Eight on the Lam (1967)

Bank teller and widower with seven kids, Bob Hope finds $10,000 in a parking lot. His luck quickly changes when it's discovered that his bank discovers a substantial money shortage in their... See full summary »

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

Bob Fisher (story), Albert E. Lewin

Stars:

Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Jonathan Winters

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bob Hope	...	Henry Dimsdale
Phyllis Diller	...	Golda
Jonathan Winters	...	Police Sgt. Jasper Lynch / Mother Lynch
Shirley Eaton	...	Ellie Barton
Jill St. John	...	Monica
Stacey Gregg	...	Linda (as Stacey Maxwell)
Kevin Brodie	...	Steve
Robert Hope	...	Mike
Glenn Gilger	...	Andy
Avis Hope	...	Dana
Debi Storm	...	Lois
Michael Freeman	...	Mark
Austin Willis	...	Mr. Pomeroy
Peter Leeds	...	Marty

Storyline

Bank teller and widower with seven kids, Bob Hope finds $10,000 in a parking lot. His luck quickly changes when it's discovered that his bank discovers a substantial money shortage in their books. Now Hope and his large family are forced to take it on the lam. His children's baby-sitter Phyllis Diller protects Hope from her dim-witted cop boyfriend Jonathan Winters while he hides out, hoping to get to the true cause of his dilemma. Past and future "Bond Girls" Shirley Eaton ("Goldfinger") and Jill St. John ("Diamonds Are Forever") play a schoolteacher and a gold-digger and Winters plays his own mother!

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Plot Keywords:

large family | robbery | false accusation | 

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Taglines:

The most WANTED picture of the year!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 April 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Acht gehen türmen

Filming Locations:

157 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hope Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point, Golda (Phyllis Diller) tells Henry (Bob Hope), "Boy, did you get a wrong number!" In 1966 Diller and Hope appeared in Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966).

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Goofs

When Dimsdale stops the VW to pick up the last child there is a tree immediately behind the car. When everyone piles back into the car the tree is missing and there is a playground swing in the background.

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Quotes

Henry Dimsdale: Hey, if money can't buy happiness, then this is a pretty crazy brand of misery.

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Connections

Referenced in Reflections of Evil (2002)

User Reviews

So, an average looking poor man in his 60s with seven kids has a girlfriend like Shirley Eaton....sure, I could buy that.

"Eight on the Lam" is not a bad film at all. But one part of it made me laugh. Bob Hope plays a widower with seven children, lots of bills and a girlfriend played by Shirley Eaton...that's Shirley Eaton who was a Bond girl in "Goldfinger" (the one who got gilded, by the way)!! This sort of strange casting always makes me laugh. Now I am not saying that the guy Hope plays isn't a nice guy...he is...but with a gorgeous blonde like Eaton?!?!

When the story begins, you see Henry Dimsdale (Hope) leaving his job at the bank to pick up his kids. So, driving a tiny VW you see him pick up seven kids AND a dog!! Obviously, things are tight when you have that many mouths to feed. But Henry's luck changes when he finds a money clip with $10,000 in a parking lot. He's basically an honest guy and waits a couple weeks to see if anyone claims it...and they don't. So, he begins to spend the money...and the timing couldn't be worse. This is because a bank examiner has found $50,000 missing from Henry's books...and all these recent huge purchases sure make it look like he's been embezzling. Instead of staying and trying to clear himself, he follows a co-worker's advice and runs...with his kids in tow. What's next? See the film and find out for yourself.

Like several other films from this era, Phyllis Diller is in this one as well. However, instead of acting WITH Hope, she mostly is in a parallel story with her boyfriend (Jonathan Winters). I liked this, as the films where she and Hope traded barbs were pretty limp (such as the aptly named "Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number").

So is this any good? It's not bad...and that's something you can't say about many of Hope's later films. For the most part, they are an unfunny and sorry lot...with Hope delivering asides that aren't particularly funny and are mostly annoying. This one, in contrast, works better because most of it's not played for laughs and Hope's limp quips are at a minimum. Now I am not saying it's a great film, but it is pleasant and watchable...though towards the end they did try more comedy and it was the low point of the movie. An amiable time-passer and not much more.

By the way, this film also features another Bond girl, Jill St. John ("Diamonds Are Forever").