They Got Me Covered (1943)

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

Leo Rosten (story) &
Leonard Spigelgass (story) ...

Release Date:

4 March 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy

Tagline:

Samuel Goldwyn laughingly presents

Plot:

Bumbling reporter Robert Kittredge has been fired after bungling his latest assignment. His career isn't...

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Nazi | Spy | Washington D.C. | Roommate

Cast

Bob Hope	...	Robert Kittredge
Dorothy Lamour	...	Christina Hill
Lenore Aubert	...	Mrs. Olga Vanescu
Otto Preminger	...	Otto Fauscheim
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Baldanacco (as Edward Ciannelli)
Marion Martin	...	Gloria, the 'Glow Girl'
Donald Meek	...	Little old man
Phyllis Ruth	...	Sally
Philip Ahn	...	Nichimuro
Donald MacBride	...	Norman Mason
Mary Treen	...	Helen
Bettye Avery	...	Mildred Smith
Margaret Hayes	...	Lucille
Mary Byrne	...	Laura
William Yetter Sr.	...	Holtz (as William Yetter)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

In the scene where Hope opens the music box we hear Bing Crosby singing his hit "When The Blue Of The Night". Hope says the line "That guy is haunting me”. Crosby and Hope were co-stars in the famous "Road Pictures" and often made cameos in each others films.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

William Tell Overture

WWII spy comedy with Hope and Lamour...

Typical BOB HOPE comedy popular during the war years when his gags were timely and always on target kidding the current political situation and the entertainment world with breezy one liners. DOROTHY LAMOUR is the fetching sweetheart who helps Bob in his efforts to win back his reputation as a Pulitzer Prize journalist after his big gaffe in predicting that Germany will never invade Russia.

It's the breezy sort of thing Hope always did so well, with a nice supporting cast of character actors who knew how to be foils for his comic gags. Among them: EDWARD CIANNELLI, LEONORE AUBERT, DONALD COOK, OTTO PREMINGER, MARION MARTIN and DONALD MacBRIDE. Cook has a surprising against type role as a crazy gangster who at one point says to Hope: "You're cool, ain't ya?" (The use of "cool" way ahead of its time!).

Directed at a fast pace by David Butler, it's certainly not one of Hope's best films but easy to see why Hope vs. Nazis was such a fun idea in those WWII days when the best villains were always those notorious Germans.

The plot has Lamour helping Hope win his reputation back by capturing a bunch of spies in Washington, D.C. Fans of Hope and Lamour should find this one satisfying enough despite its flaws.