My Favorite Blonde [Blu-ray]

Director: Sidney Lanfield Sidney Lanfield

Overview

Each of Bob Hope's "My Favorite" films (My Favorite Blonde, My Favorite Brunette, My Favorite Spy) was, by accident or design, a parody of a dead-serious movie genre. 1942's My Favorite Blonde, for example, was a takeoff of Alfred Hitchcock in general and Hitchcock's 39 Steps in particular. Two-bit vaudeville entertainer Hope gets mixed up with gorgeous blonde British-spy Madeline Carroll. The "maguffin" (Hitchcock's nickname for "gimmick") which ties the two stars together is a ring which contains the microfilmed plans for a revolutionary new bomber. Hope and Carroll are forced to take it on the lam when Hope is framed for murder by Nazi-agents Gale Sondergaard, George Zucco et. al. Highlights include Hope eluding capture by impersonating a famed psychologist (watch for Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as Hope's most contentious "patient"). Madeline Carroll also got several opportunities to shine comedically, especially when she lapsed into cloying baby talk while posing as Hope's wife. Bob Hope was hesitant to work with My Favorite Blonde director Sidney Lanfield, having heard of Lanfield's reputation as an on-set dictator. However, the two got along so swimmingly that they would collaborate on such future top-notch Hope farces as Let's Face It (1943) and The Lemon Drop Kid (1951).

Product Details

Release Date:	03/02/2021
UPC:	0738329252021
Original Release:	1942
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:18:00
Sales rank:	27,898

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bob Hope	Larry Haines
Madeleine Carroll	Karen Bentley
Gale Sondergaard	Mme. Stephanie Runick
George Zucco	Dr. Hugo Streger
Lionel Royce	Karl
Walter Kingsford	Dr. Faber
Victor Varconi	Miller
Otto Reichow	Lanz
Charles Cane	Turk O'Flaherty
Crane Whitley	Ulrich
Erville Alderson	Sheriff
Esther Howard	Mrs. Topley
Edward Gargan	Mulrooney
James Burke	Union Secretary
Dooley Wilson	Porter
Bing Crosby	Man Giving Directions
Milton Parsons	Mortician
Tom Fadden	Tom Douglas
Fred Kelsey	Sam
Edgar Dearing	Joe
Leslie Denison	Elvan
Robert Emmett Keane	Burton
Addison Richards	Herbert Wilson
Matthew Boulton	Col. Ashmont
Wade Boteler	Conductor
William Forrest	Col. Raeburn
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer	Frederick
Isabel Randolph	Frederick's Mother
Edward Hearn	Train Official
Leyland Hodgson	English Driver
Jack Luden	Spectator
Mary Akin	Spectator
Monte Blue	Cops at Union Hall
Jack Clifford	Cops at Union Hall
Dick Elliott	Backstage Doorman
Arno Frey	Male Nurse
Lloyd Whitlock	Apartment Manager
Vernon Dent	Ole, Bartender
Sarah Edwards	Mrs. Weatherwax
Paul Scardon	Dr. Higby
Bill Lally	Telegraph Operator,Chicago Taxi Driver
Minerva Urecal	Frozen-Faced Woman
James Millican	Truck Driver
Edmund Cobb	Yard Man
Jimmie Dodd	Stuttering Boy
Eddie Dew	Pilot
George Turner	Pilot
Kirby Grant	Pilot
William Cabanne	Pilot
Harry Hollingsworth	Irish Cop
Edward Peil Sr.	Cop
Dick Rush	Cop
Art Miles	Cop Outside Union Hall
Max Wagner	Man with Truck
William Irving	Waiter
Charles Moore	Pullman Porter,Newsboy
Dudley Dickerson	Red Cap
Charles McAvoy	Brakeman
George Hickman	Elevator Boy
Joe Recht	Newsboy
Gerald Pierce	Newsboy
Allan Ramsey	Newsboy
John Erickson	Newsboy
David McKim	Newsboy
Frank Mills	New York Taxi Driver
Frank Marlowe	Chicago Taxi Driver
Alice Keating	Woman
Betty Farrington	Woman
Nell Craig	Woman
Rose Allen	Outraged Woman
David Buttolph	Composer

Technical Credits

Don Hartman

Frank Butler

Paul Jones	Producer
Sidney Lanfield	Director
Don Hartman	Screenwriter
Frank Butler	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

One of Bob Hope's strongest solo efforts, My Favorite Blonde is terribly silly -- but also terribly hard to resist. While it's often referred to as a satire of Hitchcockian spy films, it's more of a spoof than anything else, using spy films mostly for conveniences of plot and as an excuse for some wonderful gags and one-liners. Things don't start out too promisingly, as the exposition is awkward and poorly executed, but once Hope and Madeleine Carroll connect, things pick up considerably. In many of his later vehicles, Hope comes across as hemmed in by his own persona; here, however, he's still developing, and so there's a freshness and element of surprise to him. Few people could match Hope at this point in his career when it came to timing. Carroll has a much harder task, being asked too frequently to play straight "man" and to carry too much of the plot, but she does this well -- and even manages to get in some smart comic licks of her own (especially in the cutesy-pie baby-talk sequence). Gale Sondergaard's faux Judith Anderson routine also deserves note, and director Sidney Lanfield has done a solid job of keeping things moving and not letting the tangled plotlines cause too much concern to anyone.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler