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My Favorite Brunette

My Favorite Brunette

List Price: $4.95
Your Price: $4.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A private eye that does not get the picture of the situation
Review: A photographer turned private eye by accident and becoming involved in a very important plot to eliminate a couple of people in order to appropriate a uranium mine. Every single detail is hilarious, upside down, wrong. This poor photographer does everything the wrong way and misses all the details or fails all the possibilities, and yet he succeeds because of his great luck. Nothing much more can be said without reducing the fun of the film. So go and rush to it. Its worth a good laugh.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Great Movie, Terrible Transfer
Review: As great as this movie is, the transfer to DVD is pathetic. I suggest turning it down. The beginning of the movie is the worst part, full of scratches and sound so poor it's difficult to understand the dialog. Unbelievably, it's not even presented in full frame. The left side of the credits (and presumably, the rest of the movie) are cut off!

I suppose that in any industry or technology, there will be people in it just to make a buck. Movies such as this are a national treasure that deserves to be treated and immortalized as an art form. This is just the "make a buck" version.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "My Favorite Brunette" with my favorite Bob Hope!
Review: Baby photographer Ronnie Jackson (Bob Hope) would more than anything love to become a private eye. But while while taking calls for the detective agency next door, who should walk in but drop dead gorgeous Carlotta Montay (Dorothy Lamour). Mistaken for the destective himself, Ronnie cannot refuse helping out the lovely lady. It's not long before our favorite comedian, (who can't even handle a gun!), is caught up into dangerous plot with dangerous bad guys (Lon Chaney Jr. and Peter Lorre). Will Ronnie and Carlotta be able to sort everything out before they're 'silenced' forever?

I can't help but love the old screwbal comedies from the golden black&white age where movies were tons of fun. And with such an all-star cast, what could go wrong with this film? Nothing!

Bob Hope of course stands out in the movie with the most comedic power. He has such talent and seems to effortlessly pull off gags, give out hysterically funny one-liners, and make us laugh with his slapstick comic routines. Dorothy Lamour is a great actress but seems to be stuck in the sidelines under the light of Bob Hope. But that's ok because it's fun just to see her in fabulous costumes and pull Ronnie into the dangerous plot. But besides Bob Hope, Peter Lorre is the bad guy everyone can't help but love. It's great to see him give his innocent puppy dog face which he's so famous for!

Also, don't forget to check out Alan Ladd and Bing Crosby in their cameo appearances (Alan Ladd as the detective, Sam McCloud, and Bing Crosby as an attendant.)

My advice to you is that if you love Bob Hope, watch "My Favorite Brunette", which I've nicknamed, "Our Favorite Bob Hope"! Also check out these other Bob Hope classics; "My Favorite Spy", "The Lemon-Drop Kid", "The Ghostbreakers", and all the "Road To..." Series.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Happy 100th Birthday, Mr. Bob Hope!
Review: Bob Hope is back! This time with Dorothy Lamour. This is their ninth film they both have been in and they were in five others after this one. Bob Hope is the age of 43 or 44 in this film. Bob Hope plays a baby photographer who has always wanted to be a private eye...a detective. Next to his office is the McCloud Detective Agency. He begs for Sam McCloud (played by Alan Ladd in a cameo appearance) to give him a chance. But nuthin' doin'. While McCloud lets him answer the phone while he is out working on a case, who should walk in but Dorothy Lamour. The distraught woman needs help and thinks Bob is McCloud the Detective. Well, what is Bob to do, especially as lovely as Dorothy Lamour is, so here's Bob's chance to play detective. Here is where the fun begins. Bing Crosby has a cameo appearance too. Have a happy 100th Birthday, Mr. Bob Hope!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour reunite in entertaining comedy
Review: Bob Hope made many movies for Paramount during the 1940's when he was at the peak of his career. "My Favorite Brunette" is one of the best and is well written with some very funny comic situations. Hope is reunited with his co-star from the "Road" series - Dorothy Lamour - and they work well together. "Brunette" has an impressive supporting cast including Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney Jr, John Hoyt, Ann Doran, Reginald Denny, Ray Teal, Jack la Rue, and features a couple of surprise star cameos.

Hope plays baby photographer Ronnie Jackson but his heart is set on becoming a private detective ("All my life I've wanted to be a hard boiled detective like Humphrey Bogart, or Dick Powell, or even Alan Ladd!"). Dorothy Lamour is Carlotta Montay and she mistakes Hope for Sam McCloud who is a qualified private detective and has the office next door to Hope. Lamour hires Hope to look for her missing uncle who has been kidnapped but after various misadventures she realises just how inexperienced he is! After being exposed to great danger and becoming a target for the villains Hope begins to regret his deception. ("I don't know how much more of this I can take - you've had me in hot water so long I feel like a tea bag").

Some favourite lines from the film:

Bob Hope (to Peter Lorre): "Nice cheerful place - what time do they bring the mummies out?".

Bob Hope: "It always looked so easy in those Tarzan pictures!".

Hope was best known for his series of "Road" comedies with Crosby and Lamour but in "Brunette" proved he could handle a leading role on his own. Around this time he also made "My Favorite Blonde" with Madeleine Carroll and "My Favorite Spy" with Hedy Lamarr but played different characters in each film. The Bob Hope films of the forties were popular light hearted entertainment and can be viewed with increasing pleasure over and over again. Clive Roberts.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour reunite in entertaining comedy
Review: Bob Hope made many movies for Paramount during the 1940's when he was at the peak of his career. "My Favorite Brunette" is one of the best and is well written with some very funny comic situations. Hope is reunited with his co-star from the "Road" series - Dorothy Lamour - and they work well together. "Brunette" has an impressive supporting cast including Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney Jr, John Hoyt, Ann Doran, Reginald Denny, Ray Teal, Jack la Rue, and features a couple of surprise star cameos.

Hope plays baby photographer Ronnie Jackson but his heart is set on becoming a private detective ("All my life I've wanted to be a hard boiled detective like Humphrey Bogart, or Dick Powell, or even Alan Ladd!"). Dorothy Lamour is Carlotta Montay and she mistakes Hope for Sam McCloud who is a qualified private detective and has the office next door to Hope. Lamour hires Hope to look for her missing uncle who has been kidnapped but after various misadventures she realises just how inexperienced he is! After being exposed to great danger and becoming a target for the villains Hope begins to regret his deception. ("I don't know how much more of this I can take - you've had me in hot water so long I feel like a tea bag").

Some favourite lines from the film:

Bob Hope (to Peter Lorre): "Nice cheerful place - what time do they bring the mummies out?".

Bob Hope: "It always looked so easy in those Tarzan pictures!".

Hope was best known for his series of "Road" comedies with Crosby and Lamour but in "Brunette" proved he could handle a leading role on his own. Around this time he also made "My Favorite Blonde" with Madeleine Carroll and "My Favorite Spy" with Hedy Lamarr but played different characters in each film. The Bob Hope films of the forties were popular light hearted entertainment and can be viewed with increasing pleasure over and over again. Clive Roberts.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Enjoyable detective spoof with Hope in his usual form.
Review: Bob Hope stars as a wanabe 'hard-boiled' detective who stumbles into a mess of mobsters and mayhem. Hope is in top form with very funny one-liners throughout the film. Character actors Lon Chaney and Peter Lorre provide great screwball villains for the film. Two cameos add icing to the mix (you should be able to guess one of them if you know your Bob Hope films). The quality of the transfer is average and the DVD package is lackluster but the low price makes up for it. Recommended for the family and anyone with a good sense of humor.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Spoof Noir
Review: I enjoyed this movie overall. Would I watch it again--not for a while. The sound quality is a bit low, it looks like it could use a bit of remastering visually as well.

As far as the actual movie goes--it takes a few moments to get into the plot as it is a framed narrative, most of it taking place in the immediate past getting the viewers up to date with the current situation (Bob Hope in San Quentin). It gets very enjoyable after that, a few confusing moments--a result of a bit of sloppy spoofing. However, mostly it is done very well, anyone familiar with the hard boiled detective genre, film or book will enjoy this for its light hearted take on it.

Lamour and Hope play perfectly off each other there is also a nice blink and you miss it cameo by their on the road co-star, Bing Crosby.

I really did enjoy this though, but not the very very very best. But quite good.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good Hope
Review: I grew up familiar with Bob Hope as a movie comedian and my memory of his humor was fairly positive. I hadn't seen any of his movies for years and when I had the chance recently, I came away disappointed. I was beginning to wonder if I was a poor judge of humor in my youth but I think "My Favorite Brunette" set me straight. This is a funny movie and brings out all of Hope talents as a comedian. It helps that the movie itself is a satire on the "Film Noir" standard of the '40's and early '50's. Alan Ladd does a cameo appearance as the hard-boiled private eye that Ronnie Jackson (Bob Hope) aspires to become. An opportunity falls in his lap and off we go. Hope bounces from crisis to crisis alternating his expert talent at wise-cracking with his own self-deprecating humor. I thought the movie was aided by a decent cast of characters including the likes of Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney Jr. There was enough of a mystery in the plot to add to the interest level. However, this movie was a vehicle for Bob Hope and it suceeds because of how well he delivers.

I was glad to be able to "rediscover" Hope as a comedian and I thought about how I got misdirected recently. I realized that what I had been watching of late were "Road to..." movies where he teamed up with Bing Crosby. I realized that, despite the popularity of this team, those movies stifled Hope's talents. I remembered some of his movies that I liked so well from my youth and I realized that none of them included Crosby. It's just a theory but I enjoyed the way that Hope plays his style of humor off everyone and I think it suffered when he had to focus that style primarily on one ploy (Crosby). Maybe I'm not giving enough credit to the writers but watch "My Favorite Brunette" and then watch any of the "Road" movies and see if you don't detect a noticable decline in the quality of Hope's screen persona. I'm fired up to check out some more movies with Hope doing his solo act.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: OUTSTANDING BOB FILM!!!
Review: I just don't understand the reviews of some people. They spend their entire review talking about the quality of the DVD and never even discussing the movie. Don't they know that their review of movie will be seen whether or not you look up the DVD or VHS movie? Sure...One DVD version may be of poor quality but what about the other DVD versions...the VHS versions? Let me know about the film, people!

San Francisco baby photographer Ronnie Jackson (Bob Hope) has unfulfilled ambitions to be a private detective like his neighbour in the next office Sam McCloud. When Sam goes out of town Carlotta Montay (Dorothy Lamour) comes in seeking help and mistakes Hope for the detective who thinks this could be the big chance to prove himself but as usual in a Hope film he runs into more trouble than he can handle. Lamour persuades Hope to look for her uncle who has been kidnapped by the villains and a double put in his place. The plot thickens as he accompanies Lamour into many ludicrous situations, unforeseen danger and one hilarious episode after another.

Bob Hope is very funny in this enjoyable light comedy. The plot is deliberately crazy and implausible, but creative, and it sets up some funny situations. The rest of the cast is good too, and it all works very well as light entertainment.

The film was directed by Elliot Nugent who had directed some of Bob's best films of the 30's and 40's. But the thing that really raises the bar and fun factor in this film is the villians played by Horror heavies Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney jr!

Great Film!


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