My Favorite Brunette (1947)

This is a cute comedy classic for a reason - it's quite comical. There is a fun crime-mystery as the basis for the story and quite a bit of comedy to keep it fun.Bob Hope is good in this - such a strange and funny character Ronnie Jackson. Enter Willie (Lon Chaney Jr) and Kismet (Peter Lorre) and the fun really begins.I haven't seen this one in years - I finally seen it recently and I have to say the movie is even cuter than I recalled it to be. And I have to confess I forgot it was Chaney and Lorre in this particular film with Bob Hope. I'm glad I was reminded about this film - it's a worthwhile comedy.Fans of classic comedy films, Bob Hope, Lon Chaney Jr and/or Peter Lorre should like this one quite a bit.8.5/10

The film begins with Hope on death row! How he got there is something you learn about through a flashback. It seems he was a baby photographer with hopes of one day becoming a private detective. And, through some accidents of change, he is mistaken for one...and ends up in the middle of a huge conspiracy. It seems that Dorothy Lamour is in need of help, but her story doesn't make much sense. But, what also doesn't make much sense is how all her 'family' react to Hope's presence--obviously SOMETHING is amiss. But what is really happening and how did Hope end up in the big house? Tune in and see for yourself with this charming public domain films. How it was allowed to lapse into the public domain is a puzzler, as often this might indicate the movie is a stinker--which this one certainly is NOT. Apart from the great cameos, some other things to look for are Lon Chaney, Jr. playing a character pretty much like his Lenny from "Of Mice And Men".This is undoubtedly one of Bob Hope's best films for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, it simply is better written. By combining Hope's usual banter with typical film noir language, the combination is quite attractive--especially since Hope's usual style really hasn't aged as well. Also, having a really nice supporting cast sure didn't hurt--nor did the wonderful cameos (but I won't say more about these, as it might spoil the fun).

I caught this on Turner Classic Movies over the summer--my first Bob Hope picture. The plot concerns a baby photographer, Ronnie Jackson, whose office is just down the hall from a Sam Spade-ish private eye, Sam McCloud (played by the mostly absent Alan Ladd). When McCloud is forced to leave for a while, Jackson does the neighborly thing and looks after his office, thereafter getting mixed up in a murderous mystery where danger lurks around every corner and nothing is as it seems.My Favorite Brunette is no comic masterpiece, but it's fun light viewing. The solid script and direction are bolstered by a good cast. Bob Hope is Bob Hoping it for all he's worth, Dorothy Lamour is suitably sexy as the damsel in distress, and Peter Lorre is both menacing and hilarious as he sends up his screen persona. Lon Chaney, Jr. is also quite enjoyable as a hulking simpleton (obviously a take-off on his turn as Lennie in the 1939 adaptation Of Mice and Men) who's tricked into working for the bad guys.The mystery at the heart of the plot was satisfying--for me, anyway--working in enough zany twists and turns to stay surprising along the way. Ultimately, though, it's no more important than as the framework from which to hang Hope's mugging and one-liners. The film moves at a fast enough pace that, if one joke fails to take off, another comes along directly behind it. There's no time to get bored, and Hope's comedic style, while perhaps bland to some, is amiable enough for all ages to enjoy. This one's worth checking out.

Superstar though he may have been, I have to confess that I was never that impressed with Bob Hope's comedy. Admittedly, my exposure to him came late in his career, mostly through his television specials in the 1970's which the elder members of my family insisted on watching. Given his superstar status, I thought I'd try out a Bob Hope movie when I came across this one. In all honesty it's what I would have expected - amusing rather than outright funny and with a somewhat confusing story that held my interest but was never well enough explained.This is one of those movies that starts at the end and then uses flashbacks to explain how the end came about. In this case, Hope played Ronnie Jackson, a baby photographer who as the movie opens is sitting on death row waiting to be executed. Jackson dreamt of being a private eye, and as the result of a case of mistaken identity, ends up being hired by Countess Montay (Dorothy Lamour) to help find her missing uncle. Here's where the confusing mystery comes in. What we're told is that Montay had an appointment at the State Department and that it had something to do with uranium. There's also a bunch of bad guys out to find a map which ends up in Jackson's possession. Aside from that, the mystery wasn't well explained. Of the bad guys, Peter Lorre was OK and somewhat mysterious, but I thought that Lon Chaney (in a somewhat limited role) was really quite good, as well as being a somewhat sympathetic character. Hope and Lamour were fine; Hope's type of comedy essentially what I remembered from the 70's TV specials. There's a very brief cameo from Bing Crosby at the end of the movie, responded to (out of character) by Hope, who says "that guy will take any part he can get." It's not an outstanding movie by any means, and it's also not a bad movie. Mediocre seems to suit it well. 4/10