As a curio with Bob Hope and W. C. Fields--that alone is worth the 25 cent admission. Throw in Ben Blue, Martha Raye. If the viewer had never before seen W. C. Fields, then his shtick is hilarious as well as bent. Bob Hope plays Bob Hope and forever solidifies a film and television persona that never deviates from the real Bob Hope.
Early in the movie, Fields leaves from a golf course and flies in a self-propelled bicycle toward his boat; in the background, the viewer can see what looks like San Francisco's Ocean Beach, circa 1938. Or at least it looks that way to this viewer.
Bob Hope and Shirley Ross sing the touching and moving ballad: "Thanks for the Memory." The highlight of the movie and that alone makes the movie worth watching. It got me to thinking about other songs about memory and time passing. "As Time Goes By." found in CASABLANCA. "September Song" with Walter Huston narrating more than singing. Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold singing "I Remember it Well" in GIGI. "Sunrise, Sunset" from FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. "Memories" that Barbra Striesand sings. Isn't there a song in CATS about memories as well? "Send in the Clowns" from A LITTLLE NIGHT MUSIC by Stephen Sondheim. "My Cup Runneth Over" from THE FANTASTICS. All of these songs evocative of time lost, time past. Innocence lost.
It's not a great movie; yet it has a certain sophistication thanks mainly to that song, that so many modern comedies seem to be lacking.
Early in the movie, Fields leaves from a golf course and flies in a self-propelled bicycle toward his boat; in the background, the viewer can see what looks like San Francisco's Ocean Beach, circa 1938. Or at least it looks that way to this viewer.
Bob Hope and Shirley Ross sing the touching and moving ballad: "Thanks for the Memory." The highlight of the movie and that alone makes the movie worth watching. It got me to thinking about other songs about memory and time passing. "As Time Goes By." found in CASABLANCA. "September Song" with Walter Huston narrating more than singing. Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold singing "I Remember it Well" in GIGI. "Sunrise, Sunset" from FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. "Memories" that Barbra Striesand sings. Isn't there a song in CATS about memories as well? "Send in the Clowns" from A LITTLLE NIGHT MUSIC by Stephen Sondheim. "My Cup Runneth Over" from THE FANTASTICS. All of these songs evocative of time lost, time past. Innocence lost.
It's not a great movie; yet it has a certain sophistication thanks mainly to that song, that so many modern comedies seem to be lacking.