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Wholesome sitcom style family comedy not as bad as critics deemed. This G-rated comedy is very Brady Bunch style with the sum better than the parts. If your family is a fan of Nick at Nite then this movie should delight them. Directed by legendary Hollywood director turned TV-director, George Marshal, this film offers wacky slapstick, a wacky car chase, wacky boyscouts and wacky Phylis Diller on a motorcycle. Bob Hope play's a happily married (to "Make Room For Daddy"'s Marjorie Lord) real estate agent with two kids and a maid (Phylis Diller). One day he gets a wrong number from a Hollywood movie star (a dazzling and very funny Elke Sommer) in hiding from her studio. Eventually Hope tries to help the starlet in her quest for privacy. Trying to keep the news out of the paper, and his association with her from his wife, the film is basically one situation after another of trying to hide Sommer from someone. Hope is a bit subdued with terrible lines but, as usual, has good chemistry with Diller and plays the part of the responsible loving husband but victim of circumstances very well. The part of the movie starlet could easily have been a dumb-blonde role, but Elke Sommer (who was great in the comedy "A Shot in the Dark") brings the role life with a very clever performance and a great flair for physical comedy. She gets a bit upstaged by Hope and Diller, but does just fine alongside the two pros. Just a nice, clean, fun show for all ages.

I saw this film when I was a kid and loved it. Watching it as an adult, I still got a kick out of it in a campy, shlocky way. The film is worth seeing as a time travel back to the WORST examples of 60's design, clothing, and decor. The garish colors and styles just have to be seen to be believed. Poor Marjorie Lord is outfitted with a towering red wig any ambitious drag queen would kill for. Bob Hope just looks too old at this stage of his career to play a suburban husband and father, despite all the expected one liners. Phyllis Diller, playing Phyllis Diller before all the glam plastic surgery, is a hoot, with bird's nest hairdo and crazy outfits. The problem is, both Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller act like they are in two separate movies, just knocking out one liners and double entendres that must have been boffo in 1966. The plot is convoluted, kind of a riff on a French bedroom farce. Elke Sommer plays a European actress who tries to escape her Hollywood life. The problem is, it is hard to tell exactly what part of Europe she is supposed to be from; sometimes, she sounds like an Ooh-Lah-Lah French maid, other times, she talks like the Fourth Gabor Sister. The chase scene at the end is a hoot, with a stunt person not even slightly resembling Phyllis Diller, riding a motorcycle and squirting mustard in people's faces (don't ask), while the loud Phyllis Diller witch's cackle laughter is dubbed into the scene. The movie is fun, in kinda a train wreck way.Just don't expect Citizen Kane.

I saw this film twice: once when I was a pre-teen in the 60s and then about 40 years later. The first time I saw it, I thought it was one of the funniest movies I had ever seen. The second time I saw it, I wondered what I saw in it the first time. Since it was the same movie, I guess it had to be me, but what a difference 40 years makes. This movie seems to have been made as a vehicle for Bob Hope's and Phyllis Diller's comic skills. However, what seemed knee-slapping funny back then, seems dull and trite now, especially Hope's one-liners. Most of the movie revolves around Hope's character keeping his association with Didi secret. It was funny then but a little overbearing now. His "murder confession" seems just silly now. I gave the movie a 6 rating because the chase scene with Phyllis Diller still ranks high as a hilarious chase scene, just as funny now as when the film was new.

Silly, scrappy comedy with Bob Hope trying to hide sleepy sexpot Elke Sommer from his wife. Low-budget screwball antics looks really bad, with sets which are far too large for the minimal action taking place there (the kitchen in Bob's house is positively drafty), and the poor lighting and awkward camera-work do not help. Once the action swings from suburbia to a cabin in the woods, the picture perks up a bit. The one-dimensional cabin set is another eyesore, but the slapstick involved isn't too bad (and Sommer's shrieks are funny). Phyllis Diller, as the family housekeeper with a hair problem, should've written her own dialogue: the woman is all revved up and ready, yet she's given no funny lines. As for Bob Hope, I have never been a particular admirer of his, but he's not bad here, coasting through without hogging the camera too much. I would have to say "Wrong Number" isn't offensive the way Hope's "Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell" was, but--for a comedy--shouldn't somebody be having a good time? ** from ****

Basically, this is a half-hour sitcom stretched out to feature length. The main players are fine, and are comfortable in their parts. But the gags are tired and obvious. For instance, in an overlong chase scene, Phyllis Diller (on motorcycle) not only does the old "knock the fire hydrant, causing geyser" gag, but also the "rides through a ditch as several workers jump out in panic" gag. There's satire on current movies (James Bond, girls in bubble baths) and a couple of laughs (mostly from Bob), but it's primarily a tepid French farce, with Hope trying to hide a sexy movie queen from his wife.

Fans of Bob Hope (like myself) might be willing to put up with it, but if you're new to his films, please do yourself a favor and start with the 1940s road pictures with Bing Crosby.