Maisie Goes to Reno

Plot

Overworked World War II riveter Maisie Ravier (Ann Sothern) becomes irritable and starts involuntarily winking at people, so the factory's doctor prescribes a two-week vacation with pay. She runs into her friend and bandleader Tommy Cutter (Chick Chandler), who wants her to sing for two weeks in Reno.

When she goes to the bus station, she encounters Sergeant Bill Fullerton (Tom Drake), who is also going to Reno. He wants to stop his wealthy wife, Gloria (Ava Gardner), from divorcing him. When his leave is canceled because his unit is relocating, he begs Maisie to deliver a letter to Gloria in person.

In Reno, blackjack dealer "Flip" Hennahan (John Hodiak) knows where Gloria is staying and drives Maisie to the isolated resort. However, Maisie is fooled into believing that Gloria's private secretary, "Wini" Ashbourne, is Gloria. Wini and Gloria's business manager, Roger Pelham (Paul Cavanagh), want the divorce to go through for their own (never explained) reasons. They get J. E. Clave (Bernard Nedell) to forge another letter to give Gloria the impression that Bill only married her for her money.

In between her blossoming romance with Flip, Maisie discovers she has been duped and sets out to get evidence to convince Gloria that she is being manipulated. She obtains a blotter on which Clave practiced his forgery, but Clave finds out and the crooked trio retrieve the evidence and burn it. Meanwhile, the confused Flip starts thinking that Maisie is having a nervous breakdown.

When Bill telephones Maisie, she strongly urges him to come to Reno before it is too late. Meanwhile, she enlists love-smitten hotel bellboy Jerry into helping kidnap Gloria. She gets caught, but Flip convinces the police that Maisie is not in her right mind and has her released into his custody. When Bill shows up, however, Maisie rushes off with him to the courthouse, where husband and wife are reunited and everything is sorted out.

Cast