Here Come the Girls

BOB HOPE's screen career was still at the crest of the wave when he did HERE COME THE GIRLS, but was soon to descend with a bunch of largely forgettable films, beginning with CASANOVA'S BIG NIGHT in 1954. From then on, Hope's films were less enjoyable than during his heyday when he hit his stride in '39's CAT AND THE CANARY and had a string of memorable comedy hits.

Hope is improbably cast as a chorus boy with two left feet (he describes himself as "the world's oldest living chorus boy"), and ROSEMARY CLOONEY is the girl who sticks by him when the going gets rough and he loses his job when fired by stage manager, FRED CLARK.

The zany plot has him chosen by the theater manager to be the bait to attract a killer called The Slasher, who is anxious to get revenge on any man close to ARLENE DAHL when leading man TONY MARTIN is unable to go on. The plot depends heavily on this one note gimmick for laughs and it does manage to get them despite the lightweight script.

Clooney and Martin both get a couple of ballads to sing, none of them the least bit memorable, and the lavish musical numbers are staged with some flair. Hope gets the laughs as things go wrong whenever he sets foot on the stage. ROBERT STRAUSS is the killer on the loose and he does a good job of combining villainy with comic skill.

Strictly second-rate stuff, but pleasantly handled by the agreeable cast. Biggest drawback is that Hope is really woefully too old for the role of the chorus boy, constantly being referred to as "the boy" throughout.

A light piece of fluff, but enjoyable fluff! Watch out for the last scene with the great chase - some fantastic and hilarious acrobatics done there. Bob Hope fans, you can't miss this one. Non-fans, give it a go anyway, it's so silly that you'll laugh!

"Here Come The Girls" has a couple of splashy musical production numbers, including some impressive dancing, particularly from the female flamenco artist and the Four Step Brothers. But Bob Hope's character is atypically obnoxious in this one: he loses our sympathies when he practically sexually harasses Arlene Dahl despite that fact that he is supposed to have a sweetheart (Rosemary Clooney) back "home". This scenario only works when Dahl is trying to seduce him, not the other way around. There are still a few funny bits (the cue cards are my favorite), but on the whole "Here Come The Girls" delivers more as a musical than as a comedy. ** out of 4.

1900. Bob Hope plays Stanley Snodgrass, the world's oldest chorus boy, who can do nothing right.

Fired by his manager (the always watchable Fred Clark) he's hired back in a hurry because a mad slasher (a menacing Robert Strauss) is after his star. Stanley, thinking he's the new star because of his talent, will be an unwittingly decoy.

In future movies Strauss would often have a perfect blend of menace and humor. Here, he's all threat.

You won't find many laughs in this light-weight vehicle, but it's not dreary. It has some good songs and for Hope fans his personality is pleasant. If you don't like Hope's persona you won't enjoy this.

Besides Clark and Strauss, a standout is William Demarest as a cop playing as Stanley's put-upon valet.

The show may look peculiar but it's more a Zeigfield-type presentation that would mix song-and-dance, comedy acts and sketches.

Here Come the Girls is directed by Claude Binyon and written by Edmund L. Hartmann. It stars Bob Hope, Arlene Dahl, Tony Martin, Rosemary Clooney, Millard Mitchell, William Demarest, Fred Clark and Robert Strauss. Music is by Lyn Murray and cinematography by Lionel Lyndon.

Hope is inept "chorus boy" Stanley Snodgrass, who after getting fired from the revue of Here Comes the Girls, gets a second chance. Unbeknown to him, though, he is being used as bait to lure serial killer Jack the Slasher out into the open.

Hearty and frothy and lush with Technicolor pleasures, Here Come the Girls is everything a committed Bob Hope fan could want. He gets to bound about with his usual energy, sing, crack sharp one-liners and flirt with a sexy woman; or two! The turn of the century setting is most appealing, the costuming equally so, and while the musical numbers are average fare, they serve good framework for Hope's goofery.

How middle class!

Around Hope, though, it's a mixed bag of performances, where it's Clark who shines brightest as the show's grouchy impresario who is literally willing the Slasher (Strauss having a great time of it) to rid him of Snodgrass! Dahl is socko sexy (check out that hour glass figure in an eye scorching purple frock), and Clooney's legs are a sight for sore eyes.

His fling is flang.

Better songs and a better director would have lifted it to greater heights, but Hope on form was usually enough to keep a comedy in credit, which is the case here. With characters called Bang Crosby and Jack the Slasher you know where the picture is at, while we also get the world's scariest clown to keep things on the black comedy simmer. 7/10