Louisiana Purchase

Although many of the same people who made this mess of a 1941 film were also involved in the original hit 1940 Broadway production, something definitely went wrong in the transition to film, and that something is Bob Hope who was not in the original show. Instead of letting this mild satire on contemporary politics in the style of "Of Thee I Sing" play as it must have in New York, Hope and his army of gag writers apparently shoved in a ton of meaningless machine gun gags, including a few on such wartime topics as immigration. The Norwegian ballerina Vera Zorina, wife of George Ballanchine at the time, was then a big star on Broadway, but pretty as she was, the camera did not love her. The only saving grace of this embarrassingly misguided musical is the superb clowning of the great Victor Moore as the befuddled senator. He, too, was a great star of the theater, but unlike the others in this film he somehow knew how to underplay his comedy for the camera. A few of the many songs Irving Berlin wrote for Broadway were retained for the film, most delightfully the catchy tune, "You're Lovely and I'm Lonely," which Zorina and Moore do hilariously as they might have done it on Broadway, in this case without the overbearing scene-stealing presence of Hope. Hope was a great screen personality and made many fine films, but this is not one of them.

A good-in-parts film . . . That is sadly also NOT good in parts.

The movie is haphazardly put together. It plays more like a sketch show than a comedy film. Several great elements, but the movie feels like it doesn't know what type of film it is trying to be. It jumps from comedy, to ballet, to political satire, to carnival parades of flamboyance, and back again.

None of the individual components are poor. For example, Bob Hope does well in his comedy role, and the dancing is excellent. There is a scene that is pure bedroom farce, and is executed skilfully. And moments of delightful Ziegfeld-type stage grandeur. It's just that the film is loosely glued together: it's a mess of unconnected parts.

The costumes are extravagant, but sadly - in light of the poor finish to the film - these fantastic garments then start to look OTT, rather than beautifully fitting in with the film's feel. If the movie had been created well, then these outfits would have matched that ambience. Sad, then, that they don't mesh with the film.

Nonetheless, there are advantages to the costume elements of the movie. The diaphanous gowns are a delight! Tulle abounds, and a stylish double-layer look to many of the outfits is mesmeric. The wrapover is born! Interestingly, the dress style seems to anticipate a design yet to be invented: the date of some garments looked more to be the 'New Look' of the late-'40s than the wartime era of this 1941 film. Which is bizarre! Maybe the costume designer (one Raoul Pene Du Bois) was a forerunner to that post-war look! ,-)

One scene, in a fashion house sequence, with fully hooped skirts from circa the 1860s, looks COMPLETELY misconceived! The garments are out of place in a film of the Forties! But I suppose the luxury of style and fabrics, and the pure spectacle, cheered up wartime audiences . . .

The film is memorable for only a few segments, rather than as a whole:

~~ The ballet sequence is grand. No doubt it was taken straight from the stage version, where it was choreographed by the great George Balanchine.

~~ Vera Zorina - a performer of whom I'd never heard before watching this film - is superb in the dance scenes. She also performs delightfully in the drama scenes, and in the comedy moments. So kudos to the lady. Apparently she was cast in this version, after being a success in the same role on the Broadway stage.

~~ Bob Hope is funny in general, and has a few key moments. He does a brilliant filibuster scene, and even homages James Stewart's 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' film role in the process. And there is a delightful 2-minute scene where Hope imitates the struggle of a woman getting into a complex girdle . . . The word 'laugh' doesn't cover it: it's masterful! And, unusual for Hope, the skit is not a word-comedy. I'd watch this film just for that segment alone. (BTW: the girdle sketch is in the last quarter of the film, if you want to watch that skit alone.)

Hope is perhaps miscast . . . Or maybe we are used to seeing him as a more lightweight, less stressed character. But focus on his humour in the part, and you'll like him in the role.

The script and pointed jests about the senate etc are VERY topical to its time. So those jibes are very dated. A lot of these political jokes are lost on a 21st-century audience - especially if viewers are NOT American - as the barbs won't be part of our political zeitgeist or country's history.

I'm not sure just what Irving Berlin's involvement in the film is (he is cited - "Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin" - in the opening credits), as it is a DANCE musical rather than a song-&-dance musical. Sadly, because of the credits, I kept expecting a few songs - especially by Hope who is always entertaining when singing. But such vocals from Hope never appeared . . . More's the pity. There are only a few ensemble songs, and they are immemorable, so much so that I have forgotten them already! A bit of editing in the credits, by the Paramount studio, would have helped the viewer. I like Berlin's music, and was expecting some good songs by him, so it's non-event irked me.

It is not a bad movie. It's just too much variance, swinging from one genre of film to another. Other Bob Hope films have better passed the test of time.

Comedian Bob Hope, in his first Technicolor performance, effortlessly portrays Jim Taylor, a political lackey of the Louisiana Purchasing Company who is unaware that he is being gulled, replacing William Gaxton who starred on Broadway in this long-running satirical comedy, featuring music and lyrics by irving Berlin. Although the original work by Morrie Ryskind, with its sardonic savaging of politicians and their methods, is carefully muted in this cinematic version, there remains much to enjoy as Taylor frantically struggles to avoid taking a rap for the misdealings of a coterie of his graftsodden superiors, played effectively by such as Donald MacBride and Frank Albertson. An opera bouffe opening serves to explain to the audience that in order to avoid onerous lawsuits, Louisiana must be accepted as a mythical location, with a bevy of comely singers offering the standard "no resemblance" disclaimer for the decoy State. Victor Moore, Vera Zorina and Irene Bordoni reprise their stage roles from a work sadly seldom performed since, with the veteran director of musicals Irving Cummings doing his best to retain some of its operetta nature and still permit Hope to gambol about as the target of a Congressional investigation headed by Senator Oliver P. Loganberry (Moore). The screen play generally fails to capture the essence of its source, and therefore much of Hope's timing is wasted upon poor material, while Moore is so torpid that he appears to be more sleep deprived than anything else. Raoul Pene Du Bois formulated the beautiful costumes and designed the splendid sets, including that for a traditional dream ballet sequence showcasing prima ballerina Zorina, and plot propelling and witty lyrics by Berlin, although too often cut, enhance the overall production, particularly the delightful title piece, sung and danced to by alluring Dona Drake. The opening scenes fare best, in particular that wherein Emory Parnell, a top studio lawyer, reads the script and then dictates a singspieled letter in rhymed couplets to advise executives against replicating the original show, a very clever and funny beginning to this lavish Paramount motion picture.

This one's a real oddity: a semi-musical satire of a period of corruption that will mean nothing to anybody who is either not a resident of the United States or under eighty-ish years of age. Bob Hope stars as a naive hero who finds himself set up to take the rap when a corrupt cadre find themselves on the brink of discovery and hatches one of those ridiculous Hollywood musical plots to get himself out of trouble. Somehow, I don't think this is too closely based on factual events.

The film opens with a quirky number in which a colourful group of girls sing about how the characters are fictitious and not based on any persons living or dead, and include lyrics stating they are singing this to save the producers from being sued. Bizarre. When Hope is on screen the film is a typical Hope vehicle - which isn't necessarily a good thing - and when he's not the pace slows to a crawl. Despite this it is Victor Moore as the ageing virginal investigator on the trail of the corrupt politicos who steals the movie. Vera Zorina as Hope's love interest is an actress of extremely limited talent and best forgotten to save her descendant's embarrassment. The storyline is littered with references to contemporary matters that mean nothing today, meaning most of them flew way over the top of my head, making it somewhat flawed as a political satire - and fairly insipid as a musical

Excellent movie with many beautiful sets and funny jokes by that master Bob Hope,The Mardi Gras parade and the French Quarter in which it is set are Idealized and certainly not realistic but that was typical of musical comedies,like the pictures of Astaire and Rogers,typical of the period,so it is nothing to criticise,just a lot of fun,the filibuster scene is outrageously funny,and full of references to the movie it parodies.The set looks like the real Louisiana State senate chamber,but apparently is not.This movie is loads of fun and after all that is the purpose of comedies.Zorina is lovely amnd makes a good foil for hope.All in all a wonderful picture!