Keep Your Powder Dry

Keep Your Powder Dry is a 1945 American drama film directed by Edward Buzzell and starring Lana Turner, Susan Peters, and Laraine Day. Its plot follows three women who join the Women's Army Corps during World War II. The screenplay was written by George Bruce and Mary C. McCall, Jr. Filmed in Florida and Iowa in late 1944, Keep Your Powder Dry premiered in Washington, D.C., on March 6, 1945. It went on to become a financial success for its studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, earning $2.7 million against its $1.3 million budget. Plot Socialite Valerie "Val" Parks is informed that she is not eligible to claim her trust fund until she can demonstrate responsibility. In response, she decides to join the Women's Army Corps (WAC) to show she is a mature young woman. En route to the training camp in Des Moines, Iowa, she meets Ann Darrison, a housewife who chose to enlist in the WAC after her husband is deployed overseas; and Leigh Rand, the daughter of a military family. Val and Leigh, assigned to the same barracks, immediately clash, with Leigh acting bossily toward the servile Val. Ann attempts to remediate the tensions between Val and Leigh. During training, Val challenges Leigh's assumptions about her by working intensely and excelling in her courses. Upon completing basic training, Val, Ann, and Leigh are assigned to a Motor Transport school within the WAC. Val and Leigh eventually warm to each other, and together attempt to help the self-conscious Ann boost her confidence. Ultimately, all three women are accepted into the Officer's Candidate School. Bill Barclay, a peer of Ann's husband, visits the base and has Ann record herself speaking on a disc so he can take it back to her husband overseas. At the base, Bill becomes enamored of Val, which results in jealousy from Leigh, who also finds Bill attractive. Leigh thwarts a potential date between the two by arranging Val to be assigned to duty, which angers Val.