I'll Take Sweden (1965)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Frederick De Cordova

Writers:

Nat Perrin (writer)
Nat Perrin (story) ...

Release Date:

18 June 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

If Blondes have more fun...then Sweden's got to be the funniest place on earth!

Plot:

Single father Bob Holcomb, dissatisfied with his daughter JoJo's choice of partner, seizes an unexpected...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Morality | Independent Film

Cast

Bob Hope	...	Bob Holcomb
Tuesday Weld	...	JoJo Holcomb
Frankie Avalon	...	Kenny Klinger
Dina Merrill	...	Karin Granstedt
Jeremy Slate	...	Erik Carlson
Rosemarie Frankland	...	Marti
Walter Sande	...	Bjork
John Qualen	...	Olaf
Peter Bourne	...	Ingemar
Fay DeWitt	...	Hilda
Alice Frost	...	Greta
Roy Roberts	...	Ship's Captain
Maudie Prickett	...	Spinster
Beverly Powers	...	Electra (as Beverly Hills)
Siv Marta Aberg	...	Inger

Runtime:

USA:97 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Swedish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Edward Small Productions

Goofs:

Errors in geography: All of the boats at the dock have California registrations even though the scene is supposed to be in Sweden.

Quotes:

[Upon seeing Erik's Volkswagen]
Holcomb: Maybe we had better put the car in our luggage.

Soundtrack:

Nothing Can Compare with You

Audacity doesn't BEGIN to describe this Hope(less) guilty pleasure!

JOJO(Weld): Daddy, I think I found Mister right! BOB HOLCOLM (HOPE): OH, I KNOW A BILL WRIGHT!

And so begins the first salvo fired in this joyously painful assault on a genre that was stale long before this was dumped on hundreds of deserted theaters-the generation gap comedy. Acres of atrocious puns and one-liners battle the parameters of entertainment decency---yet who can resist? Take an aging Frankie Avalon, a budding star in Weld appearing in her last thankless role until "Cincinnati Kid"saved her, aryan legend Jeremy Slate and producer Edward Small's cardboard studio backdrops substituting for Scandinavia, mix with Johnny Carson's longtime producer/director and you have the beginning of Hope's career slide that didn't hit rock bottom until "Cancel my Reservation" was unleashed 7 years hence. It's been 30 years since his last starring role and the scary thing is, the entire cast of all of his yearly cinematic holocausts from 65-72 are still alive and could reunite for Boy, Did I Get A Wrong Number 2 (the late, great Cesare Danova not withstanding). Suffice to say Hope was always only as good as his writers. The impossibly guileless challenge of his obnoxiously un-hip, sexist attitude and the wardrobe straight from Squaresville will amuse only the few Hope cultists who find the sheer bombastic gall and idiocy riotous (guilty!)--- and the ultimate irony--- touching. Younger audiences catching this on the tube without warning are bound to be indifferent-the coup de gras for longevity (the ancient comic trying to prove his lasting power to the few loyal surviving fans) and unlike the timeless masters- e.g. Buster Keaton, Fields, etc. there will undoubtedly not be a re-discovery of Hope's excellent early work as the residue of the crap of the last 40 years is too thick to peel away. I'll Take Sweden" is his best film since 1965. For those who thought this a temporary mis-step in Hope's career----a helmet-headed Marjorie Lord waited anxiously in the wings.........