''Merry Wives of Reno'' is a 1934 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

H. Bruce Humberstone H. Bruce "Lucky" Humberstone (November 18, 1901 – October 11, 1984) was an American film director. He was previously a movie actor (as a child), a script clerk, and an assistant director, working with directors such as King Vidor, Edmund Gould ...

and starring

Guy Kibbee Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the '' El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...

Glenda Farrell Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...

Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Bik ...

Margaret Lindsay Margaret Lindsay (born Margaret Kies; September 19, 1910 – May 9, 1981) was an American film actress. Her time as a Warner Bros. contract player during the 1930s was particularly productive. She was noted for her supporting work in successf ...

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

Frank McHugh Francis Curry McHugh (May 23, 1898 – September 11, 1981) was an American stage, radio, film and television actor. Early years Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents, Edward A. ...

and

Ruth Donnelly Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982) was an American film and stage actress. Early years and family Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Donnelly was the daughter of Harry Augustus and Bessie B. Donnelly. Her uncle, Freder ...

. The film was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

on May 12, 1934. The plot and cast number are similar to the

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

1933 film ''

Convention City ''Convention City'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code sex comedy film directed by Archie Mayo, and starring Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Dick Powell, Mary Astor and Adolphe Menjou. The film was produced by Henry Blanke and First Nati ...

''. Robert Lord was a writer in both films, though this one is not nearly as risque and racy.

Plot

Madge (

) and Lois (

) take the train from New York City to Reno, NV to get quickie divorces from their husbands.

Cast

as Tom *

as Bunny *

as Frank *

as Madge *

as Colonel Fitch *

as Al *

as Lois *

Roscoe Ates Roscoe Blevel Ates (January 20, 1895 – March 1, 1962) was an American vaudeville performer, actor of stage and screen, comedian and musician who primarily featured in western films and television. He was best known as western character So ...

as The Trapper (as Rosco Ates) *

Hobart Cavanaugh Hobart Cavanaugh (September 22, 1886 – April 26, 1950 ) was an American character actor in films and on stage. Biography He was born in Virginia City, Nevada on September 22, 1886. Cavanaugh attended the University of California. He worked i ...

as Derwent *

Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jose ...

as Cook (scenes deleted) *

Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. From the 1920s until 1960, she appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows. She was most often cast in the roles of a maid, servan ...

as Derwent's Client - Black Mother of 12 Wanting a Divorce (uncredited) * Edna Bennett as First Beautician (uncredited) * Raymond Brown as Pullman Conductor (uncredited) *

Dorothy Christy Dorothy Christy (born Dorothea J. Seltzer, later Dorothy Rucker; May 26, 1906 – May 21, 1977) was an American actress. She was sometimes billed as Dorothy Christie. Early years Christy was born Dorothea J. Seltzer on May 26, 1906, in Readin ...

as Derwent's Client - Hubert's Divorce Seeking Wife (uncredited) * Ray Cooke as Mickey - Bellhop (uncredited) *

Joseph Crehan Joseph A. Creaghan (July 15, 1883 – April 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1916 and 1965, and notably played Ulysses S. Grant nine times between 1939 and 1958, most memorably in ''Union Paci ...

as Train Conductor (uncredited) * Mary Currier as Mrs. Dillingworth (uncredited) *

Mary Doran Mary Doran (September 8, 1910 – September 6, 1995) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 80 films from 1927 to 1944. Biography Doran was born in New York and attended public schools there before graduating and going to Colum ...

as Lady with Tennis Player (uncredited) *

Lester Dorr Lester Dorr (born Harry Lester Dorr; May 8, 1893 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor who between 1917 and 1975 appeared in well over 500 productions on stage, in feature films and shorts, and in televised plays and weekly series. Even a ...

as Hotel Lobby Guest (uncredited) *

Claire Du Brey Claire Du Brey (born Clara Violet Dubreyvich, August 31, 1892 – August 1, 1993) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 200 films between 1916 and 1959. Her name is sometimes rendered as Claire Du Bray or as Claire Dubrey. Ear ...

as Woman Hoping for a Good Dentist (uncredited) *

Jay Eaton Jay Eaton (March 17, 1899 – February 5, 1970) was an American character actor whose career spanned both the silent and sound film eras. Biography Born on March 17, 1899, in Union, New Jersey, Eaton entered the film industry with a featured ro ...

as Man with Rich Dowager (uncredited) *

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...

as Train Passenger (uncredited) * Helena Phillips Evans as Derwent's Alimony Seeking Client (uncredited) *

Betty Farrington Betty Farrington (May 14, 1898 – February 3, 1989) was an American character actress active from the 1920s through 1960. Career overview Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Betty Farrington played mostly supporting and minor roles during her caree ...

as Mrs. Derwent (uncredited) *

Bess Flowers Bess Flowers (November 23, 1898 – July 28, 1984) was an American actress best known for her work as an extra in hundreds of films. She was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in more than 350 feature films and numerous ...

as Lady Getting Off Train Who Wants to Find Court House (uncredited) * Dick French as Tom's Party Guest (uncredited) *

Anita Garvin Anita Garvin (born Anna Frances Garvin; February 11, 1906 – July 7, 1994) was a tall American stage performer and film actress who worked in both the silent and sound eras."California Death Index, 1940-1997", Anita Garvin Stanley, February 11 ...

as Male-Seeking Woman in Hotel Lobby (uncredited) * June Glory as Girl on the Train in Reno (uncredited) * Lorena Layson as Telephone Operator (uncredited) *

Mary MacLaren Mary MacLaren (born Mary Ida MacDonald, also credited Mary McLaren; January 19, 1900 – November 9, 1985) was an American film actress in both the silent and sound eras."Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910 Population", digital cop ...

as Hotel Party Guest (uncredited) *

Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first African ...

as Bunny's Maid (uncredited) *

Addie McPhail Addie McPhail (July 15, 1905 – April 14, 2003) was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1927 and 1941. She was the third and last wife of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. After she retired from acting, she served fo ...

as Mrs. Dillingworth (uncredited) *

Geneva Mitchell Geneva Doris Mitchell (February 3, 1908 – March 10, 1949) was an American actress. After beginning her entertainment career as a chorus girl at the age of twelve, she became more well known for her roles in several Hollywood films. Earl ...

as Woman in Hotel (uncredited) *

Bert Moorhouse Bert Moorhouse (sometimes incorrectly billed as Bert Moorehouse) (November 20, 1894 – January 26, 1954) was an American character actor whose career began at the very tail end of the silent era, and lasted through the mid-1950s. Biography Bo ...

as Tom's Party Guest (uncredited) *

Vivien Oakland Vivien Oakland (born Vivian Ruth Andersen; May 20, 1895 – August 1, 1958), was an American actress best known for her work in comedies in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably with the Hal Roach Studios. Oakland appeared in 157 film ...

as Mrs. Peabody (uncredited) *

Inez Palange Inez Palange (June 13, 1889 – October 16, 1962), also written as Ines Palange, was an Italian-born American actress who was best known for her role as Mrs. Camonte in the 1932 film '' Scarface''. Biography She was born in Roccasicura, Italy on ...

as Italian Woman (uncredited) * Richard Powell as Diner Customer (uncredited) *

Russ Powell Russ Powell (September 16, 1875 – November 28, 1950) was an American film actor. He appeared in 186 films between 1915 and 1943. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * ''The Fa ...

as Proprietor of Jim's Diner (uncredited) * Donna Mae Roberts as Girl on the Train in Reno (uncredited) * Rosalie Roy as Girl on the Train in Reno (uncredited) * Harry Seymour as The Waiter at the Willows (uncredited) *

Victoria Vinton Victoria Vinton, born Victoria Velnette Vinton (August 23, 1912 – June 12, 1980) was an early B-movie actress, starring in over thirty films from 1932 into 1940, mostly in westerns. Early life Born in New Jersey, she was the daughter of Vict ...

as Girl Who Asks for a Match (uncredited) * Ruth Warren as Second Beautician (uncredited) * Renee Whitney as Telephone Operator (uncredited) *

Lottie Williams Lottie Williams (January 20, 1874 – November 16, 1962) was an American character actress whose career spanned both the silent and sound film eras. Early life Lottie Williams was born on January 20, 1874, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Career ...

as Generous Passerby (uncredited)

Box office

According to Warner Bros records the film earned $220,000 domestically and $103,000 internationally.

References

External links

* * * * 1934 comedy films American comedy films 1934 films American black-and-white films Warner Bros. films 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub