Thanks for the Memory (1938/II)

Director:

George Archainbaud

Writers:

Frances Goodrich (play)
Albert Hackett (play)
(more)

Release Date:

11 November 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Bob Hope is an out of work writer who stays home and plays house husband while his wife goes to work for her former fiancé and Hope's publisher who is still carrying a torch for her. |

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Domestic | Based On Play

Cast

Bob Hope	...	Steve Merrick
Shirley Ross	...	Anne Merrick
Charles Butterworth	...	Biney
Otto Kruger	...	Gil Morrell
Hedda Hopper	...	Polly Griscom
Laura Hope Crews	...	Mrs. Kent
Emma Dunn	...	Mrs. Platt
Roscoe Karns	...	George Kent
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson	...	Janitor
Edward Gargan	...	Flanahan
Jack Norton	...	Bert Monroe
Patricia Wilder	...	Luella
William Collier Sr.	...	Mr. Platt
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barney Dean	...	Kelly
Pat West	...	Refuse Man
June Brewster	...	Frances (uncredited)
Mary Brodel	...	Clara (uncredited)
Jack Chapin	...	Messenger (uncredited)
Sheila Darcy	...	Model (uncredited)
Vernon Dent	...	Refuse Man (uncredited)
Tom Dugan	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Lillian Herlein	...	Landlady (uncredited)
Gwen Kenyon	...	Model (uncredited)
Johnnie Morris	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Luana Walters	...	Model (uncredited)

Directed by
George Archainbaud

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Frances Goodrich		play "Up Pops the Devil"
Albert Hackett		play "Up Pops the Devil"
Lynn Starling

Produced by
Mel Shauer	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Charles Bradshaw		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Karl Struss

Film Editing by
Alma Macrorie

Art Direction by
Franz Bachelin
Hans Dreier

Music Department
Boris Morros	....	musical director
John Leipold	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Leo Shuken	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1938) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Bob Hope: Thanks for the Memories Collection)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. However, because of legal complications, this particular title was not included in the original television package and may have never been televised.

Quotes:

Polly Griscom:Mercy! Who's the dame in the ermine with the flock of orchids?
Biney:That's Mrs. George. He married the Stickle million.
Polly Griscom:My, she must have had a lot of fun knitting socks for the soldiers.
[pause]
Polly Griscom:In the Civil War.
Biney:Some of the best wine comes out of old bottles, Polly.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Up Pops the Devil (1931)

Soundtrack:

Thanks for the Memory

A good cast and one great song save otherwise predictable comedy

Bob Hope and Shirley Ross play newlyweds trying get ahead. Hope has written part of a novel. It's good…but can he do better? Prospective publisher Otto Kruger—who happens to be an old flame of Ross's—tells him that if he's serious about the book, then he should quit his day job and treat writing as a business. Shirley convinces Bob to give it a try…and returns to her old modeling job to earn a living till he gets established. Bob has difficulty concentrating, home alone while his wife is out supporting him.

Their apartment is also a sort of social center for an entertaining gang of friends. Clever couple Charles Butterworth and Hedda Hopper drop in at all hours and help themselves to the apartment. Roscoe Karns is another buddy who frequently shows up, sometimes accompanied by his new wife (Laura Hope Crews), whose only real charm is her money.

Eddie Anderson is excellent as the building superintendent who spends most of the picture trying to collect payment for the laundry he delivers. His funniest line is when he steps into Hope's kitchen and observes Hope attempting to prepare a meal. "Do you cook?" he asks doubtfully in that unique Rochester voice.

There are other funny scenes….Hope cracks an egg, can't figure out what to do with the shell, and so crams it into the pages of the cookbook he's holding.

The supporting cast really provide most of the best moments. Slinky neighbor girl Patricia Wilder—complete with breathy southern drawl—traipses in at one point when everyone is gathered in the main apartment. She has a bat in her living room: "I'm in trouble and I wonder if one of you boys can help me out," she pouts. At which Hopper turns to Ross with arch look: "She's in trouble and she wants a boy."

It's not great dialog—but delivered by these pros it's quite entertaining. The plot is hardly surprising but it holds together okay.

The song "Two Sleepy People" is easily the film's high point—Hope and Ross just look and sound so good together, and the song is perfectly sweet and drowsy.