Rendezvous (1935)

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Most of these reviews mention how Russell was a poor replacement for Loy. I didn't really make that connection as I'm a fan of Russell's from My Girl Friday. She was much better in MGF, I will grant you, but it didn't lessen my enjoyment of Rendezvous just because Loy was not in it.William Powell plays Bill Gordon, a genius puzzle solver, who gets duped into becoming a code breaker for the Army by Russell's Joel Carter when America enters WWI. She is the niece of the Asst Secretary of War and uses her connections to get Gordon placed at a desk in Washington D.C. to keep him near. Its supposed to be cute and romantic, but it comes off as spoiled and cruel. Gordon then goes on to break an important spy message and leads him to a ring of spies operating in town. Powell is amazing as usual. The opening scene where Joel mistakes him for a Russian singer and Gordon plays along is vintage Powell. He had great comedic chops and timing. The code breaking scenes are fantastic as Powell conveys wit, genius, and tension as his character goes through the long hours and countless failures trying to crack the code. As I said, Russell has done better work. Her role is is to act as a ditsy foil to Powell and it doesn't work.The supporting cast is brilliant. While Russell was a the weak link in her first major role, the rest of the cast does great work. Binnie Barnes and The Joker himself, Caesar Romero, as German spies are top notch. Lionel Atwill as Gordon's boss provides a looming presence. With a tighter script and less pratfalls from Russell, this could have been a wonderful spy drama. It seemed they tried too hard to shoehorn in the comedy instead of letting it develop naturally with the plot.If you are fan of Powell's this is a movie that needs to be part of your viewing library. If not, focus on the code breaking scenes and its still a fun ride.

If you like William Powell enough (or another actor in this film) and its venue, you may flow with it. It is a weaker one to my view, and while not a throwaway, not really picked up by anyone in particular. The character Russell played was incongruous and annoying, though she was probably refreshing as a newcomer. There's a bit too much overdone flip and horsiness about her performance here and in a lot of her pictures, to my taste. Likely, it's a script flaw, but given the level of weight of the decoding project at hand, her stunts are incongruous at best. The fact that she had such easy access is also unbelievable, despite her connections by relation. Also, she doesn't really work with Powell's character. After about her third shenanigan, I think, that's it for her. He'll move on. But he trots right along and they end up together. What? That a man of his caliber would hook up with a loose cannon like that just really doesn't work. And they aren't believable together. Binnie Barnes' character, though the villainess, was easier to take down, being consistent and well enough done. This essentially war picture has its interest, but I can't say after one more run through, I would care to repeat. But I do hang onto my classics and after some time, enjoy going back for just the era and actors. One can always ogle the clothes if nothing else.

Fair picture with Roz Russell and William Powell in the lead roles as a code expert who is commandeered to decode items and in the interim uncovers a World War 1 German spy ring.Russell portrays the niece of the head of the War Department who falls for Powell and makes sure he works at the Intelligence Agency instead of going overseas. Unaware that Powell is playing up to a German spy, played quite well by Binnie Barnes, Russell actually becomes an annoying figure here as she attempts to get her man back.The ending almost has a "House on 92nd St." feeling but you come away with the idea that there is something missing.Cesar Romero plays a young German spy who makes the ultimate sacrifice for the spy-ring. Also, look for Margaret Dumont, the constant comic foil in the Marx Brothers films, in a brief appearance during an auctioning off scene.

WILLIAM POWELL and ROSALIND RUSSELL have good chemistry here--although Russell gets the short end of the stick with an annoying "comic" character who disrupts everything in sight, including the plot.The spy ingredients are nicely handled and there's a lot of behind-the-scenes decoding efforts going on in the World War I era that add interest to the storyline.Nice to see Lionel Atwill on the good side for a change and Binnie Barnes is fine as a femme fatale heavily involved in the spy network. Cesar Romero keeps a poker-face as one of the ring members but is convincing enough in a minor role.None of it makes for a great movie, but it passes the time quickly with an interesting glimpse of Russell before she perfected her comedy technique and Powell already at the peak of his comic timing. Cast includes Samuel S. Hinds and Charley Grapewin (Dorothy's uncle in 'The Wizard of Oz').A rather uneasy mixture of comedy and suspense--but a stronger script would have helped considerably.