My Favorite Spy

Most of Bob Hope's movies from the 1940s and 1950s are okay to good. The style of humor is dated, especially that with Bing Crosby in the Road shows. Also, Hope's technique of speaking to the camera just didn't carry much comedy. But, "My Favorite Spy" has none of that. It still has some of his corny one-liners, but it also has some very good zingers.

The final half hour with some very crazy antics helps raise this film considerably. Hope plays Peanuts White and Eric Augustine – two look- alikes. One's a corny comic and the other is a ruthless international espionage free agent. The place of his frequent female opposite, Dorothy Lamour, is taken in this film by Hedy Lamarr as Lily Dalbray.

This is one comedy in which Bob gets the girl. It's nice fun, with lots of action and mayhem. Some of the other cast members who shine are Francis L. Sullivan and Karl Brubaker, Mike Mazurki as Monkara and Marc Lawrence as Ben Ali.

Here are some of my favorite lines from the movie. All are by Hope unless otherwise noted. "Remember you guys. Your salaries are paid by the taxpayers, and I may be one someday."

"I can just see it now – the unknown civilian."

"No, never mind. No memories. Tonight will make memories for tomorrow. Let's hope that tomorrow we can remember them."

"I don't remember what I said. But if you liked it, I meant every word of it."

"Ach du lieber! Augustine!"

Augustine (Hope) is sitting at a table, pulling the petals off a corsage, looking for a message. A woman sitting at his table asks, "What are you doing?" Augustine, "Oh, this? I was just helping the native farmers. I'm looking for Japanese beetles."

In this remake of the 1942 film of the same name, Bob Hope is Peanuts White, a hack Vaudevillian looks just like the thug Eric Augustine, who is wanted by the police. They ask White to help them by impersonating the crook to fool a gang of spies into turning over the microfilm. The nightclub scene is kind of fun, as he tries to pass for the crook with Lily (Hedy Lamarr) and Augustine's friends and enemies. Arnold Moss is Tasso, a non-singing Bing Crosby- type straight-gag-guy who doesn't take any jabs at Hope. Tasso one of the good guys, trying to keep White out of trouble in Tangiers. Not a lot for Lily (Hedy ) to do in this film...she's kind of along for the ride. Lamarr only made a few more films after this. It would have been interesting to have the actual locations listed; appears to be mostly the backlot and PCH. Like most of the "Road" movies, this one goes all over the map, in the casino, riding on a firetruck, thru the bazaar. Not the funniest Bob Hope movie caper, although it DOES have its laughs. Not bad.

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.

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.

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.