The Bob Hope Collection – Volume 2 DVD Review

The Bob Hope Collection – Volume 2
2011, Shout! Factory

Since I’ve made if my life mission to own every Bob Hope movie, Shout! Factory’s second volume of The Bob Hope Collection was a great addition to my own collection. Six movies and five of them I had never seen (I already owned (Son of Paleface on DVD). Sadly, this is another collection of public domain flicks and some of Hope’s lesser known films other than the Paleface sequel.

Shout! Factory claims these are high-definition transfers but I’ve seen reviews stating this is not true though other reviews say they have been cleaned up considerably compared to other versions floating around. The Great Lover is a poor transfer but maybe that was the best Shout had to work with. Everything else looks very good to my eyes with The Private Navy of Sgt. O’ Farrell looking the best of the bunch.

The Great Lover
(1949, Paramount Pictures)

This film had the working title of My Favorite Redhead which would’ve placed it as the third film in Hope’s My Favorite… series (that honor eventually went to 1951′s My Favorite Spy). Easy Does It was another working title. It was written by Ed Beloin who I’ve already mentioned before was a writer for Jack Benny’s radio program but by this point he had left radio behind for a career as a screenwriter.

There’s something a bit off about this movie. I can’t quite place it. Bob does well but the whole premise isn’t very interesting to me and there just aren’t many funny scenes. Bob plays a scout leader on a cruise with his troops and he finds himself getting mixed up with a beautiful redhead and a murderer.

It didn’t help that the transfer is very poor and that took some of the enjoyment out of the movie for me. The movie’s title doesn’t really make much sense either. B-level effort all around.

The best part of the movie for me was seeing a cameo by Jack Benny. This was my first time seeing the movie so it completely caught me off guard. Jack & Bob have a hilarious moment over a $20 bill. Two years before taking the role of Superman on television, George Reeves has a small part in the movie as well.

Paris Holiday
(1959, United Artists)

Paris Holiday was a pet project of Bob’s. He came up the story idea, was executive producer and wanted it to be a showcase for himself and popular French comedian Fernandel. Even with the talented Ed Beloin getting a co-writing credit, there’s not much to report about this movie. Fernandel apparently knew very little English so his character doesn’t really add much to this comedy-thriller other than wild facial expressions.

True to Bob’s intentions, both actors were showcased. The story revolves around Hope as movie star visiting France  in order to secure the rights to a movie script. He ends up getting mixed up with a criminal organization that are after some important documents but Fernandel has a few scenes of his own to strut his stuff and basically acts as an accomplice to Hope’s character throughout the movie

I guess there were hopes that this movie was going to be a success because although it does have an ending there is a twist at the end to let you know that members of the crime ring are still at large and the movie ends with “The End ?”

There’s a few zany acts of physical comedy but the movie falls flat overall and as I’ve said before, at this point, Bob should’ve been acting more age appropriate and not still lusting after and falling in love with young women.

The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell
(1968, United Artists)

This is one of Bob’s better movies from the second half of his career and it’s pretty surprising because this was his third-to-last starring theatrical role. His movies by this point were getting to be very hit-or-miss.

Hope plays a sergeant in the army stationed out on a Pacific island during WWII. The Japanese had sunk a ship carry supplies (beer, most importantly) and in order to improve morale Bob go to where the ship was sunk and get the beer for the rest of the boys.

Although it’s tough to buy Bob as a sergeant in the military at the age of 65, at least he’s not still skirt-chasing young women. It’s a refreshing change of pace to see Hope play a heroic and somewhat mature and more intelligent (yet still funny) character. A movie like this would’ve been ripe for Hope to partake in back in the ’40s as well but you’d have to make him a skirt-chasing coward during that decade.

The cast on this one is pretty good. Even Phyllis Diller (who I can’t stand) does well in her role and luckily she’s not much of a main character. I wasn’t expecting any good to come of this movie but it’s an enjoyable late Hope comedy and this particular print is as beautiful as Gina Lollobrigada in a floral bikini sitting on a Hawaiian beach.

There’s a couple of funny jabs at Bing Crosby in this one.

Directed by Frank Tashlin, who also directed Bob in Son of Paleface.

How To Commit Marriage
(1969, Cinerama Releasing Corp.)

Of all the Bob Hope movies I’ve seen, How To Commit Marriage is the second-to-worst and it was also the second-to-last feature for Bob and it was an independent release. By this point, Hope’s movie career was in serious decline and he was having trouble scoring roles and financing for movies. You really could’ve placed anyone in Bob’s role here because with some of Hope’s later movies you lose the feeling that you are watching a “Bob Hope movie” as opposed to it simply being “a movie starring Bob Hope”.

Most of this movie is played as a sophisticated comedy (other than Gleason’s chewing on the scenery and some old-school Hope humor towards the end) that deals with love, sex, drugs and the generation gap but it’s just soooooooooooo dated with the music and the hippies and the guru philosophy and free love ideas. I don’t know how Bob felt about doing this movie but as a huge Bob Hope fan, I can’t imagine he was proud of this effort.

Son of Paleface
(1952, Paramount Pictures)

Son of Paleface is an absolute classic Bob Hope movie and is the crown jewel in this whole collection. It’s often been said this sequel is even better than The Paleface itself but I think they are on equal ground.

Everything you could want is here. It’s that classic Bob Hope role of being the bumbling girl crazy fool who thinks he’s smarter, stronger, braver and sexier than he actually is.

I already owned this on DVD but its inclusion in this set certainly helps improve the collection’s overall appeal.

Cancel My Reservation
(1972, Warner Bros.)

The end of Hope’s leading man career. After this movie was released, he made only two cameos on the big screen (The Muppet Movie in 1979 and Spies Like Us in 1985) and then starred in the made-for-TV movie A Masterpiece of Murder in 1986 with Don Ameche.

What a way to go. This movie is terrible. Even the theme song is absolutely terrible. Pure ’70s soul/funk/pop garbage that’s trying to come off as The Jackson Five. It’s a weird mix of zaniness plus murder mystery and it doesn’t quiet balance out like some of Hope’s previous mystery-thrillers did. It doesn’t help that we’re supposed to believe Hope’s character is 42 years old when in truth Hope himself was 69 years old!

They made an honest attempt to capture some of the slapstick humor that had been a trademark of Bob’s movies (while taking more digs at Bing Crosby in the process) but the magic was gone by this point. Bob does a decent joke but the script is terrible and this was not the right type of role for him nearing 70 years old.

The movie’s real saving grace is the gorgeous Anne Archer. No, Bob isn’t lusting after her. He’s married to Eva Marie Saint in this one. Bob & Eva had previously been paired up in That Certain Feeling (1956).

It’s really sad this was Bob’s final movie.

Overall:

It’s really hard to recommend this set to anyone other than the hardcore Bob Hope fan. I’ve been trying to acquire all of Hope’s movies for quite some time so picking this collection up for a no-brainer for me. For anyone else that is a casual Hope fan and prefers his wise-cracking ways from the Road movies with Crosby, I suggest you stay away because there’s really only one classic here and the rest ranges from passable to poor.

Buy ‘The Bob Hope Collection: Vol. 2′ at Amazon.com

College Swing & Big Broadcast of 1938 Bob Hope Double Feature DVD Review!

College Swing / The Big Broadcast of 1938
(2002, Universal Studios)

Another Bob Hope Double Feature DVD Review! I was pretty excited to check this disc out as it features Bob’s first two feature films. He previously appeared on screen in two shorts from 1934: “Going Spanish” and “Paree, Paree”.

College Swing
(1938, Paramount Pictures)

When I think of “college swing”, I think of something entirely different. Something like Girls Gone Wild: College Swing. As you can see from the billing, Bob Hope was not the star of this film. Top billing went the the husband-wife comedy duo of George Burns & Gracie Allen (who is much cuter than I ever realized). There is a loose story revolving around Gracie trying to pass an exam in order to become owner of the college but it’s all just an excuse for love, screwball comedy, dance and song.

There’s typical college hi-jinks and some fun physical comedy here. The cast is very good. In addition to Burns & Allen and Hope, we also get Martha Raye, Betty Grable (looking as hot as ever), comedian Ben Blue, Jackie Coogan (who would later play Uncle Fester on The Addams Family television show) and future Bob Hope radio program cast members Jerry Colonna & Skinnay Ennis. There’s even a brief cameo by Mary Livingstone (wife/cast member of Jack Benny). It’s so brief I didn’t even notice it! I’ll have to go back and look for it.

Not a great piece of work but it’s very interesting for the cast alone and there are a few legit laugh out loud moments.

The Big Broadcast of 1938
(1938, Paramount Pictures)

Bob’s first picture already has him working with a few gals he would go on to work with a number of times in his career: Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour and Shirley Ross. Bob doesn’t play a major role in this movie. The Big Broadcast of 1938 is another variety picture featuring music, dancing, love and comedy. W.C. Fields is the star and while he was a big name comedian in his day, I’m not really a fan. Maybe it’s just how the print has been preserved but I find it’s hard to understand what he’s saying sometimes. He seems to mumble so much.

Much like College Swing, this is another one of those movies that may not be a true highlight but it’s entertainng given that it features a young talented cast that would go on do to so much more in films. I do believe this movie is historically important for another reason — it debuts “Thanks For the Memory” which is sung by Bob Hope & Shirley Ross. That song would follow Hope throughout his career and would be considered his signature (or even theme) song until his passing.

Overall:
This DVD is definitely a must-own for fans of classic Hollywood comedies & musicals.

Buy the DVD at Amazon.com

Caught In the Draft & Give Me A Sailor… Bob Hope Double Feature DVD Review!

Caught In The Draft / Give Me A Sailor
2002, Universal Studios Home Video

This double feature DVD was “lost” in my collection for about a year or so. I felt like I owned it but I didn’t even have it checked off in my “Bob Hope DVD” Word document! Luckily, I found it a few weeks ago while sorting through the DVDs in my closet. I had rented this collection from Netflix before but I don’t think I ever watched the movies once I owned them. I had seen Caught in the Draft a few times courtesy of AMC (Remember when American Movie Classics used to show classic movies… in B&W no less?) but I had viewed Give Me A Sailor just the one time when renting it.

Caught In The Draft
1941, Paramount Pictures

This is a typically funny Hope movie from the 1940s. Other than Hope, this is a great cast: Lynne Overman (who previously was in The Big Broadcast of 1938 with Hope) & Eddie Bracken (who would later be in Star Spangled Rhythm) are great as Hope’s friends and flunkies and Dorothy Lamour brings her usual mix of class & sex appeal to the screen. She’s super-adorable in this one and I love the scene where she’s down at the Army recruiter’s office and they do a close-up of her winking.

In this one, Bob plays a big Hollywood actor that is trying to dodge the draft by getting married to Dorothy’s character Tony (whose father is a colonel), whom he recently met on set while filming a war movie. Problem is, she figures out his true motives, gets mad and then when Hope tries to win her back and impress her by setting up a fake enlistment, it turns out he signs on for real!

Comedy ensues as Hope gets his buddies to sign up too and as they try to make it through basic training, Bob tries to win the love of Tony while also also trying to impress her father.

One of Bob’s better movies that doesn’t feature Bing (not even a cameo this time!).

Give Me A Sailor
1938, Paramount Pictures

Not really a Bob movie at all this is more a vehicle for Martha Raye though Hope does co-star with her. It’s based on a play called Linger Longer Betty and has Letty (Raye) longing for Jim’s (Hope) brother Walter and Jim longing for his brother’s girlfriend Nancy (a hot Betty Grable). They try to break them up and eventually succeed. Letty gets engaged to Walter and Jim dates Nancy but then Letty & Jim discover what they really want is each other. Reading that back, they don’t really sound like likable characters and neither really suffers any consequences for breaking up Walter & Nancy but oh well. It worked for the time. I don’t think you could pull something like this off in a movie today without the characters coming across as huge jerks.

Not a great movie but worth watching once or twice to see Bob acting instead of constantly spitting out one-liners. Martha Raye is pretty cute in an odd way.

Overall:

A worthy DVD to add to the collection of any Bob Hope fan!

Buy ‘Caught in the Draft/Give Me A Sailor’ at Amazon.com

Eddie Van Halen’s “Donut City” song from ‘The Wild Life’ soundtrack

Young Edward scored the soundtrack for this forgotten (gem?) 1984 movie but this is the only music of his that made it to the soundtrack. Pieces of the songs can be heard later on the Van Hagar albums. The Wild Life was written/produced by Cameron Crowe (Fast Times at Ridgemont High). Though not a sequel, it was intended as the spiritual successor to Fast Times (it even starred Sean’s brother — the late Chris Penn).

Unfortunately, the album has never been released on CD and the movie has never been released on DVD. This all stems from issues with the music rights (just sign the papers, guys!). I’d love to see this movie, not only to hear EVH’s music but because it sounds like my type of flick and anytime I can see my first crush Lea Thompson in her ’80s element, I’m there.

My Favorite Brunette (1947)

My Favorite Brunette (1947, Paramount Studios)

My Favorite Brunette is another Bob Hope movie that has unfortunately found itself in the public domain. That means there are TONS & TONS of DVD (and VHS) copies of this movie available from various super low-budget distributors and the print is rarely any good. There’s even some releases that show Dorothy Lamour on the cover only and try to downplay that Bob Hope is even in the movie. I once saw a VHS copy years ago that was sad bad it was unwatchable; the audio was atrocious and it wasn’t from the typical wear ‘n’ tear of the VHS cassette itself.

I have to give credit to Digiview Productions’ copy they released in 2004 — it’s actually a pretty good print. Whether they found a cleaner one or did clean-up on their own, it’s good, though the audio seems to hiss for a bit during the opening. I’ve read Shout! Factory’s The Bob Hope Collection features the best available print these days. I plan on buying that set some day so I can own The Seven Little Foys so it’ll be interesting to check out the rest of that public domain collection to see how much cleaning up they did.

Digiview Productions release from 2004

More praise for my Digiview copy — I love the cover art. Out of all the various releases for this movie, this is the cover I like best. Looks like they used original promo art and that same photo of Bob & Dorothy is nicely printed on the disc itself. I don’t remember where I bought this copy but it’s in one of those flat DVD cases that typically is reserved for $1 videos, so I’m guessing I got it at Walmart if I didn’t buy it used at some point on Amazon.

As for the original theatrical poster, I don’t really get it. At no point does Hope wear a mustache and Lamour doesn’t walk around in a sarong (though that’s what she was famous for doing). I found a promo photo that tries to explain the mustache with a spoof of Sherlock Holmes but the movie isn’t that type of detective story. This is a film noir spoof, you get that idea from the Digiview cover art but now the original movie poster.

As for the movie itself, it’s fun and it deserves more than a life in the public domain but it’s not one of Bob’s best movies. Bob stars as a baby photographer who ends up impersonating a private eye and gets wrapped up in a mystery concerning a group of crooks trying to swindle a uranium mine. This is the second in the “My Favorite…” series (and it’s working title was The Private Eye). My Favorite Blonde (1941) & My Favorite Spy (1951) are more enjoyable comedies but this is still worth looking act because of the talented cast (Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney play criminals). Alan Ladd cameo’s as the real P.I. and there’s a really funny Bing Crosby cameo too!

This was the first Paramount movie to be made in conjunction with Hope’s Bob Hope Enterprises production company.

Buy Shout! Factory’s ‘The Bob Hope Collection’ at Amazon.com