I just picked up the neatest 'Legends of Hollywood' DVD set featuring a cool catalog of pictures from the legendary Bob Hope. It's got two 'Road' pictures (Rio and Bali), and a nice assortment of additional films spanning Hope's career. Watching one, it's hard not to watch another immediately after, especially when he teams with iconic sidekick Bing Crosby, or in this case, with Dorothy Lamour along for the ride with both stars. I got a kick out of the name of Hope's character, 'Hot Lips' Barton, while the Bingster goes by Scat Sweeney. They're both on the run from a posse of jilted females left behind by Crosby's character, who tries to throw their angry fathers off the trail by dropping names like Bogart and Autry. I feel bad for younger viewers watching the film today who might not be able to make the connection, but for movie goers of the era, it had to be a blast to be 'in' on the joke.
The film offers a neat bit with a comedy trio I'd never seen before - they're the Wiere Brothers, although Weird might have been more appropriate. In the picture, they don't speak English, so Scat teaches them each a single line that he hopes will get them by. It's done pretty effectively, and even though you can see the payoff coming from a mile away, it's still a lot of fun. Too bad they didn't show up in a few more Road shows.
As usual, Dorothy Lamour turns up as a character unknown to the boys when the film begins; here she's an heiress who's villainous 'aunt', played by Gale Sondergaard, attempts to steal her fortune via an arranged marriage. Aunt Catherine employs a couple of toughs to bodyguard Lucia (Lamour); Frank Faylen and Joseph Vitale both get to mix it up with the boys along the way, usually getting the short end of the stick.
Best line of the picture - "Well if she looks like Lamour, she can sing like Lamour, can't she?" Sing she can, in a tuneful little single titled "Experience". What I couldn't figure out though, was why nobody on board the SS Queen of Brazil complained when Crosby and Lamour sat right in front of the shipboard movie!
The film offers a neat bit with a comedy trio I'd never seen before - they're the Wiere Brothers, although Weird might have been more appropriate. In the picture, they don't speak English, so Scat teaches them each a single line that he hopes will get them by. It's done pretty effectively, and even though you can see the payoff coming from a mile away, it's still a lot of fun. Too bad they didn't show up in a few more Road shows.
As usual, Dorothy Lamour turns up as a character unknown to the boys when the film begins; here she's an heiress who's villainous 'aunt', played by Gale Sondergaard, attempts to steal her fortune via an arranged marriage. Aunt Catherine employs a couple of toughs to bodyguard Lucia (Lamour); Frank Faylen and Joseph Vitale both get to mix it up with the boys along the way, usually getting the short end of the stick.
Best line of the picture - "Well if she looks like Lamour, she can sing like Lamour, can't she?" Sing she can, in a tuneful little single titled "Experience". What I couldn't figure out though, was why nobody on board the SS Queen of Brazil complained when Crosby and Lamour sat right in front of the shipboard movie!