Murder and comedy don't mix too well here. Bob Hope is far too flip to be a believable character and his old-fashioned moralizing against women's lib is often embarrassingly inept. Even some of his customary comedy asides are presented without his usual relish and he sometimes seems tired and disappointingly lacking in his usual sparkle. The TV-style direction with its over-emphasis on close-ups draws more than usual audience attention to inadequacies and infelicities in both dialogue and characterization. It's also noticeable that a very obvious stunt man stands in for Hope in even the mildest scenes involving physical activity. Fortunately, location filming helps regain audience interest. Bogart's direction is more imaginative here too. Maybe Gordon Oliver, the producer (he also plays Willie Sparker in the movie) stayed behind in the studio. Eva Marie Saint does what she can with some terrible lines, but the support cast (with the exception of Keenan Wynn's grossly exaggerated portrait of the sheriff) comes off best, particularly Anne Archer as a forward sub-heroine and Ralph Bellamy and Forrest Tucker as the villains of the piece.
Review of Cancel My Reservation
