Some Like It Hot

SOME LIKE IT HOT (Paramount, 1939), directed by George Archainbaud, stars the now legendary comedian, Bob Hope, in one of his lesser known movie projects with a classic movie title. Bearing no relation to the 1959 Billy Wilder United Artists comedy, SOME LIKE IT HOT, starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in a story set during the roaring twenties about a couple of hapless musicians who, after witnessing a gangland killing, elude gangsters involved by disguising themselves as women in an all-girl band. No doubt that sort of story would have been ideal Bob Hope material. Instead, this SOME LIKE IT HOT is a minor musical with an entirely different screenplay. Aside from being Hope's third collaboration with vocalist, Shirley Ross, SOME LIKE IT HOT is also a notable for one of the few film roles of famous drummer, Gene Krupa, who not only acts but gets his chance twirling his sticks in a couple of drum soloing interludes.

Set mostly at an boardwalk arcade, Nicky Nelson (Bob Hope) is a small time carnival promoter of Nicky Nelson Enterprises with Gene Krupa and his Orchestra as his assistants. For five years he's talked his way in and out o situations, but have never succeeded to the top of his profession. Outside of office of Steve Hanratty (Bernard Nedall), agent for the City Pier Amusement Company, Nicky encounters Lily Racquell (Shirley Ross), a talented singer who has just lost her job. The two team up, but Nicky loses both his orchestra and vocalist after Lily discovers Nicky gambled away her diamond ring and their signature song to Hanratty. Under Hanrity's management, Krupa and Lily perform to great success at the Paradise Pavalion while Nicky, feeling he can go it alone, finds himself on a downward path.

Being the swing band era, with the catch phrase of "hot" as part of the language used amongst band players, "hot" songs used in this production include: "Some Like It Hot" (sung by Rufe Davis, Jack Smart and Harry Barris, played by Gene Krupa and his Orchestra); "The Lady's in Love With You" (piano playing by Bob Hope); "Who Done It" (performed by the Krupa Orchestra); "Some Like It Hot" (sung by Shirley Ross); "Heart and Soul" (Gene Krupa and his Orchestra); and "The Lady's in Love With You" (sung by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross).

Having both introduced the Academy Award winning tune to what's become Hope's lifelong theme song, "Thanks for the Memory" from THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938, followed with "Two Sleepy People" for THANKS FOR THE MEMORY (1938), a natural title. Hope and Ross resume their fine chemistry with this film's best song, "The Lady's in Love With You." While Hope and Ross could have resumed promisingly as a screen team, this was to be their last together.

Others appearing in the cast include Una Merkel (Flo Saunders); Frank Sully (Sailor Burke, the living corpse) Clarence Wilson (Mr. Ives, better known as "Beagle Beak," the landlord after Nicky's back rent); Bernadine Hayes, Richard Denning and Tiny Wayne Witty. Regrettably, Merkel, as Sailor Burke's love interest, is given little to do what normally calls for some good comic support.

Previously filmed as SHOOT THE WORKS (Paramount, 1934), with Jack Oakie, Dorothy Dell and Lew Cody in the Hope, Ross and Nedall roles, this latest edition, based on a play, holds up better primarily due to the early screen presence of Hope. For anyone familiar with Bob Hope's style of comedy, SOME LIKE IT HOT offers little or nothing by way of his typical ad-libs or Hollywood in-jokes that have served him more favorably later in his career, especially those wacky "Road to" comedies in the 1940s opposite Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Hope does have some moments with funny one-liners, but overall plays it straight. One thing that fits the Hope persona here is his method of meeting the girl (Ross), winning her over with some kissing within a very short time span. How he works fast!

Available for many years under its new title, RHYTHM ROMANCE, so not to compete with the Billy Wilder classic (interesting Paramount didn't lose the title rights to Martha Raye's THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER (1940) to Loretta Young's 1947 edition of the same name) and not shown regularly on either commercial and/or public television since the 1980s, this 64 minute product has become available to home video in 1999 through MCA Home Video as part of the Bob Hope Collection. As for cable TV, its only know broadcast in recent years was on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: July 16, 2008) where it played part of TCM's tribute to "Big Band Music in the Movies."

Though SOME LIKE IT HOT/RHYTHM ROMANCE may not be so hot by Hope standards, it's an interesting look at the young comedian shortly before reaching his peak of success, the vocalizing of Shirley Ross, and the drummer boy himself, Gene Krupa. (**)

Not Hope's best, but he makes a good flim-flam artist going straight. The highlight of the film is Gene Krupa and his band playing "Blue Rhythm Fantasy", a number with Krupa soloing while the band beats out tempo on small drums at their music stands. This is Krupa's first film with his first band after leaving the Benny Goodman Orchestra.

BOB HOPE had some weak comedy material in his time but this has got to be one of the worst. At least '39 is the year he also had THE CAT AND THE CANARY which launched his career big time.

Plot is a trifle that has Hope as a down on his luck song composer working at the fairgrounds and finding his luck changes when he meets aspiring singer SHIRLEY ROSS. Ross has a pleasant personality but is pretty bland, serving only to be a foil for Hope's occasional one-liners which have less sting than usual in the trite script.

At least whatever energy the film has is due to GENE KRUPA who gets to beat his drum and lead his band and even has an acting role in this one--but the less said about that the better.

Summing up: As corny and trite as anything Hope ever did at Paramount with only one fairly interesting song getting the spotlight.

"Some Like it Hot" is a very tough Bob Hope film to watch. In many of his films, he plays a roguish sort of guy...but an ultimately likable guy. But in "Some Like it Hot", he's not very likable and by the end of the film, he hasn't changed at all...yet, inexplicably, he gets some sort of happy ending.

Nicky (Hope) is a combination sideshow barker and agent for some very talented people who really DON'T need his help. Why? Because Nicky has a terrible reputation which he's richly earned as a liar. He lies CONSTANTLY...making it sound as if he's a big man while he's actually a failure. And, eventually, his client (Gene Krupa and his band) realizes they don't need him (they really DIDN'T need him). Along with Krupa and the band, a woman who is inexplicably devoted to Nicky leaves for greener pastures without Nicky.

Late in the film, you see that Nicky hasn't changed at all...other than he's a bigger and more pathetic liar than ever before! As for the rest, they are quite successful but somehow long for the 'good old days' when Nicky was their agent...even though he achieved NOTHING for them and lied every time he opened his mouth. Yet, despite all this, you are expected to pull for him and hope that Hope has a happy ending. As for me, I wanted to see him broken and miserable, as he seemed to have worked hard to do that to himself!

The bottom line is that you cannot write a movie where the main character is thoroughly unlikable but the story WANTS the audience to care about him. A huge misfire for Hope...a guy who made some genuinely funny films, though there's hardly a laugh in this one.

Yes, before the great Billy Wilder classic there was this other Some Like It Hot, a minor Bob Hope film done at a time when Hope was still thought of as a B film star. The film had to change title when Wilder's film became an all time comedy classic, I have a VHS copy of it under the title of Rhythm and Romance.

Actually this work has undergone many changes in its life. Someone had some faith in it. It began as a flop Broadway play in 1932 written by the team of Ben Hecht and Gene Fowler. It only ran 11 performances in the winter of 1932 when few people had the price of a Broadway theater ticket.

The property was sold to Paramount which first filmed it in 1934 under the title of Shoot the Works starring Jack Oakie. A very nice song by Harry Revel and Mack Gordon came out of that film called With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming that Dean Martin later reprised in The Stooge.

Anyway Paramount did it another version of it five years later this time with Bob Hope and Shirley Ross. I've never seen the Oakie film, but I'm willing to bet that a whole lot of stock footage from that wound up in this one.

Hope is a small time carnival barker who discovers both Shirley Ross and Gene Krupa and his band. He's got a good gift of gab, but that's about all. When the rest see an opportunity to move on, they take it, leaving Hope behind.

Swing music fans will love seeing Gene Krupa and his orchestra doing some of their music. A hit song, not as big as the one from Shoot the Works was written for Hope and Ross called The Lady's In Love With You. They recorded it, but it was far from the success they had with Thanks for the Memory and Two Sleepy People. Burton Lane and Frank Loesser were the songwriters here.

This was the last teaming of Bob Hope and Shirley Ross. Ross seemed to complement Hope's breezy style on screen, but after this her career faded and we all know where his went.

Some Like It Hot under any title was not as good as Hope's debut film The Big Broadcast of 1938 or College Rhythm or his collaboration with Preston Sturges in Never Say Die. Still it does have a few laughs in it supplied by Hope and also wisecracking Una Merkel.

Fans of old scoop nose will like it though.