''Rendezvous with Annie'' is a 1946

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 Allan Dwan and written by and Mary Loos and Richard Sale. The film stars

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

, Faye Marlowe and

Gail Patrick Gail Patrick (born Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick, June 20, 1911 – July 6, 1980) was an American film actress and television producer. Often cast as the bad girl or the other woman, she appeared in more than 60 feature films between 1932 an ...

. The supporting cast features

C. Aubrey Smith Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...

and

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy ser ...

. The plot involves a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

serviceman who surreptitiously flies back from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to the States to see his wife for several hours and impregnates her, accidentally leaving her to deal with the consequent scandal when the townsfolk do the math and erroneously conclude that her husband could not possibly be the resultant baby's father. The film was released on July 22, 1946 by Republic Pictures.

Plot

Ex serviceman Jeffrey Dolan is held incarcerated in a New Jersey jail, suspected of murder. He gets a visit from a night club singer, Dolores Starr, and recapitulates the events leading him to his current miserable situation. Not long ago Jeffrey was an Air Force clerk stationed in London. He shared a bomb shelter with a British man he calls "The Old Duffer", and tells the man about his wonderful wife Annie and her exquisite cakes, for which he longs. Jeffrey manages to get a three-day pass. His Air Force friends persuade him to go AWOL with them as they fly overnight to the U.S., so that he can visit his wife on their wedding anniversary. General Trent is traveling with them on the plane, and he almost discovers Jeffrey as they fly over the Atlantic. When the friends arrive at their destination, Jeff is taken by two of them, Spence and Avery, to the Bongo Club, mainly because Avery's girl Dolores Starr sings at the club. Jeffrey bumps into an old friend, Everett Thorndyke, and since Everett is currently in the company of his mistress, they agree to not talk about their visit there. Eventually Jeffrey gets home to see Annie and they share a very romantic evening together. Annie promises not to tell anyone about his visit, but sends a piece with him back, which he gives to The Old Duffer. Jeffrey also tells the man he has been AWOL. Jeffrey is discharged and returns home nine months later, and is overjoyed when he finds out his wife has given birth to a son. People in town looks strangely at him and he soon realizes it is because they think the child is someone else's, not knowing about his secret visit. A lawyer tells him he has to prove his paternity, or the baby will lose its inheritance of half a million dollars. Jeffrey has only one week to prove he is the father. Jeffrey reaches out to everyone he saw that particular night, but Thorndyke denies meeting him at the Bongo Club, and the same goes for Avery and Spence, who are afraid of being court-martialed. It also turns out that General Trent, who was on the same plane, doesn't remember seeing him at all. Jeffrey tries to get hold of a photograph taken of him at the Bongo Club and visits the photographer, Louise Grapa, together with Dolores. It turns out Jeffrey isn't in the photograph at all, and he is also attacked by Dolores' jealous husband, Phil Denim. Jeffrey knocks Phil unconscious. Dolores, relieved, kisses Jeff on the cheek, and when Louise snaps a photo, unscrupulous newspaperman Al Morgan prints it in the paper. Annie sees the photo and confronts Jeffrey with cheating. In the same paper, Jeffrey notices an article about The Old Duffer, whose real name is Sir Archibald Clyde. He is in the U.S. on a visit from London. Jeffrey runs over to meet the old man, and spots the newspaperman who printed the picture of him and Dolores once he arrives. Furious, he attacks the man, Morgan, and is apprehended by Clyde's guards. Jeffrey is arrested for suspicion of trying to murder Clyde. When Jeffrey has told Dolores the full story, she agrees to help him. She contacts Clyde, Spence and Avery and brings them to Jeffrey's house to prove Jeffrey's version of the story. Thorndyke is also summoned, and the story is interesting enough to be published in the papers. In the end Jeffrey manages to prove his paternity, and his son is granted the rights to his inheritance.

Cast

as Jeffrey Dolan * Faye Marlowe as Annie Dolan *

as Dolores Starr * Philip Reed as Lieutenant Avery *

as Sir Archibald Clyde, also known as "The Old Duffer" *

Raymond Walburn Raymond Walburn (September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Born i ...

as Everett Thorndyke *

as General Trent *

James Millican James Millican (February 17, 1911 – November 24, 1955) was an American actor with over 200 film appearances mostly in western movies. Millican was the son of Fred S. Millican, a circus owner, and Dorothy Millican. Millican was a clos ...

as Captain Spence *

Wallace Ford Wallace Ford (born Samuel Grundy Jones; 12 February 1898 – 11 June 1966) was an English-born naturalized American vaudevillian, stage performer and screen actor. Usually playing wise-cracking characters, he combined a tough but friendly-fac ...

as Al Morgan * Will Wright as Elmer Snodgrass *

Lucien Littlefield Lucien Littlefield (August 16, 1895 – June 4, 1960) was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men befor ...

as Ed Kramer *Edwin Rand as Phil Denim *

Mary Field Mary Field (born Olivia Rockefeller; June 10, 1909 – June 12, 1996) was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles. Early life She was born in New York City. As a child, she never knew her biological parents; ...

as Deborah * Richard Sale as Clarence *Bob Foy as Radio operator *

Joyce Compton Olivia Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Compton was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Henry and Golden Compton. (Despite frequent reports to the contrary, her name was not ...

as Louise Grapa * George Chandler as Sgt. Harrington *

James Flavin James William Flavin Jr. (May 14, 1906 – April 23, 1976) was an American character actor whose career lasted for nearly half a century. Early life The son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English descent,Flavin's obituary, distributed by United ...

as Turnkey * James Kirkwood, Sr. as Walters * M.J. Frankovich as Crew chief pilot

References

External links

* {{Allan Dwan 1946 films 1946 comedy films American comedy films Republic Pictures films Films directed by Allan Dwan American black-and-white films 1940s American films