War And Romance –Rosalind Russell And William Powell’s “Rendezvous” (1935)-A Film Review

DVD Review

By Sandy Salmon

[The DVD on which this review is based had been left behind by film critic emeritus Sam for me to decide whether I wanted to tackle the thing or not. His original intention had been to review it himself based on his interest in seeing how William Powell and Myra Loy fared when they weren’t combined as they were in the successful and seemingly never-ending The Thin Man series (I agree with Sam that toward the end the plotlines were getting threadbare). He had reviewed a Myra Loy vehicle, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer and had given it a lukewarm reception and had intended Rendezvous for the same purpose. Although I have stated my disinterest in old time black and white film noir comedies, including romantic comedies, have stirred my interest. Hence this review.]         

Rendezvous, starring William Powell, Rosalind Russell, based on the memoirs of Herbert Yardley, 1935 

In a year when we are commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the bloodbath of a war that was World War I it is rather ironic that I am reviewing the film under review, Rendezvous, which at one level dealt with the serious issues of espionage and code-breaking and at another level is a well-worn slapstick romantic comedy. The irony is that my intention, not having read the blurb about what the film was all about, was to see how William Powell, famous for his ground-breaking The Thin Man series, fared without his co-star in that series Myra Loy (she had been slated to star in this production but for personal reasons passed) and teamed up with new-comer Rosalind Russell. The two themes were bit jangly but William Powell basically held on with his suave comedic reputation intact.   

Of course in wars all combatant nations have to worry about protection against espionage, against enemy agents foreign and domestic, jamming up well-laid plans combined with attempts to break the enemy’s means of secure communications by breaking their codes. That is the overview that the newly minted Army lieutenant Bill Gordon, the role William Powell plays, has to content with as he is handed an assignment in Washington to protect the movement of Allied troops transports against the machinations of a German spy ring bent on cadging that information in order for the U-boats to wreak havoc on the vessels. That is the serious part. The comedic, romantic comedic part is provided by the star-struck smitten Joel Carter, the role played by Rosalind Russell. So while our unsung hero Bill attempts to crack codes and thwart the spy ring’s attempt to get information for the meetup point of an impending huge troop transport movement to the continent Joel outrageously (and incongruously) sets her love sights on Bill.         

You know how the romance part will end but the espionage part was a close thing since the spy ring had infiltrated the British Embassy in Washington, including a key operative who was keeping a mistress who was actually a German spy. (This mistress who killed her paramour British operative was also the butt of Joel’s wrath when she tried to get her claws into Bill to find out what he knew about the troop ship movements). Like I said William Powell held his reputation and Rosalind Russell built one but I am still scratching my head about putting a romantic comedy together with a spy thriller. Such is life.