In the 1930's, 40's and most of the 50's, Bob Hope was an acceptable leading comic in most of his films, and some of them are classics. But once television came along and his schtick became set, one thing was clear, he wasn't much different in anything he did. That worked when he was younger, but a good majority of his late 50's films (and all of them from the 60's) are barely watchable now, mainly because of the supporting cast and certainly not because of his acting. In this TV remake of "The Awful Truth" (done much better as a musical 3 years earlier with Jane Wyman and Ray Milland), his schtick is very apparent, and it really doesn't work because he's supposed to be playing a serious character who's not a comic, yet all he does is drop funny lines which result in groans instead of laughs.
In playing the role of the estranged husband of Greer Garson (who is terrific), he should be more amiable than he is here even if he is in the throes of a divorce. After all, he's playing a character that Cary Grant made famous and Milland brought dignity and sophisticated humor to, and there's nothing dignified or sophisticated about him. I couldn't believe for a minute that Garson and Hope would meet fighting over the dog Mr. Smith, fall in love and end up buying.
Dick Foran and Vivian Blaine are fine as the romantic interests they come involved while separated, and Disney voice legend Eleanor Audley is great as Garson's aunt. Poor Margaret Dumont gets treated with more indignity here than she did with Groucho, sitting at a party and only gasping in horror at Hope's behavior. If that's a metaphor for Hope's performance, then she was deserving of an Emmy. A curiosity for sure, but Hope should have been replaced by Crosby. Even Berle or Benny would have been better in this.
In playing the role of the estranged husband of Greer Garson (who is terrific), he should be more amiable than he is here even if he is in the throes of a divorce. After all, he's playing a character that Cary Grant made famous and Milland brought dignity and sophisticated humor to, and there's nothing dignified or sophisticated about him. I couldn't believe for a minute that Garson and Hope would meet fighting over the dog Mr. Smith, fall in love and end up buying.
Dick Foran and Vivian Blaine are fine as the romantic interests they come involved while separated, and Disney voice legend Eleanor Audley is great as Garson's aunt. Poor Margaret Dumont gets treated with more indignity here than she did with Groucho, sitting at a party and only gasping in horror at Hope's behavior. If that's a metaphor for Hope's performance, then she was deserving of an Emmy. A curiosity for sure, but Hope should have been replaced by Crosby. Even Berle or Benny would have been better in this.