A Cigana Me Enganou

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.

Haven't movie fans wondered how Bob Hope has managed to have so many glamorous leading ladies fall for the schnooky characters he played in his career? It's a source of amazement and amusement too. But I've always thought that was part of the secret of Hope's appeal, that if he could get the glamor girl, anyone could.

They don't get much more glamorous than Hedy Lamarr who was in the midst of a mini-comeback because of Samson and Delilah. Unfortunately the roles she got post DeMille didn't sustain her career.

When one works on a Bob Hope film as a leading lady you will definitely be second banana. Hedy Lamarr was not second banana material and that was a source of some friction between her and Hope. But being second banana was something she should have known walking in.

In My Favorite Spy, Hope was spoofing all those espionage/adventure films set in various exotic places like Casablanca. He gets to play a dual role here. First as Eric Augustine, Bogart like adventurer, and secondly as Peanuts White burlesque comic who is a dead ringer the U.S. government drafts into getting some secret microfilm before Sidney Greenstreet stand-in Francis L. Sullivan does. Of course Hope has a Peter Lorre type factotum in Arnold Moss.

Though uneven in spots, mainly because Hope doesn't have the chemistry between him and Lamarr the way he did with Jane Russell or Madeleine Carroll, or Dorothy Lamour, My Favorite Spy does have some good moments. My favorite moment is when the truth serum is administered to Peanuts White and he starts doing his burlesque shtick for Sullivan.

It's not the best of Hope's Paramount films, but it does have some good moments.

And besides only Bing Crosby could ever really expect to not be a second banana.

One of Hope's best efforts. Hedy Lamar plays the perfect foil to Bob as he plays two very different characters.

Contains one of the funniest sight-gag sequences in modern cinema and allows Hedy to show off the depth of her acting ability. It couldn't have been easy playing opposite Bob Hope anyway, but when she's not quite sure who is showing up had to make it even tougher.

This is a film I can watch over and over again. In fact, I've just about worn out my copy, yet I laugh out loud every time.

Great family viewing with the typical Hope silliness tempered by the very seductive Hedy Lamar.

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.

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.