Thanks for the Memory (1938)

Bob Hope is an out of work writer who stays home and plays house husband while his wife goes to work for her former fiancé and Hope's publisher who is still carrying a torch for her.

Director:

George Archainbaud

Writers:

Lynn Starling (screenplay), Albert Hackett (play)

Stars:

Bob Hope, Shirley Ross, Charles Butterworth

Cast

Credited cast:
Bob Hope	...	Steve Merrick
Shirley Ross	...	Anne Merrick
Charles Butterworth	...	Biney
Otto Kruger	...	Gil Morrell
Hedda Hopper	...	Polly Griscom
Laura Hope Crews	...	Mrs. Kent
Emma Dunn	...	Mrs. Platt
Roscoe Karns	...	George Kent
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson	...	Janitor
Edward Gargan	...	Flanahan
Jack Norton	...	Bert Monroe
Patricia Wilder	...	Luella
William Collier Sr.	...	Mr. Platt
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barney Dean	...	Kelly
Pat West	...	Refuse Man

Storyline

Bob Hope is an out of work writer who stays home and plays house husband while his wife goes to work for her former fiancé and Hope's publisher who is still carrying a torch for her.

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Plot Keywords:

song | song in title | singer | singing | unemployed husband | 

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Taglines:

A GAY STORY OF LOVE AND LAUGHS (original poster-all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. However, because of legal complications, this particular title was not included in the original television package and may have never been televised.

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Quotes

Steve Merrick: Uh, do you write novels?
Taxi Driver: Not me. I work for a living.

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Connections

Remake of Up Pops the Devil (1931)

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Soundtracks

Two Sleepy People
Music by Hoagy Carmichael
Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross

User Reviews

After decades of knowing about this, I finally watched Thanks for the Memory

After decades of knowing of Bob Hope and Shirley Ross' follow-up to their The Big Broadcast of 1938-in which they introed their duet of "Thanks for the Memory" which won the Oscar for Best Song-I finally watched this movie with the same title of that song on the DailyMotion site just now. Since it's Black History Month, this was next in my chronological viewing list of African-American film performances as this had another supporting turn by Eddie Anderson having just previously seen him in Gold Diggers of Paris. His role here is actually a bit larger than that previous movie as he has about five scenes total, one by himself, one with a couple of the other supporting players, two with Hope, one with Ross. Another notable appearance is that of Patricia Wilder who had performed with Hope before at the Palace Theatre in New York earlier in the decade as well as The Big Broadcast of 1938. Future gossip columnist Hedda Hopper is also in this one playing a role and frequent screen comic drunk Jack Norton does his stuff as well. Since this was made before Bob Hope became a superstar, his usual characterization of being a cowardly hero hadn't been developed yet. In fact, he seems to be playing more of a character of a novel writer who doesn't like the idea of his wife working especially if it means she'd make more than him making his role a bit dramatic when things threaten to get rough, as it does for a while, which is reflected when they reprise this movie's title song. Be that as it may, he and Ms. Ross are quite the charming couple especially when they warble a new song called "Two Sleepy People". Since I also like to cite people associated with my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful Life-when involved in other films, here, it's the fact that this very movie was adapted from a play by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett who would later help write IAWL with that movie's director, Frank Capra. In summary, Thanks for the Memory was quite a charmingly funny movie, even when the drama threatens to take over.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Thanks for the Memory

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Microphonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1