My Favorite Brunette (1947)

Director:

Elliott Nugent

Writers:

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

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:

Murder | Photographer | Baby Photographer | Death Row | Chase

Cast

Bob Hope	...	Ronnie Jackson
Dorothy Lamour	...	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 Montay
Ann Doran	...	Miss Rogers
Willard Robertson	...	Prison Warden
Jack La Rue	...	Tony
Charles Arnt	...	Crawford
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anthony Caruso	...	First Man on Death Row (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Henri - Head Waiter (uncredited)
Jack Clifford	...	Prison Guard Captain (uncredited)
Charles Cooley	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Bing Crosby	...	Harry (uncredited)
Boyd Davis	...	Mr. Dawson (uncredited)
Tom Dillon	...	Cop (uncredited)
Mike Donovan	...	Kelly - Police Detective (uncredited)
Helena Phillips Evans	...	Mabel (uncredited)
Betty Farrington	...	Matron (uncredited)
Budd Fine	...	Detective (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Det. Lt. 'Mac' Hennessey (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	State Trooper (uncredited)
Roland Soo Hoo	...	Baby Fong (uncredited)
Brandon Hurst	...	Butler (uncredited)
Betty Hutton	...	Herself - Singing 'Murder, He Says' (uncredited) (archive sound)
Eddie Johnson	...	Caddy (uncredited)
Richard Keene	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Alan Ladd	...	Sam McCloud (uncredited)
George Lloyd	...	George - Prison Guard Sergeant (uncredited)
Matt McHugh	...	Third Man on Death Row (uncredited)
Clarence Muse	...	Second Man on Death Row (uncredited)
Garry Owen	...	Reporter (uncredited)
James Pierce	...	Detective (uncredited)
Ted Rand	...	Waiter Captain (uncredited)
Joe Recht	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Reginald Simpson	...	Assistant Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Policeman Leaving Stationhouse (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	State Trooper Sergeant (uncredited)
Harland Tucker	...	Room Clerk (uncredited)
John Tyrrell	...	Bell Captain (uncredited)
John Westley	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Jean Wong	...	Mrs. Fong (uncredited)

Directed by
Elliott Nugent

Writing credits
Edmund Beloin		(original screenplay) and
Jack Rose		(original screenplay)
Bob Hope		contributing writer to golf scenes (uncredited)

Produced by
Daniel Dare	....	producer
Bob Hope	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Robert Emmett Dolan

Cinematography by
Lionel Lindon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ellsworth Hoagland

Casting by
Harvey Clermont		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Hans Dreier
A. Earl Hedrick		(as Earl Hedrick)

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
John MacNeil

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mel Epstein	....	assistant director
George Templeton	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gene Garvin	....	sound recordist
Harold Lewis	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
Gordon Jennings	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Loyal Griggs	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Charles Bradshaw	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Van Cleave	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Richard Blaydon	....	business manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Hope Enterprises (uncredited)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Paramount Release)
• Paramount Pictures (1948) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Paramount Films (1950) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Allied Artists (1963) (USA) (TV)
• Timeless Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1995) (Finland) (TV) (1996) (2003) (TV2)
• Hollywood Classics (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Bridgestone Multimedia (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Take 2 Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• United American Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Koch Vision (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport International Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Unicorn Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Westlake Entertainment Group (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Weton Wesgram (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2005) (worldwide) (TV)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Westlake Entertainment Group (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Finnkino (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Paramount (1948) (France) (theatrical)
• A-1 Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Bach Films (????) (France) (DVD)
• California National Productions (????) (USA) (TV) (as A California National Presentation)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Hal Roach Studios (1988) (worldwide) (all media) (Colorized version)
• KVC Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Shout! Factory (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2002) (France) (DVD) (as Sony Music Entertainment Département Vidéo/2 DVDs : Collection Nuits Américaines)

Also Known As:

"The Private Eye" - USA (alternative title)

Runtime:

87 min | West Germany:78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (certificate #11981) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2008) | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | Netherlands:14 (original rating) (1950) | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

California Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Hope Enterprises

Trivia:

Bob Hope wanted Bing Crosby's cameo as Harry so much that he paid him $5,000 to appear. The sum was later donated to a charity.

Goofs:

Continuity: Ronnie is supplied with a torn-off piece of printed stationery from "Seacliff Lodge," but the sign at the main entrance to the facility shows its name as "Seacliffe Lodge."

Quotes:

Carlotta Montay:You said you'd stick with me till your dying breath.
Ronnie Jackson:Yeah, and I'm getting too close to it.

Movie Connections:

References The Lost Weekend (1945)

Soundtrack:

My Favorite Brunette

Two Road Escapees

Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour team up for this spoof on private eyes movies, particularly Sam Spade. Hope plays a baby photographer who dreams about being a real private eye, like his friend. One day he is mistaken for being his friend, which Hope chooses not to correct, by Lamour's mysterious lady in distress character. Soon Hope finds himself running from Lon Chaney and Peter Lorre, at their spookiest best.

This was the first movie I ever saw with Bob Hope, and I didn't even realize that Hope and Lamour were famous for the Road movies they did with Bing Crosby. However, this movie is consistently funny throughout. Hope fit the character perfectly. Keep an eye out for Crosby's cameo.