The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell (1968)

Most of Bob Hopes best films were made in the 1930s and 40s. Many of his later movies, to put it charitably, looked like he was just going through the motions...at best. Because of this, I had pretty low expectations of this film when I sat down to watch it...especially since he is 65 and is playing a sergeant! Were my instincts right? Read on...Sgt. O'Farrell is stationed on a small, out of the way island in the Pacific during WWII. While they don't see any action, they don't see much of anything else, as their supplies have been cut off and they are desperate for some female companionship. Suddenly, a transport plane makes it through and their wish is granted...of sorts. The 'woman' is Nurse Krause...and she's played by Phyllis Diller! As for the rest of the nurses...they're all guys! Inexplicably, Gina Lollobrigida just happens to be there. And, soon beer cans from a sunken supply ship start washing ashore...and suddenly morale improves tremendously. But the Sergeant needs to keep a secret....his partner who is helping him retrieve all the beer is a Japanese soldier (Mako) who has little interest in the war.So does all this sound very funny? No. And that's the problem. You would expect a Bob Hope film to be a comedy but barely anything even comes close to making you laugh and the biggest jokes(???) are about how ugly Diller is...and that really isn't particularly funny. As a comedy, it stinks...and as a war picture, it's not much either due to the strange plot, overuse of bad stock footage and an almost complete lack of anything exciting. A dud...but amazingly NOT among Hope's very worst films of the era, as he managed to be even more unfunny in films such as "How to Commit Marriage" (1969)....a film about as funny as Ebola.

I have never expected a great deal from Bob Hope's comedies and know perfectly well that his films were meant to amuse their audiences in a lighthearted, unpretentious way. Hope was always the same as an actor but even his sameness was somewhat brilliant and I tend to like him. I remember having had lots of fun seeing THE PALEFACE, Paris HOLIDAY, BACHELOR IN PARADISE and other of his films. THE PRIVATE NAVY OF SGT. O'FARRELL is just an average effort. Frank Tashlin was an excellent director but this is not one of his major comedies. The plot could have resulted in a more substantial screenplay, in better devised and more entertaining comic scenes. The film has an obvious 60's look and no effort was made to give it a more authentic 40's atmosphere. Hope and Diller are their usual selves, and occasionally make one laugh. Gina Lollobrigida is as beautiful as ever but has very little to do. As usual, she is merely seen as a decorative presence. She could be so much more, as we know from films such as COME September, HOTEL PARADISO and BUONA SERA, MRS. CAMPBELL. Mylène Demongeot does a sort of cameo. It would have been to the film's advantage to give her more screen time.

This film seems (if you'll pardon the expression) inspired by "McHale's Navy" and "Hallalujah Trail". Hope, way too old for the part, tries to come across as a a McHale/Sgt. Bilko type but doesn't pull it off. He still manages to come across slightly better than former Enterprise Captain Jeffrey Hunter who just mugs his way through scene after scene. One wonders if he hurt his eyes popping them as much as he did.This was the last film by director Frank Tashlin, who had last directed Hope in "Son of Paleface". It's a sad reunion. There are occasional Tashlin type jokes (like Hope rowing in a submarine) but the story is a mess. Scenes seem to be missing (after setting up Phyllis Diller with the idea Lt. Commander Snavley has a crush on her, she waits for him. The next time we see them they are driving through the jungle in a jeep without explanation) and the narrative (if you're paying attention) is very choppy.You get the feeling Tashlin was wishing he was back with Jerry Lewis, who he'd directed in 8 films since last directing Hope.Whether you like Diller's shtick or not, she's one of the only strong performers in the film (you do wish Hope or someone would have explored the way they treat her though. Her character is actually fun and has a good heart yet they treat her like she was nothing). Gina Lollabridgida must have wondered how her career had gotten to this point and the French girl (a really underwritten part) with her I think went back to France to make movies after her experience with "The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell".

May contain SPOILERS:I approached Bob Hope's and Phyllis Diller's 3rd and final "epic" with some trepidation. After the mediocre "Eight on the Lam" and the dire "Boy, Did I Get A Wrong Number!", I wasn't expecting much. However, I am a huge fan of Gina Lollobrigida(billed here as "Miss Gina Lollobrigida") so I decided to give it a chance and I was pleasantly surprised. While no classic and far from great Hope, "The Private Navy of Sergeant O'Farrell" is an amiable, easy-to-take farce in the "McHale's Navy" vein and is Hope's best film from a not-so-great period(1964-1972) in his film career. Basically Hope and his men are fighting WWII in the 1960s, not the 1940s, replete with anachronisms including references to "watching reruns" in the decade before TV was commonplace in most American homes. Anachronistic highlight is the gorgeous 41-year old Miss Lollobrigida showing off her breathtaking figure in a 1968 bikini complete with 1968 makeup and hairdo in a sequence allegedly set in 1941 Waikiki. Interestingly enough, no reference is made to Italy being Japan's and Germany's ally during WWII. Jeffrey Hunter, most famous for his portrayal of Jesus Christ in "King and Kings" shows a surprising strong aptitude for comic ability as a lieutenant-cum-descendant of John Paul Jones with a propensity to seasickness. In one of the film's daffier subplots he keeps having romantic dreams about Miss Diller! The Adam and Eve sequence is a hoot. Mako shines as a Japanese-American named Calvin Coolidge Ishimura who gets mistaken for an Axis soldier. All of the likable nonsense is well directed by former Warner Brothers cartoonist turned comedy director Frank Tashlin("Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?", "The Glass Bottom Boat"). In a clever moment, Bob and Gina spoof Burt Lancaster's and Deborah Kerr's "From Here To Eternity" beach love scene 12 years prior to Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty did so in the hit spoof "Airplane!"Bottom line: Nothing great but pleasant and worth seeing if you're a fan of Hope or Gina. Too bad they didn't make more films together.Rating: 6 out of 10 or **1/2 out of ****. Makes a good double feature with either of these Cary Grant WWII Pacific Theater comedies: "Operation Petticoat"(1959) or "Father Goose"(1964).