Rendezvous

During World War I, a Lieutenant (William Powell) eager to head to the front lines finds himself diverted to a desk job cracking enemy codes thanks to his overeager girlfriend (Rosalind Russell).

Rendezvous is an okay thriller that’s periodically interrupted by an unusually charmless Rosalind Russell.

Reduced to nothing more than a plot device and would-be comic relief, Russell’s chief function in the film seems to be to interrupt the plot with inane screwball antics, such as drugging lead William Powell’s coffee, or sneaking into high security government areas during wartime. Seriously, you’d almost think she was working for the Germans.

That said, without Russell, you’ve got an unspectacular thriller buoyed largely by Powell’s charismatic performance and a pleasant supporting cast including Lionel Atwill and Cesar Romero. There’s no real tension and the story isn’t particularly engrossing, but Powell carries the film well and makes it tolerable.

Ultimately, though, merging a so-so spy story with a flat screwball comedy makes for an exercise in patience, as the 94-minute running time is at least 15 minutes too long. Cutting out Russell completely would go a long way toward improving matters, but even then, you’d still be left with a mediocre film at best.