Spione, Liebe und die Feuerwehr

I read somewhere here in this forum a readers take on the Bob-Hedy friction. Let me settle this once and for all. Hedy was always Bob favorite...look at some of the old war newsreels with the stars getting involved in the war, in their own way. There's a clip where Bob is surprisingly sharing a bed with his crony, Bing Crosby and in his dreams, he keeps calling out for Hedy. Hedy was an MGM player, so odds were against them making a movie together, each under contract to different studios. It turned out that some of Hedy's best funny scenes were cut, because the studio head at Paramount, didn't want anyone to be more funnier than their bread and butter comedian. She resented it, after all she was in the midst of making a comeback, as they called it in those days, after her terrific success in Samson and Delilah for that same studio a year before. Its odd that in 1951, Bob and Hedy made a comedy radio stint on top of a U.S.Navy flattop, in front of the sailors, in San Diego port. They even made jokes about appearing together in that movie. So, if there was friction, it was short lived. As far as her role, she was suppose to be playing it straight to Bob's antics. To me,the funniest scenes involved Hedy, mainly because I was surprised at how well she did handle comedy. Her hitting Bob like a wildcat, after he 'punched' her. Her double take upon seeing "both" Bob's was priceless...and that ending, with her driving the fire truck.

HEDY LAMARR may have been one of BOB HOPE's most glamorous co-stars, but she lacks the sort of comic timing needed for any female who plays opposite the hyper-active Hope. She never loses her poise no matter how ridiculous the situations are, but she never looks at home in this kind of spy story that even has her doing a nightclub act--singing the kind of sultry song that Dorothy Lamour could always put over. It's in the nightclub scene that she looks most uncomfortable as a performer, obviously dubbed by a real singer.

The story itself is the kind of mistaken identity thing that either Hope or Danny Kaye had done many times before and there's nothing new in the way of original material. It's a pleasant enough spoof of spy stories about a cowardly impostor (Hope) assigned by the government to obtain a top secret microfilm from spies in Tangier. Hope is his usual cowardly self and has to be prodded by the contact man (ARNOLD MOSS) to carry out the assignment, which he is more than willing to do once he meets the alluring Lamarr.

This was part of Hedy's deal with Paramount to give them another film after SAMSON AND DELILAH--and there's even a bit of Victor Young's "Samson and Delilah" theme played by the orchestra in the nightclub scene. Hope, who has all the best lines, plays the impostor with his usual comic finesse and gets away with varying amounts of mugging whenever the script isn't funny enough. Hedy tries valiantly to keep up with him, but she's just a little too restrained to make her efforts seem casual and effortless--as they should.

The screwball slapstick for the finale keeps things rushing along toward the predictable conclusion, but it's the sort of average entertainment that pleased Hope's fans who enjoyed his comic energy in this sort of espionage romp from time to time.

This movie, while far from Hope's best, has Bob in a duel role as Peanuts White and Eric Augusine, the latter being a notorious spy.

What is unique is that the character of Augustine is shown as a humorlous brutal killer, and for a few brief scenes we see a serious side of Bob Hope that to my knowledge has never been shown since in any effort.

The closest to it in terms of range would be Beau James which he did some years later.

1951's "My Favorite Spy" stars Bob Hope, Hedy Lamarr, Francis L. Sulllivan and Mike Mazurki. Hope plays Peanuts White, a burlesque comedian, who bears a strong resemblance to a spy, Eric Augustine. When Augustine is injured, the government gets Peanuts to go in his place to Tangier with $1 million to collect some microfilm. Peanuts, like Hope's other characters, is a bona fide coward, but he goes after Harry Truman talks with him on the phone. ("Oh, she's out on tour?" Hope asks, referring to Truman's daughter Margaret, who at that time was pursuing a singing career.) When Peanuts arrives in Tangier, he meets the woman with whom Eric was previously involved, the beautiful nightclub singer Lily Dalbray. She's under orders from the other side to get the microfilm, so she acts as if she's ready to resume things with Eric. Unfortunately, the real Eric escapes from the hospital and makes his way to Tangier, causing the situation to become even more confusing as everyone chases everyone else.

Hope is very funny in this and does indeed create a second role in Eric Augustine, who has a much darker persona than Peanuts. There are some great laughs, my favorite scene being Hedy and Peanuts dancing in the hotel while his contact tries to get his attention. The part where Lamarr drives a fire engine while Hope hangs onto the ladder is funny as well.

Hedy Lamarr was 36 or so at the time of the filming and looks glorious, particularly in the form-fitting white sequined gown she wears during her nightclub act. It's so unfortunate that in Hollywood, once a woman turned 30, lead roles became so difficult to get. Lamarr was one of the most beautiful and glamorous women in film - at any age. She's basically straight man to Hope here and holds her own in what is a Dorothy Lamour part, right down to the nightclub act. She contributes to the foreign flavor of the film.

This isn't Hope's best film, but it's still very good with some great bits and laughs.

Judging from some of the reviewers here I feel I have to mention a well known fact back then when this movie was made. Bob is Paramount's top comedy moneymaker. Hedy after her triumph role as Delilah a year or so earlier, had to make this movie cause paramount and Bob wanted her to. It turned out that Hedy's best parts were either cut or slimmered down, cause it made Bob second banana in some scenes. Naturally, the studio could not let that happen to their top money maker, so that is what was released ..a toned down Hedy role. Sneak previewers had caught the original version and most agreed that Hedy stole that movie from Bob, mainly cause no one expected it from her. Towards the end we do see some of her funny scenes, but not enough.