Cancel My Reservation

CANCEL MY RESERVATION. You've read the other reviews and they're all on the mark. Those who like it are allowed to like it and those who hate it are all correct. Directed by Paul Bogart from television the film looks like a made for TV movie as many features did in this era. In the first five minutes there's a scene in which Bob says he is 42, he was 69 when made this film. He looked great for 69 but he looked early 50's, not 42.

Here's my problem with the film, it's like Bob had to have a one liner every minute so you have 90 bad one liners which are unrelated to the story line or script. One good funny line every five minutes would have done. Strangely, unlike most ordinary films, I think the last ten minutes have made it better. There is a great support cast with nothing to do, but it begs the question as to why Anne Archer had to wait about ten years after this for lead roles. She's gorgeous. Here's the interesting thing, the last last ten minutes which are a bit more serious are good.

Comedy was going through a monumental change at this time and with a bit of thought, some serious jokes about Native Americans could have made this work. And Bob delivers a good line in the final scenes about going to jail for a parking ticket, and it's this line that made me think that this could have been OK.

I, like many other viewers have stated, got an opportunity to see this as a youngster on TV...probably late one night back when television stations would play movies like this into the wee hours of the evening/morning. I didn't remember much. Of course there was Bob Hope. I remembered Keenan Wynn for some reason and knew it was about murder in the desert. Well, I finally acquired a copy and was pleasantly surprised. Yes, Bob Hope's game is off. He is 69 or so here(looks absolutely incredible for his age). He turns out a one liner almost every minute he is on screen - which is almost every minute for the film. Most fail, but after awhile I was laughing at some of them - some because they were pretty good and others because he was trying SO terribly hard. Hope glides through the film with his typical Hope persona. Enjoyable but nothing great to be sure. The supporting cast is also equally enjoyable. Keenan Wynn playing a crusty sheriff with his usual flair for such roles. Ralph Bellamy and Forrest Tucker as a local rancher and his henchman. Bellamy is wheelchair-bound and as always quite good with dialog. Tucker looks tired though. Eve Marie saint plays Hope's wife. She is okay but has a dazzling set of legs which she shows off quite a bit. This is Anne Archer's first major film role and she is stunning - a buffet for the eyes and also quite good in her role. The plot is something out of the 40s with a body, then a missing body, and that kind of stuff. Nothing great but watching established pros work with inferior material makes it rise to a level no-talents could not achieve. There is a dream sequence with cameos by John Wayne, Johnny Carson, Flip Wilson, and old Bing Crosby himself. It is pretty brief but nice nonetheless. So this stroll down memory lane was enjoyable. Scenes I saw decades ago started to come back to me, and I will most definitely watch the film again soon as well as check out some more Bob Hope films. Honestly, I miss this stuff. Nothing today, though there is awesome television and good filmmaking abounding, creates the same kind of feel for me as that stuff I watched as a kid. Guess that is how it will be for young people today too.

The narrator of Louis L'Amour's novel, "The Broken Gun" is a rugged novelist adventurer, a great deal like the author himself. The only character who comes from the book accurately is the evil ranch foreman, Reese, played by Forrest Tucker. Apparently, from the novel's dedication, Louis L'Amour visualized Alan Ladd as Dan, the hero. The William Bendix character would have been the lawman, Riley.

Bob Hope sought to recapture the magic of his vastly superior mystery-comedies, "The Cat and the Canary" and "Ghost Breakers" with Paulette Goddard; "My Favorite Blonde" with Madeleine Carroll; "My Favorite Brunette" with Dorothy L'Amour; and "My Favorite Spy" with Hedy Lamarr. "Cancel My Reservation" suffers from dated gags just meant to get a quick laugh, rather than to move the story ahead.

Paul Bogart directed this picture, in a nominal sense; but Bob was the executive producer. Any credit or blame goes to our star, who was otherwise a great entertainer.

The best scene is a skit within the movie, when Bob visualizes his lynching, attended gleefully by Bing Crosby (of course), Johnny Carson, John Wayne, and the latest hot TV star, Flip Wilson. Johnny observes, "He'll do anything to win an Oscar."

The screenwriter of this movie was Arthur Marx, son of Groucho. Arthur and Bob must have had a major falling out, since the writer penned a vicious unauthorized biography of his former boss. Other writers remained loyal to their former benefactor, such as Larry Gelbart, Sherwood Schwartz, and Melville Shavelson.

Lighten up people. It is entertainment. I remember this film when I was young and it was great then and is still is today. Too many people take writing reviews seriously and if you want to watch a good "G" rated movie with a lot of good clean fun, then this is the one. Like Blazing Saddles, it isn't one to take too serious and look for the Oscar nod. I have very fond memories of the first time I saw this movie at a drive in theater. Yes it was fun and no the acting wasn't that great, but how many movies today get so much attention with less. If you want to turn back the clock and enjoy a movie with nothing under the covers except an old comedy, then this is a good one to pick.

Have fun and enjoy and look for all the actors you may recognize.

Bob Hope is a stressed out New York TV host. His doctor orders him to take a vacation so he heads off to his ranch in Arizona for a couple of weeks. But ,instead of getting away from it all, he ends up being accused of a murder that takes place during his stay in the desert.

The comedy is broad, farcical and loose much like a sketch on one of Hope's TV specials. As usual, Bob's in a jam and firing off a succession of wisecracks helps him to cope with a sticky situation.

Forrest Tucker and Ralph Bellamy play the bad guys in their respective roles as a con on the run and an evil land baron who's trying to frame the twitchy TV star. Keenan Wynne, as the cigar - chomping sheriff who has to find the real murderer, seems to have based his characterization on Yosemite Sam (with great success !)

This is a free - wheeling '70s movie and it's better than most of the pictures that Hope made near the end . In fact, as it turned out,this was to be his last, major big screen feature and , happily, it also proved to be his best in some time.