Quel numéro ce faux numéro!

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 ****