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston, on which Without Reservations was based. Director: Mervyn LeRoy Producer: Jesse L. Lasky, Walter MacEwen Screenplay: Andrew Solt, based on the novel by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston Cinematography: Milton R. Krasner Editor: Jack Ruggiero Art Direction: Ralph Berger, Albert S. D'Agostino Music: Roy Webb Cast: Claudette Colbert (Christopher 'Kit' Madden), John Wayne (Rusty Thomas), Don DeFore (Dink Watson), Anne Triola (Consuela 'Connie' Callahan), Phil Brown (Soldier), Frank Puglia (Ortega). BW-101m. Closed captioning. by Stephanie Thames

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The working title of this film was Thanks, God, I'll Take It From Here. The picture was the first that Jesse L. Lasky Productions made in conjuction with RKO. According to records from the Bank of America archives, Lasky received a $975,000 loan from the bank to make the film. Director Mervyn LeRoy's film company was called Arrowhead Productions, the same name used for the movie company in the film, but Arrowhead was not involved in the making of this picture. RKO borrowed Don DeFore from Hal Wallis' company for the production. Hollywood Reporter announced that LeRoy was testing Lieutenant Gavin Alberts and Dorothy Porter for roles in the film, but their appearance in the final film has not been confirmed. Mabel Webb was announced as a cast member in Hollywood Reporter, but her appearance in the final film has not been confirmed. Background shots for the production were filmed in Chicago and New York, and some scenes were shot in Chatsworth, CA, according to Hollywood Reporter. Some reviewers commented on the similarity between this picture and Frank Capra's 1934 Columbia hit It Happened One Night, which also starred Claudette Colbert. Colbert reprised her role in a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast on August 26, 1946, co-starring Robert Cummings.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Spring May 1946

Raymond Burr's screen debut.

Cary Grant had a guest appearance.

Released in United States Spring May 1946

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