Reunion in Reno is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Mark Stevens, Peggy Dow and Gigi Perreau.[1] The screenplay concerns a girl who hires an attorney to get her a divorce from her parents. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Bernard Herzbrun and Nathan Juran.
| Reunion in Reno | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Kurt Neumann |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Leonard Goldstein |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Maury Gertsman |
| Edited by | Virgil W. Vogel |
| Music by | Joseph Gershenson |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 79 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
A nine-year-old girl, Maggie Linaker, gets off a bus in Reno, Nevada and goes to find Norman Drake, a divorce lawyer there. Norman has just wrapped up a divorce case, after which Laura Carson, a stenographer in Judge Kneeland's court, scolds the lawyer for accepting payments over couples' breakups, rather than trying to steer them toward reconciliation.
Maggie explains that she'd like to divorce her parents. She offers the lawyer all the money she has, $3.27. Norman accepts. Neither he nor Laura, however, can persuade the little girl to give them her parents' names or how they can be found. She just wants to divorce them.
A clothing label mentioning a California town results in Norman finding the parents, Doris and Frederick Linaker, who are shocked to hear what their daughter has done. Maggie was supposed to be on a bus trip to a Nevada summer camp. It turns out Doris is pregnant and that she is not the birth mother of Maggie, who had been an abandoned child.
A mock trial is held in Judge Kneeland's court, at which Maggie explains that she overheard her parents say they won't be able to afford to raise two children. Doris reassures her that it was merely a worry, not a reason to leave. They return home, whereupon Norman and Laura begin to think they might like to have a try at this parenthood thing.
Cast
- Mark Stevens as Norman Drake
- Peggy Dow as Laura Carson
- Gigi Perreau as Margaret 'Maggie' Angeline Linaker
- Frances Dee as Mrs. Doris Linaker
- Leif Erickson as B. Frederick Linaker
- Ray Collins as Judge Thomas Kneeland
- Fay Baker as Miss Pearson
- Myrna Dell as Mrs. Virginia Mason
- Dick Wessel as Taxi Driver
- Sid Tomack as Serge Field
- Stuart Morgan Dancers as Dancing Ensemble
References
Bibliography
- Quinlan, David. The Film Lover's Companion: An A to Z Guide to 2,000 Stars and the Movies They Made. Carol Publishing Group, 1997.
