Double Exposure (1935) User Reviews

Coming Comedy Style

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 7 August 2007]

This was one interesting comedy short that TCM happened to be broadcasting this afternoon. It's Bob Hope, but a Bob Hope not seen before.

At the time this was made Hope was still a Broadway star and I'm sure did this one at Warner Brothers New York studio. It looked like old ski nose was trying to find his particular comedy style. He's in a team with John Berkes, but Hope comes across a lot like Moe Howard vis a vis Berkes and Berkes is like a bargain basement version of Stan Laurel.

Away from Berkes, fans of Rapid Robert will recognize their guy as a paparazzi photographer trying to snap a particular female's photograph. Her husband is absolutely maniacal on the subject of paparazzi which is a serious topic when you think about it.

Double Exposure is a good insight into the coming comedy style of America's leading comedy voice.

"Right now, I'm working on a lipstick that makes a woman's lips taste like an orange."

[classicsoncall · 4/10 · 8 January 2017]

By the time this film short came out, Bob Hope had made his mark in every entertainment venue available at the time - vaudeville, Broadway and radio. He made a handful of these before hitting it big in films, in this one he portrays a photographer with a bumbling assistant who might remind you of Stan Laurel, but believe me when I tell you, John Berkes is no Stan Laurel, not by a long shot.

The picture is more goof-ball slapstick than anything else, something I don't particularly care for, so the results for me here are obviously mixed. Hope manages to work on his comic timing with his various bits, as he switches identities a number of times for the sake of the story. You have to give the guy credit, he did a drag scene here without too much regard for what it might do to his career, but it all worked out OK.

The main story has Hope's character attempting to get a magazine photo shot of a wealthy man's wife without glasses on. Loretta Sayers had a little bit of that Harlow thing going for her, but her husband in the story was a bit of a blowhard going by the name of Ben Ali Oop (Jules Epailly). Manic to the point of absurdity to avoid his wife's picture being taken, he inadvertently makes the prearranged signal for Hope's assistant to snap the photo, thus bringing an abrupt ending to this twenty minute flick, and probably not a moment too soon.

Not THAT bad

[rockhound622004 · 4/10 · 8 November 2007]

Could this be the first film depiction of paparazzi? Sure, it initially might appear to be a strip of tripe. But don't we all have to admit, that's a very good foreshadowing of Marty Feldman smoking the hookah pipe at the hotel register? And Hope's drag acting was also to be seen again in "Some Like It Hot" etc. Let's also take note of the cultural difference between eastern and western treatment of wives. Other than that, yes, I suppose one could label it as terribly flawed and cliché-ridden. But don't forget, there was the Great Depression going on, and the country needed every laugh it could get. I applaud this film for the reason that is was, indeed, an additional boost for not only the US, but for the whole world.

Not at all the style you'd expect from a Hope film.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 10 May 2020]

"Double Exposure" is an early short starring Bob Hope. And, not surprisingly, since it's so early, its style is little like later Hope pictures. And, in hindsight, it's good Hope didn't make too many films like this one.

When the story begins, Ben Ali Oop* is arguing with his American wife. Apparently, the country where this potentate lives has strong feelings about having their women photographed...and a couple guys want a picture of Mrs. Ali Oop for their magazine. So, they contract Hope and is annoyingly stupid partner (John Berkes) to sneak a photo of the woman without her violent husband hurting them....as he's promised to do.

The story has a few problems with it. The biggest one is that Hope seems more like Moe Howard from The Three Stooges...slapping his assistant again and again. It really would have worked better had the Stooges made this one. As for the assistant, he's just too stupid to be funny...and makes Curly Howard seem like an Oxford grad! The other problem is that the plot is very contrived and doesn't make a lot of sense. Add to this that the short isn't all that funny and you have a film that only devoted Hope fans will want to see.

*By the way, 'Alley Oop' was a famous comic strip of the day...and naming the guy 'Ali Oop' was apparently supposed to be funny. Whatever.

Poor, poor Mr Hope...

[mart-45 · 1/10 · 2 July 2006]

Please don't watch this film. It's like a concentrate of what was bad in 1930s comedy. This absolutely ridiculous shorty can of course generate some interest as it is one of the very first pictures Bob Hope was in, but otherwise - and even to the absolute Hope fans - it's much better left undisturbed. Really makes you a bit uncomfortable and ashamed and you feel for Mr Hope - the road to stardom was obviously paved with bitter pills like this one that one had to swallow to get a real part in a real film. And to think this was done at the time, when there were comedies by Lubitch and Capra, elegant and witty films that were shot well. This mishmash is barely out of cheap burlesque, and not worth a look for any realistic reason. I think it took the "scriptwriters" less time to concoct this turkey than it takes us to watch it.

not funny to me

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 29 June 2022]

This is the Paparazzi before the word was coined by Fellini. Bob Hope is a photographer on the streets with a bumbling assistant. He's offered a reward for pictures of a famous actress without her glasses. Bob Hope can come off as smarmy and that's what happens in this short. I understand the premise of the comedy. They are trying plenty of slapstick and even a bit of cross-dressing. There is comedy here but I just don't find it that funny.