My Favorite Brunette (1947)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Elliott Nugent

Writers:

Edmund Beloin (original screenplay) and
Jack Rose (original screenplay)

Release Date:

4 April 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Mystery

Tagline:

He's a hilarious hawkshaw... with a case on Dottie!

Plot:

Baby photographer Ronnie Jackson, on death row in San Quentin, tells reporters how he got there: taking care of his private-eye neighbor's office...

Plot Keywords:

Death Row | Baby Photographer | Murder | Photographer | Sanitarium

Cast

Bob Hope	...	Ronnie Jackson
Dorothy Lamour	...	Baroness Carlotta Montay
Peter Lorre	...	Kismet
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Willie (as Lon Chaney)
John Hoyt	...	Dr. Lundau
Charles Dingle	...	Major Simon Montague
Reginald Denny	...	James Collins
Frank Puglia	...	Baron Stefan Montay / Nicholas
Ann Doran	...	Miss Rogers
Willard Robertson	...	Prison Warden
Jack La Rue	...	Tony
Charles Arnt	...	Oliver J. Crawford

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #11981) | UK:PG | Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16

Company:

Hope Enterprises

Trivia:

On a Capitol Records 78, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour waxed two Jay Livingston-Ray Evans tunes: the romantic "Beside You," a Lamour solo in the film, and a comic-banter ditty named after the movie, although this number was not performed in the picture.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: A shot of the plane landing is flipped: the writing on the tail is backwards.

Quotes:

Carlotta Montay: He said he was safe.
Ronnie Jackson: Oh, he's safe alright... I mean, he's safe alright.
Carlotta Montay: But he's not safe! I know he isn't!
Ronnie Jackson: No no, he's in a terrible spot.
Carlotta Montay: But I feel he's in great danger.
Ronnie Jackson: Yes yes, he's in great danger... yeah, but he's safe alright... he's safe. I sound like an umpire.

Movie Connections:

References Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

Soundtrack:

BESIDE YOU

Delightful Detective Daffiness!

When baby photographer Ronnie Jackson (Bob Hope) office-sits for traveling p.i. Sam McCloud, he finds his dreams of playing detective coming all too true all too soon when mysterious damsel-in-distress Carlotta Montay (Dorothy Lamour) sashays into his office. Soon our hero is up to his ski-nose in trouble as he and his comely client are chased by a gang of cutthroats with designs on Carlotta's uncle's uranium (that's right, uranium!). One of Hope's best comedies, BRUNETTE deftly spoofs hard-boiled private eye thrillers of the era with a barrage of uproarious one-liners and set pieces. Hope and Lamour's usual comic/romantic chemistry is at its finest amid a nifty supporting cast including Peter Lorre, the unfairly uncredited Jean Wong (a delight as Mrs. Fong, mother of a tot so loathe to smile that Ronnie quips, "This kid's gonna grow up to be a sponsor!"), Lon Chaney Jr. (essentially playing his classic and oft-imitated OF MICE AND MEN role for laughs), and a couple of cameos too hilarious to spoil here (including the Paramount tough guy who appears as McCloud)! The DVD currently available doesn't have the most pristine print, but it's got some fun interactive features, including a trivia quiz. I only hope somebody decides to give this cheeky, cheerful farce the Criterion-caliber treatment it deserves!