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Sadly Over-hyped

Memorable, crazy movie

Good concept, poorly executed.

As Good As It Gets

Entertainer Bob Hope (Larry) gets dragged into World War 2 spy shenanigans when British agent Madeleine Carroll (Karen) attaches secret information onto his jacket via a brooch as she is being chased by a Nazi unit headed by the always excellent Gale Sondergaard (Madame Runick). Can Bob and Madeleine reach the authorities before they get caught? Well, it's a comedy, so no guesses…..Our two leads really do get involved in a lot during the course of this film - planes, trains and automobiles. The story keeps going at a fast pace and keeps the audience watching. Not sure it's a very good film, though. I thought it was OK but it may ultimately depend on what you think of Bob Hope and stories that are completely unrealistic. Carroll seems to be able to do everything including flying an aeroplane.It's a comedy so there are funny moments as would be expected by the law of averages, but there are also scenes that aren't particularly funny, eg, the whole Irish are stupid stereotype thing. The best part is the appearance of Bing Crosby.

After swooning for quite some time on his radio show about Madeline Carroll, the actress, enjoying the publicity, approached him about being a guest on his show. Hope suggested that instead, they do a film together. The result is the delightful "My Favorite Blonde" about a British spy, Carroll, trying to deliver a coded message to Los Angeles. Attempting to escape German agents, she barges into a theater dressing room inhabited by Hope, who is performing as straight man to a penguin.Hope is a riot, with the wisecracks coming quickly throughout the film, and Carroll is a good leading lady for him - classy, serious, and the character she plays is game for anything to reach her goal. Gale Sondergaard has precious little to do - one wonders if her role was cut; Dooley Wilson has an unspoken bit on the train; and Bing Crosby directs Hope to a bus in one scene. Hope starts to walk away from him, stops, takes a beat and says to himself, "No. It couldn't be." There are other in jokes as well - Hope turns the radio to his own show and turns it off, commenting, "I can't stand that guy." As someone who was a young adult in the '60s, it wasn't kosher to like Bob Hope because of his politics, but I've always enjoyed his film performances. "My Favorite Blonde" is one of his best.

Bob Hope was in his prime in this one, and once the roller coaster of laughs starts it doesn't quit for 90 minutes. It's a road format movie: Bob and Madeleine Carroll have to get across WWII America from New York to Los Angeles with secret plans before the Nazi spies intercept them. It's a formula plot but handled most inventively and Sidney Lansfield's competent comedic direction gives Bob a perfect opportunity to develop what became his trademark character. The scenes of Percy the Penguin loose on the train, the bus driver's picnic, Hope impersonating a child psychologist for a meeting of proper small town ladies - they're little miracles of laughter. If you don't think you like Bob Hope - try this one.

I can't believe no one has reviewed this film until now. The teaming of Bob Hope and Madeleine Carroll in "My Favorite Blonde" is comic heaven. Madeleine Carroll shows a flair for comedy she was rarely allowed to display in her films. "My Favorite Blonde" is funny, fast, and sharp in the banter between Hope and Carroll. Check out the scene where they get out of what appears to be certain capture: the most hilarious scene in the film. A fine supporting cast of Paramount contractees make this one of Bob Hope's best constructed comedies. It's plotting and editing make this even more of a road picture than the "Road" pictures, a precursor to "Romancing The Stone". "My Favorite Blonde" seamlessly shows the mixing of '30's romantic comedy with World War II plots, something that would soon become obsolete as the war dragged on. Catch it whenever you can!