Shout! Factory // 1949 // 570 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge Ike Oden (Retired) // April 27th, 2011
"Why don't you come over here? I found a bee that wants to introduce us to some birds..."
Bob Hope (Paleface) was a Hollywood jack of all trades: a fine dancer and singer, an accomplished physical comedian, and the snappiest talker to come out of the nightclub circuit. There has never been an Oscar host to capture America's imagination in the same way he did. His work on USO tours entertained generations of American troops stationed across the globe. And his movies...well, his movies were hit or miss. Shout! Factory packages six of them together in their latest Bob Hope Collection: Volume 2. Is the set more hits than misses?
The Great Lover (1949)
Stuck on a cruise ship babysitting Boy
Scout-style youths, Hope masquerades as a wealthy businessman to pursue the
daughter of a Count. The scheme is masterminded by a professional gambler who
murders his competition in strangulating serial killer style. Guess who his next
target is?
Cancel My Reservation (1972)
Bob Hope and Eva Marie-Saint (On
The Waterfront) play a husband/wife talk show couple whose vacation to a
desert cabin gets them implicated in a series of murders. Based off the novel
The Broken Gun by Louis Lamour.
Paris Holiday (1958)
Hope co-wrote this one and plays a
millionaire actor named Robert Hunter (basically himself). Bob is taking a
cruise to Paris to meet with a well-respected screenwriter. On the cruise, he
falls in love with an American diplomat (Martha Hyer, Sons of Katie
Elder), befriends wacky French comedian Fernandel (The Little World of
Don Camillo), and must fend off a beautiful European femme fatale (Anita
Ekberg, La Dolce Vita). When they reach shore, Bob and the gang find
themselves the target of international assassins that have something to do with
the screenwriter in question...
The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell (1968)
Sgt. O'Farrell (Hope)
is a laid back Army Sgt. stationed in the South Pacific during World War II. His
work is boring, his men are demoralized, and there's not a pretty girl on the
island. Determined to boost their spirits, he conspires with a like-minded naval
captain (Dick Sargent, Operation Petticoat) to acquire girls. When he
winds up with oversexed old maid Phyllis Diller (Mad Monster Party), he
decides to covertly recover a downed transport ship full of Pabst Blue Ribbon
without the Navy's help.
Son of Paleface (1969)
Hope returns to the screen as Peter
"Junior" Potter, son of one of his most popular characters. Peter is a
stuck-up Harvard man who returns to his father's Wild West homestead looking to
collect his inheritance. The only problem: it isn't there. Ol' Dad hid it from
some enemies, and it's up to Junior to find it before the locals lynch him for
family debts. He's seduced by bandit Mike (Jane Russell, Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes) and hindered by Roy Rogers (King of the Cowboys) and his
horse, Trigger.
How To Commit A Marriage (1969)
Bob Hope and Jane Wyman (The
Lost Weekend) play an older married couple who decide to call it quits. The
one problem: their divorce is happening right in the middle of their daughter's
shotgun wedding. When the hedonistic father of the husband-to-be (Jackie
Gleason, The Hustler) gets wind of this info, he uses it to spoil the
union, setting off a rivalry between Hope and Gleason that will test the limits
of divorce and family.
As much as like Bob Hope, I have to admit this set is something of a mixed bag. Juxtaposed with retired Judge Sandra Dozier's review of The Bob Hope Collection (I missed this set myself), I'm afraid Volume 2 might be a slight step down in quality from the first DVD. That said, when Hope hits, he really hits, and when he misses, he swings for the outfield. Allow me to delineate the hits from the misses.
The Great Lover: Right out of the gate, this is my favorite film on
the set. It's fine combination between the thriller and a slapstick Bowery Boys
flick. The balance between comedy and suspense reminds me of the balance between
horror and comedy in Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein. When the
film is funny, it's damn funny, and when it's playing with the audiences nerves,
it does so with high tension. Hope is the buoy that keeps the raft afloat, a
poor schmuck besieged by puritanical kids, murderous con artists, deceitful
feds, and a lovestruck Countess.
Grade: A
Cancel My Reservation is a fun, surprisingly sexy neo-noir with a
memorable desert setting. Hope and Eva Marie-Saint make an excellent
husband-wife detective team and the villains, while a little stock and
predictable, make for fine adversaries. The film is funny, if a little
restrained in the slapstick department, meaning it might test fans of Hope who
are unwilling to see him play low key. The film has an incredibly low IMDb
score, but the only thing weighing the film down is a wonky narrative structure
and a bad funk-rock score (because we all associate Bob Hope with Sha-Na-Na
style rock n' roll). Watch for hilarious John Wayne, Johnny Carson, Bing Crosby
and Flip Wilson cameos halfway through.
Grade: B
Paris Holiday starts out strong, introducing each of its ensemble
cast of characters with interior monologues that share each character's
thoughts. It's a bold, experimental move, especially for a slapstick caper like
this. It is also a narrative device that is discarded far too early on in the
film. The first two acts of the movie are so much fun that by the time Hope and
the cast make it to Paris, the film falters on the weight of its own espionage
subplots. Hope and Fernandel make a fine slapstick team, and a chase featuring
Hope dangling from a helicopter's rope ladder picks things up in the final act.
Unfortunately, Paris Holiday doesn't mix suspense, comedy, and romance as
well as The Great Lover, but is worth a watch on a rainy afternoon.
Grade: C
The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell can be best summed by saying:
before Stripes, before In The Army Now, this one did the Army
slacker storyline pretty well. The plot is simple enough: Hope wants beer for
his men to improve their morale, and is willing to go to any lengths to get it.
His hair brained scheme makes for some funny and fine heroic antics. Phyllis
Diller does her sexed-up hag schtick well enough, and the two have great
onscreen chemistry. My biggest complaint with the film is its prevalent racial
humor toward Hope's Japanese enemies. I know the film is set during World War II
and the film tries to make up for it with a Japanese American hero character
(played by Conan The Barbarian's Mako), but it comes off as thoroughly
distasteful and mean spirited. Otherwise, The Private Navy is fine
comedy.
Grade: B
Son of Paleface is a respectable comedy-western. I missed original
Paleface, but enjoyed this sequel on its own terms. Of all of the films,
this one showcases Hope's slapstick skills to their fullest. It is the most
postmodern film of the set, with Hope taking verbal cracks at Hollywood
throughout (particularly in the film's over-critical, self-referential
narration). Jane Russell is sexy and dangerous as the film's femme fatale, and
her musical number with Hope and Roy Rogers is tons of fun. The film is a bit
long in the tooth, and there are far too many characters, but Son of
Paleface delivers the goods. In terms of minor quibbles, I wish Hope
would've reigned back on his character's annoyingly preening limericks. When you
watch the movie, you will too.
Grade: B+
How To Commit A Marriage is a horrible, horrible marriage farce that
tries desperately to comment on the disconnection between hippies and their
parents, but does so in a way that is stereotypical and predictable. Never have
I seen Hope and Gleason more uncomfortable in a film. They seem to be having fun
together, but aside from a golf set piece involving the two and a pro-golfing
chimpanzee (you read that right), most of their material is incredibly stale. I
for one never need to see Hope made up as a flower child ever again. Ever.
Grade: D
Shout! Factory spreads the six films across three discs. The transfers aren't stunning, and suffer from grain, scratches, and other flaws common to semi-obscure films from the 1940s, '50s, '60s and '70s. The audio tracks are a bit better. They're standard stereo tracks that sound fairly full, though older films like The Great Lover suffer from some pops and hissing. There are no extras, unfortunately.
I like Bob Hope and I like this set. It's an uneven mix of movies in terms of quality and content, but the price is reasonable and, aside from How To Commit A Marriage, each film stacks up to be well worth the cumulative $25 price tag. If you own Shout! Factory's The Bob Hope Collection: Volume 1, there is no reason not to pick up this one.
Not guilty.
Review content copyright © 2011 Ike Oden; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2013 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Video: 75
Audio: 80
Extras: 0
Acting: 85
Story: 75
Judgment: 80
Perp Profile
Studio: Shout! Factory
Video Formats:
* Full Frame
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles:
* None
Running Time: 570 Minutes
Release Year: 1949
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* None
Accomplices
* IMDb: The Great Lover
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0041429/combined
* IMDb: Cancel My Reservation
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0068332/combined
* IMDb: Paris Holiday
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0052047/combined
* IMDb: The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0063459/combined
* IMDb: Son of Paleface
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0045177/combined
* IMDb: How To Commit A Marriage
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0064449/combined